Reynaldo Hahn

Chansons et Madrigaux

Reynaldo Hahn 's Songs And Madrigals for three- and four-part choir.

The time machine has no secrets for Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947). After plunging his contemporaries into the delights of Renaissance revelry with the 'Bal De Béatrice D'Este', the composer continued to explore the past with a tribute, in 1907, to Rameau (in the final drumroll of the 'Sonatine' for Piano). He also published Songs And Madrigals, composed on a selection of texts written by famous 15th and 16th century poets: Charles d'Orléans, Jean-Antoine de Baïf and Agrippa d'Aubigné.

Composed for three- and four-part choir (with optional Piano accompaniment duplicating the Vocals), these six Songs And Madrigals radiate a powerful charm that preserves them from affectation: Un Loyal Coeur envelops the listener in the polyphonic latticework of an enchanting melancholy, while Vivons, Mignarde borrows rhythmically from Lully to exalt the 'sweet life' that Coralie's lips promise to make even more voluptuous. With its seductive melody and expressive delays, Pleurez Avec Moi! bestows heartrending accents upon the sighs of a desolate soul. En Vous Disant Adieu, Comment Se Peut-il Faire Ainsi and Les Fourriers D'Eté round off this collection of deliberately archaic songs that exhale an irresistible freshness.