Soir, dit-elle

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The Trio Mediaeval's first CD, Words of the Angel, was an ear-opener, a CD of mostly old music interspersed with some modern works, all ravishingly sung, and, oddly, very harmonious over its span of centuries. This CD features most of a mass by the 15th-century Englishman Leonel Power, with works by the Ukrainian Oleh Harkavyy (b. 1968) and the British Ivan Moody (b. 1964), Gavin Bryars (b.1943), and Andrew Smith (b. 1970); there is more new music than old. The Harkavyy Kyrie sounds "older" than all of the Power, which is oddly dense and surprising in its harmonies. A Bryars "Ave Regina" and "Laude Novella" (this last for solo voice) wafts in and out of oldness and modernity in novel but not uncomfortable ways, and Andrew Smith offers an "Ave Maria" and "Regina Caeli" which are distinctly modern but simply beautiful--and wonderfully pious. The two works by Ivan Moody, while not as staggeringly beautiful and daring as his contributions to the Trio's premiere CD, are almost as beautiful, growing in loveliness with each hearing. A Gregorian Chant ends this CD of devotional music. The whole is dizzyingly beautiful and endlessly interesting; the sonics are as gloriously clear and clean as the Trio's pitch, taste, and inherent sound. Don't do without this CD. --Robert Levine

Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe, February 9, 2004
The three female voices combine to produce a sound of extraordinary and consoling beauty.

Soir, dit-elle

Tracks:

Kyrie
Gloria - Missa 'Alma Redemptoris Mater'
Laude Novella (Lauda II)
Ave Regina Gloriosa (Lauda VII)
Credo - Missa 'Alma Redemptoris Mater'
Ave Maria
Regina Caeli
Ave Donna Santissima (Lauda III)
Sanctus - Missa 'Alma Redemptoris Mater'
The Troparion Of Kassiani
Venite A Laudare (Lauda I)
A Lion's Sleep
Agnus Dei - Missa 'Alma Redemptoris Mater'
Alma Redemptoris Mater

Amazon.com

The Trio Mediaeval's first CD, Words of the Angel, was an ear-opener, a CD of mostly old music interspersed with some modern works, all ravishingly sung, and, oddly, very harmonious over its span of centuries. This CD features most of a mass by the 15th-century Englishman Leonel Power, with works by the Ukrainian Oleh Harkavyy (b. 1968) and the British Ivan Moody (b. 1964), Gavin Bryars (b.1943), and Andrew Smith (b. 1970); there is more new music than old. The Harkavyy Kyrie sounds "older" than all of the Power, which is oddly dense and surprising in its harmonies. A Bryars "Ave Regina" and "Laude Novella" (this last for solo voice) wafts in and out of oldness and modernity in novel but not uncomfortable ways, and Andrew Smith offers an "Ave Maria" and "Regina Caeli" which are distinctly modern but simply beautiful--and wonderfully pious. The two works by Ivan Moody, while not as staggeringly beautiful and daring as his contributions to the Trio's premiere CD, are almost as beautiful, growing in loveliness with each hearing. A Gregorian Chant ends this CD of devotional music. The whole is dizzyingly beautiful and endlessly interesting; the sonics are as gloriously clear and clean as the Trio's pitch, taste, and inherent sound. Don't do without this CD. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Modern.......2006-11-10

I was trying to be careful, listening to samples of the tracks before committing to buying, but I might not have listened to the right ones or maybe I didn't read the fine print. For some reason I had the impression these were old and traditional pieces of music: old meaning medieval, or thereabouts. Actually, most of them are modern, because the music (as opposed to the lyrics) has been composed relatively recently.

Despite the Latin lyrics, the beautiful voices, the slick production, and the overall air of antiquity and religiosity, I found I didn't enjoy the CD as much as I was hoping I would. The music is too unmelodic for me. At times it seems very harsh, dragging the singing along with it.

Anonymous 4 -- at least in A Mass for the End of Time -- is better.

Fascinating and captivating.......2005-07-30

I'm a huge fan of early music, but my taste tends to lead me down the road of the French cantata more than anything. I stumbled across this particular album at a local Border's and decided to give it a chance, knowing nothing about it.

I think it's simply fantastic. The vocals are pure and captivating, and the literature choice is first-rate; the combination of "true" early music, coupled with modern interpretation presents an excellent balance.

perfection to little effect.......2005-03-08

For those familiar with Trio Mediaeval's first record, WORDS OF THE ANGEL, it is impossible not to compare the two. I'm not talking about natural expectations, but of the fact that SOIR, DIT-ELLE seems to have been structured after WORDS.
Unlike WORDS, however, SOIR dwells greatly on modern repertoire. All contemporary pieces in SOIR seem to have been composed with skill and interpreted to perfection; still, it does not seem to me to be as engaging as WORDS. It wants variety; differences between 13th-century "Missa Alma redemptoris mater" and contemporary pieces are blurred by the homogeneity of mood of the latter: all want to be contemporary rework on medieval vocal music; all want to be slow, melodious and dissonant; all were composed having Trio Mediaeval as ideal performers; as a result, all resemble one another too much. When it comes to the solo pieces, for example, they seem more elaborated than the versions which served them as a starting point (available in WORDS), but it was precisely the original simplicity which made them so touching.
Even though Ivan Moody's pieces aren't as striking as "Words of the angel" (the impact of which is partly due to contrast between its "contemporariness" and the "medievalness" of the rest of WORDS' repertoire, by the way), they are still the most moving.
SOIR, DIT-ELLE is perfect, but still. Perfection may win you over in the end, but might not do much for you in the beginning. It is possible that those who don't know WORDS OF THE ANGEL should have a different take on it, and like it better.

Wonderful.......2004-07-03

This CD gets better each time I listen to it. There is a compelling perfection in the sound - it's sublime.

Coldly beautiful.......2004-06-03

Trio Mediaeval, a three-women European a cappella choir, presents here a minimalist programme of medieval three-part harmony mixed with 20th century pieces in the same style.

Leonel Power's (1370-1445) Missa "Alma redemptoris mater" is presented in its entirety but broken up with pieces by English composers Ivan Moody, Gavin Bryars and Andrew Smith, and Ukrainian Oleh Harkavyy. Power stood alongside John Dunstable as one of the great English composers of the 14th-15th centuries. This mass is probably one of the earliest to use the same "cantus firmus" in all four movements. The chant is repeated by the low voice throughout while the two upper voices create an intricate counterpoint.

The contemporary composers here draw their inspiration from ancient texts and chants to make their own individual polyphony, but sharing the same austere atmosphere as Power's mass.

Trio Mediaeval follows in the footsteps of Anonymous 4 in bringing the beauty of Medieval a cappella vocal music to the public. Tonally Trio Mediaeval is very similar to Anonymous 4 but doesn't quite match that group's precision of vocal delivery. Nevertheless, a nicely recorded album with a touch of cold beauty.

Very Best of
Average customer rating:
Very Best of
Jessye Norman
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Brava, Jessye!: The Very Best Of Jessye Norman

Very Best of

Jessye Norman Classics

The Essential Jessye Norman [Includes DVD: Jessye Norman Sings Carmen]

The Very Best of Victoria de los Angeles

ASIN: B000083GOL
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Tracks:

Dich, Teure Halle (Tannhauser, Act III)
Allamacht'ge Jungfrau, Hor Mein Flehen (Tannhauser, Act III)
Johohoe! Traft Ihr Das Schiff
Mild Und Leise
I. Dr Engel
II. Stehe Still!
III. Im Treibhaus
IV. Schmerzen
V. Traume
Dem Unendlichen D291
Der Winterabend D938
Auflosung D807
Ihr Habt Nun Traurigkeit

Tracks:

Barcarolle: Belle Nuit, O Nuit D'amour
Venus Dit A Fortune
Qui Connait Donc La Souffrance...O Dieu, De Quelle Ivresse
Jusque-La Cependant Affermis Mon Courage...Aujourd'hui, Aujourd'hui Les Larmes
Premiers Transports Que Mul N'oublie!(Romeo Et Juliette, Part I)
No.1 Nahandove, O Belle Nahandove
No. 2 Aoua! Aoua! Mefiez-Vous Des Blancs!
No. 3 Il Est Doux De Se Coucher
Chanson Du Rouet
Si Morne
1. Rayon Des Yeux
2. Le Matin Les Branches Attisent
3. Tout Disparut
4. Dans Les Tenebres Attisent
4. Dans Les Tenebres Du Jardin
5. Unis La Fraicheur Et Le Feu
6. Homme Au Sourir Tendre
7. La Grande Riviere Qui Va
Amours Divins! (Act II)
On Me Nomme Helenw La Blonde (Act II)
La Vrai, Je Ne Suis Pas Coupable (Act III)
Elle Vient! C'este Elle! (ActIII)

Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice / Tourangeau, Marfitano, Hendricks, Vonk

Average customer rating:

From an Orfeo collector...
good music, but with too much background noise

Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice / Tourangeau, Marfitano, Hendricks, Vonk
Christoph Willibald Gluck , George Frideric Handel , Giovanni Paisiello , Peter Winter , Charles Gounod , Leo Delibes , Felicien David , Franz Liszt , Georges Bizet , Jules Massenet , Benjamin Godard , Reynaldo Hahn , Jacques Offenbach , Hans Vonk , Huguette Tourangeau , Catherine Malfitano , and Barbara Hendricks
Manufacturer: Gala
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Orfeo ed Euridice: Overture
Orfeo ed Euridice: Act One, Scene One - Ah, if around this tomb (Chorus - Ofreo)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Enough, my friends! (Orfeo)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Ballet
Orfeo ed Euridice: Ah, if around this tomb (Chorus)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Thus I call my love (Orfeo)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Gods! Barbarous gods! (Orfeo)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Act One, Scene Two - Amor will help you! (Amore, Orfeo)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Restrain your glances (Amore)
Orfeo ed Euridice: What was that he said? (Orfeo)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Act Two, Scene One - Ballet - Who can it be, who
Orfeo ed Euridice: Ah, make your peace (Orfeo, Chorus)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Wretched youth! (Chorus)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Noisome shades! Countless afflictions (Orfeo)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Ah, what unfamiliar (Chorus, Orfeo)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Act Two, Scene Two - Ballet
Orfeo ed Euridice: How pure the sky! (Orfeo, Chorus)
Orfeo ed Euridice: You are in the kingdom of rest (Chorus)
Orfeo ed Euridice: In these calm and placid meadows (Euridice)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Fortunate spirits (Orfeo, Chorus)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Be reunited, fair one (Chorus)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Act Three, Scene One - Come, follow my steps (Orfeo)
Orfeo ed Euridice: Come, to please your husband! (Orfeo, Euridice)
Orfeo ed Euridice: What sort of life is this (Euridice)
Orfeo ed Euridice: What a terrible moment (Euridice)
Orfeo ed Euridice: A new torment! (Orfeo, Euridice)

Tracks:

Orfeo ed Euridice: Act Three, Scene One - Alas! What have I come to? (Orfeo)
Orfeo ed Euridice: What shall I do without Euridice?
Orfeo ed Euridice: Ah, if around this tomb (Chorus)
Rinaldo: Rinaldo: Pompe vane
Rinaldo: Rinaldo: Dove sei
Rinaldo: Rinaldo: Vivi, tiranno
La Molinara: La Molinara: la Rossellina (La Raccalina)
Il Ratto Di Proserpina: Il Ratto Di Proserpina: Paga fui
Rodelinda: Rodelinda: La Rondinella
Rodelinda: Rodelinda: Dove sei
Le Soir
Regret
Tristesse d'Odalisque
Reviens, reviens
Oh, quand je dors
Comment diait - elle
La Nuit
Nuit d'Espagne
On dit
Elle s' en est allee
Chanson de Florian
Aimons-nous
La Perichole: La Perichole: O mon cher amant
La Perichole: La Perichole: Ah quer diner

Customer Reviews:

From an Orfeo collector..........2006-07-05

I presently have approximately 35 recordings of this opera... It is by far my favorite opera, but for reasons I won't go into here.

Regarding this recording: I was not expecting much. I had only heard Tourangeau in secondary roles with Sutherland as the lead Soprano previously. However, I was intrigued by novelty.

And I was blown away. Tourangeau has a deep and visceral voice I never heard in her Adalgisa & company. She sings the music with an ear for musicality that astonished me -- perfectly appropriate ornamentation and phrasing, emotion welling in her voice, and outstanding cooperation with the orchestra.

Malfitano and Hendricks are in equal form throughout. The recording quality is relatively flawless. And yes, it IS the original, early Italian version of the opera. The only major cave to the 1774 remake in French (or at least it's Alto transposition) are the F's at the end of "Che faró senza Euridice."

Finally, the recital pieces of Tourangeau's at the end are well appreciated in getting to know the artist better. In all, this is a recording well worth the price.

good music, but with too much background noise .......2006-02-10

good music, but with too much background noise. Her the Italian version is recorded, that important message should be shown on the cover. Thids version is not dull, but there is adifference with the french version (next to the language).

Average customer rating:

Jules Massenet: Poëms Vocaux

Manufacturer: Analekta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000009D2S
Release Date: 1996-04-16

Tracks:

Poeme D'Octobre: Prld
Poeme D'Octobre: Profitons Bien Des Jours D'Automne - Bruno Laplante/France Duval/Marc Durand B
Poeme D'Octobre: Helas! Les Marronniers
Poeme D'Octobre: Qu'importe Que L'hiver
Poeme D'Octobre: Belles Frileuses Qui Sont Nees
Poeme D'Octobre: Pareils A Des Oiseaux
Poeme D'Amour: Je Me Suis Plaint Aux Tourterelles
Poeme D'Amour: La Nuit, Sans Doute, Etait Trop Belle
Poeme D'Amour: Ouvre Tes Yeux Bleus, Ma Mignonne
Poeme D'Amour: Pourquoi Pleures-tu?
Poeme D'Amour: Puisque'elle A Pris Ma Vie
Poeme D'Amour: Oh! Ne Finis Jamais, Nuit Clemente Et Divine
Poeme D'Hiver: C'est Au Temps De LA Chrysantheme
Poeme D'Hiver: Mon Coeur Est Pein De Toi
Poeme D'Hiver: Noel!
Poeme D'Hiver: Tu L'as Bien Dit: je Ne Sais Pas T'Aimer
Poeme D'Hiver: Ah! Du Noins, Pour Toi Je Veux Etre L'ami
Lui Et Elle: Du Mal Secret Qui Le Tourmente
Lui Et Elle, Elle: Porquoi Cette Amere Pensee?
Poeme D'Un Soir: Extraits Des 'Gloses Orphiques': Antienne
Poeme D'Un Soir: Extraits Des 'Gloses Orphiques': Fleuramye
Poeme D'Un Soir: Extraits Des 'Gloses Orphiques': Defuncta Nascuntur