Track Listing
| CD [79:18] | ||
OPERATIC EXCERPTS | ||
| BORIS GODUNOV (Musorgsky) | ||
| 1. | Mon cœur est triste [Coronation Scene] Prologue | 2:59 |
| Vanni-Marcoux (bass); 8 June 1934; HMV (2 PG 1648-1) DB 4950 | ||
| 2. | Sous les murs de Kazan [Chanson de Varlaam] Act I | 2:31 |
| Albert Huberty (bass); 1929; Pathé (201919) X 0677 | ||
| 3. | J’ai le pouvoir suprême, Act II | 5:47 |
| Fred Bordon (bass); 15 May 1930; Columbia (WL 2294-1/WL 2295-1) RF 2 | ||
| 4. | Scène du carillon, Act II | 3:41 |
| André Pernet (bass); 23 October 1930; Odeon (XXP 7149-1) 123.723 | ||
| 5. | Laissez-nous seuls … Sortez, boyards [Les adieux et la mort de Boris] Act IV | 8:48 |
| Jean Aquistapace (bass-baritone); 1929; Pathé (201820/201819) X 7189 | ||
| LA DAME DE PIQUE (Tchaikovsky) | ||
| 6. | Romance de Pauline, Act I | 2:40 |
| Livine Mertens (mezzo-soprano); 6 May 1930; Columbia (WLB 66-1) RF 19 | ||
| LE PRINCE IGOR (Borodin) | ||
| 7. | Lentement baisse le jour [Recitatif et cavatine de Vladimir] Act II | 3:21 |
| André D’Arkor (tenor); 20 November 1930; Columbia (WLB 139-2) RF 27 | ||
| 8. | Hélas, mon âme est triste … Tendre épouse, Act II | 7:50 |
| Pierre Nougaro (baritone); 11 October 1930; Parlophone (95567-2/95574) 59.528 | ||
| NUIT DE MAI (Rimsky-Korsakov) | ||
| 9. | Air de Levko, Act III | 4:22 |
| Charles Friant (tenor); 24 April 1928; Odeon (XXP6656) 171.027 | ||
| SNEGUROCHKA (Rimsky-Korsakov) | ||
| 10. | Le nuage a dit un jour au tonnerre [Chanson de Lel] Act III | 3:24 |
| Ninon Vallin (soprano); 24 October 1927; Odeon (XXP 6516-1) 171.026 | ||
| SADKO (Rimsky-Korsakov) | ||
| 11. | Les diamants chez nous sont innombrables [Chant hindou] Scene IV | 3:35 |
| Georges Thill (tenor); 9 October 1933; Columbia (CLX 1735-1) LFX 336 | ||
| LE COQ D’OR (Rimsky-Korsakov) | ||
| 12. | Salut à toi, soleil [Hymne au soleil] Act II | 3:10 |
| Eidé Norena (soprano); 8 December 1930; Odeon (KI 3938-2) 188.796 | ||
SONGS | ||
| 13. | Les haleurs de la Volga [Song of the Volga boatmen] (Doyen) | 3:43 |
| François Audiger (bass); 1932; Polydor (5488 BKP) 522310 | ||
| 14. | Chanson de la puce [Song of the flea] (Musorgsky) | 2:56 |
| Georges Jouatte (tenor); 1 December 1930; Odeon (KI 3935-1) 188.793 | ||
| 15. | Chanson géorgienne (Balakirev) | 3:32 |
| Ninon Vallin (soprano); 15 December 1931; Odeon (XXP 7312-2) 123.708 | ||
| 16. | Extase, op. 34, no. 9 (Rubinstein) | 4:32 |
| Charles Soix (bass); 28 May 1946; Pathé (CPTX 624-1) PDT 112 | ||
| 17. | Ah! Qui brûla d’amour [None but the lonely heart] (Tchaikovsky) | 3:19 |
| Gérard Souzay (baritone); 10 August 1948; French Decca (FDR 3-1) AF 187 | ||
| 18. | La rose et le rossignol, op. 2, no. 2 [The rose and the nightingale] (Rimsky-Korsakov) | 3:09 |
| Renée Doria (soprano); 3 October 1949; Pathé (CPT 7197-1) PD 101 | ||
| 19. | Les lilas, op. 21, no. 5 [Lilacs] (Rachmaninoff) | 1:21 |
| Germaine Cernay (mezzo-soprano); 29 September 1930; Odeon (KI 3670-2) 188.765 | ||
| 20. | Ô mon champ bien-aimé, op. 4, no. 5 [Harvest of sorrow] (Rachmaninoff ) | 4:28 |
| Claudine Boons (soprano); 1929; Polydor (2160 BMP) 566091 | ||
This compact disc is lovingly dedicated to my little grandchildren,
Isabella Francesca Romano and Luca Lewis Morris Romano,
with the hope that when they grow older they, too, will become lovers of opera.
Lewis Morris Hall
Accompaniment: Track 1: orchestra, conducted by Piero Coppola; Tracks 2 and 5: orchestra; Track 3: orchestra, conducted by Joseph-Eugène Szyfer; Tracks 4, 9-10, 12, 14, and 15: orchestra, conducted by Gustave Cloëz; Track 6: piano, Fernand Goeyens; Track 7: orchestra of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, conducted by Maurice Bastin; Track 8: orchestra, conducted by Maurice Frigara; Track 11: orchestra, conducted by Eugène Bigot; Tracks 13 and 20: orchestra, conducted by Florian Weiss; Track 16: piano, André Tournier; Track 17: piano, Irène Aïtoff; Track 18: piano and flute, piano by Tasso Janopoulo, flutist not credited; Track 19: piano, Gustave Cloëz
Languages: All tracks in French
Producer:: Lewis Morris Hall
Audio Conservation:: Ward Marston
Audio Assistance:: J. Richard Harris
Photographs:: Gregor Benko, Rudi van den Bulck, Lewis Morris Hall, and Charles Mintzer
Records:: Lewis Morris Hall and Ward Marston
Booklet Notes:: Vincent Giroud
Booklet Design:: Takeshi Takahashi
Marston would like to thank Luc Bourrousse, Raymond Edwards, Michael Gray, Lawrence Holdridge, and David Mason for their help in the production of this CD.
Firebirds of Paris
French and Belgian Singers in Russian Opera and Song
In 1907, Sergei Diaghilev changed the musical landscape of Europe by introducing Russian music to Paris. Diaghilev’s Cinq Concerts Historique Russes (Five Historic Russian Concerts) was a remarkable cultural experience that left Paris hungering for Russian arts. He introduced Paris to Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Scriabin, and Rachmaninoff. As with many newly-introduced art forms, the French wanted to make Russian music their own. In a relatively short time, many of the greatest French-language singers were performing Russian repertoire in French. Firebirds of Paris is a single CD devoted to these artists such as Vanni-Marcoux, André D’Arkor, Ninon Vallin, and Georges Thill. The set also includes many rare recordings of some lesser-known, though accomplished artists. The concept of Firebirds in Paris was first presented as a program for the Vocal Record Collectors’ Society in 1999 by Lewis Morris Hall, the producer of this compilation.
