Poulenc: Complete Songs, Volume 1 – Lisa Milne (soprano), Lorna Anderson (soprano), Robert Murray (tenor), Felicity Lott (soprano), Christopher Maltman (baritone), Jonathan Lemalu (bass-baritone), Malcolm Martineau (piano)
The songs of Francis Poulenc, who composed more than 150 works for voice and piano over a period of forty-four years, remain consistently popular to concert audiences the world over. Varying in their individual style and character in a way that defies generalisation, the songs set a wide range of French poetry – both ancient and modern, and from the serious to the surreal.
This release marks the first in a new series charting the complete songs of the composer, performed by some of the greatest singers of the day and accompanied by the exceptional Malcolm Martineau. Future releases will feature several works that have never before been recorded.
"...this is a fine disc containing so many gems from one of the most loveable of composers. It should be added that Malcolm Martineau is superb throughout." Philip Borg-Wheeler - www.musicweb-international.com - 18 January 2012
"...The singers are all terrific. Murray, Milne, and maltman get the major share of the songs for this volume, and Milne is best of all. Martineau’s playing is exceptionally well shaped..."
R Moore - American Record Guide - November/December 2011
"An ambitious project to record Poulenc’s songs gets off to an accomplished start."
Edward Greenfield - Gramophone - August 2011
Performance ***** Recording ****
Robert maycock - BBC Music Magazine - June 2011
