Fernand de La Tombelle - Mélodies (Tassis Christoyannis; Jeff Cohen)

Information

Composer: Fernand de La Tombelle

1. Hier au soir
2. Les Larmes
3. Il me l'a dit
4. Ischia
5. Croyez-moi !
6. La Croix de bois
7. Les Papillons
8. Passez nuages roses
9. Cavalier mongol
10. Souvenir
11. Promenade nocturne
12. Elle est loin
13. Sans toi
14. Sonnet
15. Veux-tu les chansons de la plaine ?
16. Ha ! Les bœufs
17. Chant-Prière pour les Morts de France
18. Vieille Chanson
19. Si le roi m'avait donné
20. La Pernette
21. Couplets de Chérubin
22. Ballade
23. Pourquoi ?

Tassis Christoyannis, baritone

Jeff Cohen, piano

Date: 2017

Label: Aparté

https://tassischristoyannis.bandcamp.com/album/fernand-de-la-tombelle-m-lodies

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Review

Tassis Christoyannis and Jeff Cohen continue their survey of the lesser-known French song repertory with this splendid disc of mélodies by Fernand de La Tombelle (1854-1928), a titled aristocrat, best known in his day as a virtuoso organist, though he also combined composition with work as a folklorist, writer and amateur astronomer. His songs were primarily written for performance at the salons he and his wife Henriette regularly hosted in their Paris apartment or their chateau in the Dordogne. The texts of many are attributed simply to an ‘unknown author’ – thought to be Henriette herself, who was a playwright under the pseudonym Camille Bruno.

The songs themselves are variable. Duparc’s influence is detectable in many of them, though one also notices a fondness for ‘endless melodies’ – self-referential but unrepeating – that suggests a strong familiarity with Wagnerian methodology. The best of him is wonderful. Among the high points are a ravishing setting of Lamartine’s ‘Ischia’, its bittersweet mood beautifully conveyed, and the haunting ‘Chant-Prière pour les Morts de France’, an elegy for the fallen in the First World War. He’s less successful, though, when it comes to genre pieces and folk-song arrangements. The orientalisms of ‘Cavalier mongol’ don’t quite convince. ‘La pernette’, based on a traditional Burgundian tune, goes on for ever and leaves you with an un-dislodgeable earworm.

There’s no mistaking the fineness of Christoyannis’s artistry. He sculpts phrases with great refinement and warmth of tone. There’s some superb soft singing here, above all in the melancholy ‘Passez, nuages roses’ and the regretful ‘Souvenir’. His way with words is immaculate, as one might expect: in ‘Ischia’ we’re aware we’re listening to great poetry as well as beautiful singing; his verbal dexterity steers us through ‘La pernette’, with its dialogues and multiple characters, though it doesn’t quite redeem the song. La Tombelle’s piano-writing is effective, if sometimes sparse: Cohen plays with subtlety and strength. It’s all faultlessly done.

-- Tim Ashley, Gramophone

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Fernand de La Tombelle (3 August 1854 – 13 August 1928) was a French organist and composer. Born in Paris, he was a pupil of Sigismund Thalberg and Franz Liszt. He also took private lessons with Alexandre Guilmant, as well as studied with Théodore Dubois at the Conservatoire de Paris. For his compositions he was twice awarded the gold medal at the Grand Prix Pleyel. From 1896 to 1904, he was the first harmony teacher at the Schola Cantorum; among his students was Déodat de Séverac. In addition to music, La Tombelle was also active as a writer, sculptor, painter, photographer, music ethnologist and astronomer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernand_de_La_Tombelle

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Tassis Christoyannis (born Athens, 1967) is a Greek operatic baritone. He studied conducting and composing at the Athens Conservatory and singing with Aldo Protti, winning the Aldo Protti Gold Medal in 1994. He was a member of Greek National Opera from 1995 to 1999, and has been principal baritone of Deutsche Opera am Rhein since 2000. He has performed in concert around the world, including at Carnegie Hall, New York. In addition to operatic roles he is known for his recordings of French melodies with American pianist Jeff Cohen, primarily for the Palazzetto Bru Zane and Aparté.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tassis_Christoyannis
http://www.roh.org.uk/people/tassis-christoyannis

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