Search - Germaine Thyssens-Valentin :: Fauré: 13 Barcarolles; Thème & Variations

	Germaine Thyssens-Valentin Fauré: 13 Barcarolles; Thème & Variations Genre: Classical Testament earns a debt of gratitude by rescuing these faultless Fauré performances from undeserved obscurity. The close-up mid-1950s mono sound fully conveys Thyssens-Valentin's gorgeous tone and sophisticated touch, ... more » « less
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CD Details

All Artists: Germaine Thyssens-Valentin
Title: Fauré: 13 Barcarolles; Thème & Variations
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Testament UK
Release Date: 12/11/2001
Album Type: Import
Genre: Classical
Styles: Chamber Music, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830)
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 749677121525

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Testament earns a debt of gratitude by rescuing these faultless Fauré performances from undeserved obscurity. The close-up mid-1950s mono sound fully conveys Thyssens-Valentin's gorgeous tone and sophisticated touch, along with the graded dynamics that let us hear the way she carefully builds the tolling bell sounds of the first Barcarolle into a big climax that then slowly recedes. So while this--and the other two Testament reissues of her Fauré--are historically important, they don't force you to listen through severely dated sound. The 13 Barcarolles are wonderful works, full of gently rolling rhythms that suit their name, but also with an undertow of melancholy often missing from other performances. Thyssens-Valentin's only real rivals in this music are such past greats as Margeurite Long, whose angular, etched interpretation of No. 6 offers a contrast to Thyssens-Valentin's smoothly flowing, more introspective version, and Robert Casadesus (Sony), whose exciting, high-voltage No. 5 contrasts with her more relaxed, color-drenched performance. But those pianists didn't record all 13; Thyssens-Valentin did, and hers stands above all other versions. --Dan Davis

CD Reviews

More wonderful Fauré-playing from Thyssens-Valentin

G.D. | Norway | 10/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Germaine Thyssens-Valentin (1902-87) is rarely mentioned among the great pianists of the 20th century - her 25 years hiatus from the concert hall in order to raise her family, and the scarcity of recordings that was the consequence, probably explains why. But Testament's series of Fauré piano music makes a strong case for counting her among the great ones; she is, indeed, an extraordinary artist. The music is always superbly phrased and emerges as marvelously argued masterpieces of subtle shifts in colors and hues and subtle shifts in atmospheres, moods and emotions; what is, perhaps, most striking about Thyssens- Valentin's performances is the fabulously realized intimacy of the music. And equally miraculous is the sheer beauty of her sound, the songfulness, the delicacy of touch (required to realizes all the delicate colors that are there) and refined rhythmic sensibility. The Barcarolles exhibit many of the virtues of the Nocturnes (though aren't generally quite in their league), intimate and understated expressions of mixed, almost elusive emotions, tender and songful but not without touches of humor. They are suitably coupled with the rare, wonderful Theme & Variations, in which the subtly diverse variations are marvelously characterized, each and everyone with its own characteristic mood. The sound quality is clear and generally fine, though a little recessed. Still, this is a wonderful disc, strongly recommended."