Composer: Hector Berlioz
Performer: Michael Spyres, Timothy Ridout
Orchestra: Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg
Conductor: John Nelson
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Erato
Catalogue: 5419719685
Release: 2022
Size: 1.21 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Les Nuits d’été, Op. 7
01. No. 1, Villanelle
02. No. 2, Le spectre de la rose
03. No. 3, Sur les lagunes
04. No. 4, Absence
05. No. 5, Au cimetière
06. No. 6, L’île inconnue
Harold en Italie, Op. 16
07. I. Harold aux montagnes. Scènes de mélancolie, de bonheur et de joie
08. II. Marche des pèlerins chantant la prière du soir
09. III. Sérénade d’un montagnard des Abruzzes à sa maîtresse
10. IV. Orgie de brigands. Souvenirs des scènes précédentes
This release is part of a Berlioz series by conductor John Nelson and the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg, but it is the soloists who shine here. Tenor Michael Spyres, who is really hitting his stride, has a voice pleasantly suited to French music, rounded and subtle, but there is more; Berlioz suggested that several singers perform the orchestral song cycle Les nuits d’été, Op. 7, but Spyres takes all the songs himself. Moreover, he does them in the original keys, which is rarer still. This calls for a singer with exceptional control of dynamic extremes in different parts of his range, and Spyres is exceptionally flexible in this regard. There is a confidence and nonchalance to this performance that grows on the listener as the performance proceeds, even as the sound engineering puts Spyres too far front and center to the detriment of the orchestra’s contributions. This isn’t so pronounced in the anti-concerto Harold en Italie, Op. 16, and here again, there is a standout soloist; Timothy Ridout offers a rich sound and a real narrative quality that seems to evoke the score’s source in Lord Byron’s long poem. This exceptionally satisfying Berlioz album hit best-seller charts in late 2022.