Berlioz, Nuits d'été. Janet Baker.n°2. Le spectre de la rose

[jonjon1957jonjon]

Wonderful top, bottom & middle to the voice and a bonus hairdo!

[Aubury]

JB is the very best, remarkable voice and feeling 

[ploplisphilin]

I too adore Crespin in her studio recording of these songs, but Crespin is supposed to be perfect--because she is a native speaker of French! Baker achieves wonderful effects inspite of her training. She is also an incredible Berlioz Didon--in French and in English.

[dakwa1]

Over the years I have had so many recordings of Mrs. Janet Baker, from Barber's Sea Songs, and other pieces, yet this is a remarkable piece that really Givers her a excellent exercise of her wonderful voice.

[OperaticSam]

Incroyable. Ca m'a fait pleurer... :)

[guilhem1951]

Sublissime ! Je préfère même à Crespin ! Quelle cantatrice ! Et il faut l'entendre dans "La damnation de Faust" ! Inégalée !

[achantus1]

A fantastic enterpretation! Janet Baker gives it all, her hart and soul. Wonderful!

[1962golfinho]

Très beau, mais elle n'a pas la subtilité de Crespin, toujours imbattable.

[lovesGenet]

Wonderful art.Impeccable diction.How did she do it all so very well!

[Hugofred2]

Janet Baker est incomparable(après avoir écouter d'autres interprétation)

[marcellny]

le romantisme francais, a la perfection. gauthier, berlioz, baker.

[LohengrinT]

The Essence of Lyricism.

What a master piece of composition... what an enormously ingenious lied

[bouzignac]

Quelle mélodie !

Quelle cantatrice !

Quelle diction ! en français

Merci Madame.

[AndreKhamasmie]

I honestly would say: I dont know, if or when i have heard such an unbelievable peace of art and interpretation. It touches me in every aspect from the first till the last second. For me nothing remains to be done.

That is a singers aim. Surpassing...

[jolicrasseux]

Said by the wonderful singer that you are, your comment is deeply moving me ! Your Ständchen is beautiful.

I fully agree with you, British singer, Janet Baker is a pure perfection in these french poems !!!

Many thanks.

[marcocito]

Grande artiste! Grande interprète! Grande sensibilité! C'est du raffinement tout pur. Et quelle magnifique musique! Merci Jolicrasseux.

[philipc67]

Superb, very well sung, and with the necessary sensuality. The high notes do not strain her voice. My only objection is that she makes a huge, open, tragic lament out of it. I consider her version second only to Crespin, who remains the definitive interpreter of this sublime song.

[vivemafille]

@philipc67

I don't quite understand why so many people are enamored with Crespin's. If Berlioz can't be huge, open, and tragic, who can? Baker's interpretation is definitive. Crespin's rendition lacks direction and purpose. In addition, her vocal technique (complete and utter control and support) dwarfs Crespin.

[vivemafille]

@philipc67

I don't quite understand why so many people are enamored with Crespin's. If Berlioz can't be huge, open, and tragic, who can? Baker's interpretation is definitive. Crespin's rendition lacks direction and purpose. In addition, her vocal technique (complete and utter control and support) dwarfs Crespin's.

[mariandelochs]

Makes me weep, no matter what she sings (almost all). Brava, Dame Janet! Beautiful! Magnificent! So moving and elegant!

[TheAlannusseyday]

Fate granted me an enviable end;

To have reached an apogee so fine,

Many a man his life would rend:

In your bosom lies my shrine.

And upon the marble where I repose,

A poet inscribed, with tender kiss:

Here, in such peace, resides a rose,

All monarchs will crave its bliss.

[TheAlannusseyday]

O you who were the cause of my demise, Since you had no sway to banish death hence. At night, my spectral rose will rise, By your bed, dance attendance. Yet do not fear I beg praise or merit, In solemn mass to be eulogized. This perfumed air is my spirit, My dwelling place, paradise. Fate granted me an enviable end; To have reached an apogee so fine, Many a man his life would rend: In your bosom lies my shrine.

[TheAlannusseyday]

2 The Spectre of the Rose

Raise those eyelids which your dreams enclose,

Maiden reveries held in their sweet caress,

I am the spectre of a rose

Worn last night on your ball dress.

You plucked me - glistening still with beads of pearl,

The silver tears of moistening dew.

Amidst the star-stud, festive whirl,

You clasped me all evening through.

[vervent1]

magnifique ! je ne m'en lasse pas ! en plus la prononciation est parfaite ! chapeau !

Merci dame Janet Baker .

Annick

[cmhmuscle]

so lovely. What I always loved knowing from my orchestral pals in England is how elegant a singer she is, and how foul mouthed she could be behind the scenes, usually at herself!... LOL.

[nadaniente115a]

Sublime!

[vivemafille]

Every night my rose-colored wraith Will appear at thy bedside and dance. But fear not, for I am now owed Neither Mass nor De profundis. This fragile perfume is my soul, And Ive arrived here from paradise. My destiny was to be envied, And to suffer so lovely a fate More than one would gladly have died, For thy bosom became my grave; And on the alabaster where I repose The poet there with his soft kiss

[vivemafille]

II. The Ghost of the Rose Open those eyelids now closed, Soft-touched by a maidens pure dream; I am the ghost of the rose That you wore to the ball yester-even. You pluckt me while yet I was pearly With the watering cans silvery tears, And about the glittering soirée You paraded me under the stars. O to thou who brought about my death (For to chase death away youve no chance),

[vivemafille]

Has inscribed: "Here lies the rose

Who made even emperors jealous."

[owenboi66]

This leaves me a jibbering wreck. Simply perfect.

[khothye]

I have always love the great Dame Janet Baker since I heard her at the first time singing Bach's Magnificat. She shines specially in this kind of repertoire, showing her sublety and absolute domain of her voice and interpretation. She simply does exactly what she want, with any difficult. I'M IN LOVE WITH HER. Very thanks for post this videos. :)

[ChuloJacques]

Je viens de visualiser à nouveau cette prestation. Eh bien, moi aussi, j'arrive du paradis. Tout simplement merveilleux !

[laurion69]

Elegant, brilliant rendition.

[ChuloJacques]

Un pur instant de bonheur. Quelle interprétation !

A pure moment of happiness. What a performance!

[TheAlannusseyday]

Baker had a truly remarkable and unique voice allied to cunsumate expressive and technical control. Above all it is an enthralling, thrilling voice - her intensity, concentration and total involvement are pure joy

[3tristan]

I've heard Dame Janet Baker in the 70's in Rotterdam singing this cycle of Berlioz. Wonderful music and wonderful voice.

There is also a beautiful gramophone recording with janet Baker and Sir John Barbirolli and The New Philharmonia.

Les Nuits d'été + Ravel's Shéhérazade.

(EMI/His Master's Voice)

[bubba726]

I can hardly put my emotions into words. Such beauty in this song, consummately performed.

[carleo41]

She's incredible... I'm at a loss... and her countenance is simply taking!

[rlee1976]

Can we say expressiveness? Can we say technique? Can we say superb musicality and diction/languages? This woman had it all...and it wasn't noticeable, it was just pure expressiveness!

[vonmeppen]

simply great! I have no words for this phantastic interpretation.

[rocchisal]

D E S L U M B R A N T E!!!

[lmspr]

Janet Baker and Regine Crespin are the most perfect versions I have heard of this. Absolutely sublime.

[encoreandbravo]

I agree that both ladies do very beautiful "spectres", but I prefer Bernarda Fink (not on youtube). She wins the ladies' contest here.

The overall most interesting version, however, is by David Daniels (not on youtube either). Contrary to most other countertenors, he has a lush voice and does a brilliant job with Les Nuits d'Eté, maybe because the themes of the songs are men's themes. I'm a Daniels fan, but I know others who agree with me. Give both him and Fink a try, if you're into Berlioz.

[lmspr]

Thanks for the information. I already am a big fan of both Fink and Daniels. There is a clip of Fink's "Absence" here in YouTube. I'll check her Nuits out. I like Daniels' Nuits, but prefer Janet Baker and Crespin on this specific material. For me the most ethereal version is Crespin's. But I adore these 1972 clips with Baker. I guess it's all a matter of personal taste.

[grelad]

How stunning, simple and deeply moving. Such singing!!!

[vonmeppen]

No one can sing this like Dame Janet! Brava!

[johngotwalt]

she owns the song

[isaurelia]

C'est un chef d'oeuvre ou alors je n'y comprends absolument rien!!! Et entre cette version et celle de Regine Crespin, je ne saurai laquelle choisir, chacune a son style, une diction impecable, et les deux sont d'immenses artistes.

[jolicrasseux]

Vous avez tout compris ! Un sommet de la musique romantique française du IXX ème siècle !

En total agrément avec vous, ce que vous dites est simplement beau et vrai !

Merci.

[Noiz]

@isaurelia

Une brise douce et suave, fraiche et vivante.

Légère !

Un fruit venant de Bacchus lui même.

A la saveur infinie... Au gout tendre...

Merci ! Ô toi beauté !

[Nilakanta55]

Dame BAKER , you are a GREAT ARTIST (not kasarova) - Miss Kasarova should here learn how to sing !!!

[saraelenamendoza]

Cést tres jolie! mercie Melinanilles... toujurs!

[melinanilles]

l'émotion intacte, un hymne merveilleux: ce léger parfum est mon âme...

[wotansings]

L'art de Janet Baker est d'autant plus grand que la musique de Berlioz dans les Nuit d'été est bien insipide et les poèmes de Gauthier vraiment d'une mièvrerie insurpassable! Janet Baker : la classe! Chapeu et merci pour tout. Nul glamour que de l'art, du goût et du savoir-faire. Un exemple à suivre, assurément.

[fleurdecactuskipik]

pour commencer Gautier se passera de "h", on est pas à la parfumerie ... et c'est sûr, vraiment, Berlioz on a jamais fait pire ! "insipide" oui !!! Quant à Gautier c'est juste le pionner d'un grand courant littéraire, dont on connait la postérité ... ou pas bien sûr . quel jugement hâtif ! ... y'a de ces esthètes avertis dans le coin ... on apprécie ou pas, mais de là à faire preuve d'autant d'outrecuidance ...! Un peu de respect pour les artistes qui ont compté dans le patrimoine culturel !

[wotansings]

Ben oui, y'a des gens qui ne respectent rien, hein? Oui, les Nuits d'été, c'est nunuche à souhait (plus digeste que des horreurs comme son Requiem, d'accord.) Quant à Papa Théophile : c' était un bon critique littéraire, c'est vrai... comme disait Hugo. (Ma belle amie est morte, je pleurerai toujours..., peut mieux faire, recalé. Ce n'est pas du Baudelaire, non?) P.S. quand on critique l'orthographe de quelq'un, on ferait mieux de respecter soi-même la grammaire...Sur ce...

[ensembleartemis]

Hormis le premier fragment des nuits d'été, je suis désolé, je ne suis pas d'accord du tout quant au caractère insipide de la musique de Berlioz. Tout le génie du compositeur est d'avoir su donner une très belle forme de sensualité à un texte, il est vrai, un peu surrané. Après, tout est question de sensibilité. Mais, de grâce, si ça ne vous touche pas, ce n'est pas une raison pour mettre Berlioz au pilori. Il n'y a pas plus de vérité absolue en matière de goûts musicaux qu'ailleurs...

[wotansings]

En voilà une réaction nuancée, ça nous change. J'ai écrit "bien insipide", pas nulle (bien que je pense que Berlioz est disons surestimé, un autre débat et que j'ai horreur de sa mégalomanie chorale et orchestrale)tout en soulignant que des interprétaions comme celle de JB y donne un intérêt.Prenez par ex l'interprétation de Crespin, pour moi un bonbon rose indigeste, et je sais que les gardiens du temple vont encore hurler.

[fleurdecactuskipik]

ah, je vois que si notre rebelle difficile a l'art de cracher dans la soupe, il le fait avec nuance et retenue . c'est bien insipide, mais quand même, c'est pas trop "nul" . ouf ! qt à dire que c'est "nunuche", une fois de + on fait dans la dentelle ! quelle critique pertinente ! bon, c'est sûr, si on ne voit ds le romantisme que les petits oiseaux et les petites fleurettes, là c'est un peu cuit, je crains qu'on ne passe outre l'essence de la chose ...

[fleurdecactuskipik]

... comme il faut manquer cruellement de sensibilité pour ne pas se laisser gagner par ces oeuvres à la beauté pure, fraiche, candide et ignorante d'elle-même ...! et surtout, comme il faut être naîf pour ne pas deviner ce qui se trame derrière ces apparentes mièvreries si je puis dire, l'édifice métaphysique monumental et son cortège de nébulosités névralgiques infinies ... le spectre de la rose n'est pas que l'histoire d'une jolie fleurette qui raconte sa vie à mon humble avis !

[fleurdecactuskipik]

... et les vieux arguments d'autorité ! comme c'est facile de se ranger du coté d'Hugo et Baudelaire ! Ils étaient incontestablement des génies, mais les querelles d'école st à remettre ds leur contexte, et il n'y a pas eu qu'eux dans la poésie romantique et post-romantique ! pq leur accorder autant de crédit ? qt à juger Gautier sur un seul vers çà me parait un peu petit ! Avez vous lu l'intégralité de son oeuvre au contraire ?

[fleurdecactuskipik]

et la "mégalomanie chorale et orchestrale" de Berlioz n'est qu'un corollaire de son statut tt naturel (et inconscient d'ailleurs) de gd Romantique! c'est sûr que ds cette optique il y a tjs un gd primat de l'individu, et tt y est inscrit ds la démesure! Berlioz n'aurait pas été Berlioz ss cette "mégalomanie"! c'est l'apanage même des Romantiques! par ailleurs pr un compositeur, "mégalomane" çà me semble presque une qualité, quasi essentielle même à vrai dire ! Que dire de Beethov, Brahms etc ?

[fleurdecactuskipik]

Je suis outrée de tant de dogmatisme ! chacun sa perception de l'oeuvre, mais respectons le patrimoine sacré! c'est qd même un comble de parler de gens qui ont compté pr bcp ds le destin culturel collectif en ces termes ! la plupart des gens qui balancent des vieilles casses verreuses et méchantes gratuitement sur le dos de génies morts n'ont sûrement pas mis la main à la pate ... Composez, enregistrez et publiez vous sur youtube qu'on compare à Berlioz et Gautier ...! Un peu d'humilité, crotte

[wotansings]

La fleurdecactus se fâche, comme c'est drôle... De grâce, calmez-vous! Patrimoine sacré??? Mon oeil, ça existe dans la religion (pour ceux qui en ont besoin), mais certainement pas dans l'art! Pour ce qui est du romantisme, faut pas mélanger le pompier avec de la grandeur. Oui, pour moi (comme pour bien d'autres, Berlioz n'est pas un compositeur de génie. Et puis quoi? Et Papa Théophile (ardent défenseur de Hugo et CB)un peintre raté et poète médiocre. L'art pour l'art... non merci. Salutations

[fleurdecactuskipik]

... pas très convaincant . mon beau discours enflammé a + d'allure ! ah ya bien de quoi rigoler 5 min finalement sur internet . on se marre bien avec les fins esthètes de youtube ! enfin chacun son avis, même si c'est moi qui ai raison ^^

[birgitnilsson]

comme tu me casses les roupettes, avec ta métaphysique de supermarché....fleurdecactus

[wotansings]

je ne savais pas que birgit nilsson avait des roupettes... on en apprend tous les jours, lol

[miuzefreak]

Faaaantastic piece ... the music and , oh my god , the words !!! Dame Janet Baker is such a gifted musician and singer . My first love in classical singing along with Monrserrat Caballé

[1000000moonsandastar]

Thank you Dame Janet Baker. This is the first time I saw you on a video.

You are so beautiful. You have mended my broken heart.

[fleurdecactuskipik]

A bon entendeur, salut ! je m'en vais vaquer à mes occupations farfelues, toute réjouie d'entendre encore à mes oreilles toutes ouïes les douces paroles du spectre de la rose (qui hier encore s'était éclose), et résonner dans ma tête quelques échos de la voix de Janet, qui sont comme des éclats du Divin dans la brume du matin !!! (il est 17h mais c'était pour la rime !)

[fleurdecactuskipik]

Je suis outrée à chaque fois d'être contrainte de maîtriser ma logorrhée par ce "nbre de caractères limités" dans les messages qui m'empoisonne l'existence et je vais finir par être contrainte d'utiliser le langage sms, calamité, horreur et damnation, la barbe . bref je voulais vous conseiller mon cher jolicrasseux de regarder les valses de Chopin interprétées par Yundi Li, mon autre coqueluche du moment, pour rester ds le domaine romantique ! Si vous ne les avez point déjà vues, cela s'entend !

[fleurdecactuskipik]

Bien le bonjour jolicrasseux !!! Je suis fort aise de voir que dans les obscurs confins d'internet il y a des gens bien tels que vous (et moaaaaaa ! ^^) héhé ! enfin laissons cette outrecuidance de coté, je viens d'écouter "Villanelle" qui ma foi m'a ravi une nouvelle fois le coeur et l'esprit ! mais enfin je préfère tt de même Le spectrre de la rrrrose qui à mes oreilles est un accomplissement extatique, et qui pour tout dire est devenu mon hymne que je chante quotidiennement sous la douche !!!

[fleurdecactuskipik]

et vive Janet !!! un subtil mélange de naturel, de passion ... de perfection . C'est pur, c'est sublime . Elle semble vivre la musique et la comprend tt simplement, en portant le poids métaphysique de ce qu'elle dit comme un fardeau précieux ... comme quoi il y a encore quelques esthètes passionnés dans ces siècles de dégénerescence où l'âme humaine en perdition semble descendre des poubelles pleines de musique classique ... O rage !!! O desespouaaaaare !!!

[jolicrasseux]

Ma pôôôôôvre ! Comme vous avez raison !

C'était en 1972, au siècle dernier... il y avait encore quelques humains sur cette planète, il restait même des romantiques...

J'adore votre style !!!

S'il vous plaît, écrivez souvent !

Et merci !

[fleurdecactuskipik]

Ce léger parfum ... est mon âââââââme .... ce léger parfuuuuum, est mon AAAAAAAAAAAAME !!!!!!!! et j'aaarrrrrrrrrrive du paaaarrrrrradiiiiiiis, j'arrrrrrive, du parrrradiiis ..... magnifique ! c'est ... éblouissant . La sublime musique de Berlioz est en parfaite harmonie avec le poème de Théophile Gautier, cette oeuvre est un bijou . merci d'avoir mis cette vidéo !

[laughsingdance]

I love this version of the song. Dame Janet Baker is someone I look up to as a mezzo. I am singing it in a recital for graduate school and this has been an inspiration to be a more warmly emotional singer. My French still needs work. It is the hardest art song I have ever learned.

[serbo2]

I have never heard a singer like her. Janet sings with so much love and warmth, she takes you right to her soul and while you are there in her arms,your view upon the world changes. She is a great musician, one who trully understands the human condition.

[jolicrasseux]

You fell in love for her...! as I did !

A British Lady singing with such perfection french language is marvelous.

Thank you !

[leomulder]

I'm impressed. What a beautiful voice! Her Das Lied von der Erde with King and Haitink is very famous, I'd like very much to know.

[derbratsche]

Mendelssohn frequently asserted that Berlioz "Wrote garish music, which pains the ear"

....I have long held Les Nuits d'été as proof Felix may just (this once) have been wrong about something.

She has a gorgeous voice, and her interpretation is just stunning...but I found some of her facial expression distracting...almost pained.

[141407078989]

love her low at 2:50 and love her, what a beautiful voice

[davidnoar]

muy buena version de este ciclo de canciones.

[cantanteporsiempre]

what I love more about this woman is that every time she stands on a stage, she looks so natural and humble, and respects music so much that makes me cry. brava.

[uniqueattack]

Her voice sounds so beautiful and free! I thought I didn't want to hear anyone but Crespin but I truly enjoyed this performance. Does anyone know if Horne ever recorded this?

[mltube]

Yes, she did. And on video as well. But I would suggest sampling Steber, which is my favorite Le Nuits.

[dorotheafayne]

What an amazing performance and singer... Dorothea

[FABRIZIO82]

Je t'embrasse très fort, mon joli crasseux!

[jolicrasseux]

Moi aussi mon Fabrizio82 !!! Mais, sur quelles joues se posent nos bisous...? Moi, je pique avec une vieille barbe blanche !

[Barboteur]

Quelle intensité, quelle puissante interprétation, quelle consistance incroyable. On nourrit vraiment sa vie avec de tels moments! Et pour longtemps! Merci à Janet Baker pour ces merveilleuses Nuits d'Eté. Ainsi qu' à jolicrasseux (pas mal ton pseudo! on a du mal à l'écrire après ça).

[felipecunha]

Brava, Dame Janet!

[robles146]

it makes me wanna cry... her voice is just beautiful and so inspiring...

[emmapeels]

prodigieux ! merci !

[Italia1987]

i love it i love it!!! she's amazing

[MaxxUS08]

Why is there so little of this great conductor on here in comparison to others? Great performance! I particularly enjoy his conducting with the San Francisco Sym!

[maplecoyotewoman]

I get chills everytime I listen to Baker sing this piece. She is the rose.

[egooidios]

this version is the perfection itself. I really had to stand at the end out of pure respect for Dame Janet Baker

[owenboi66]

I'm just glad to have Crespin and Baker in this repertoire! Baker is darker, being a mezzo, so naturally she brings a different sound to the work. I happen to think it works particularly well in this song. As for the idiot who said that Berlioz never quite manages to achieve a melody ... Words fail me. If this isn't a supreme melody, what is?

[jolicrasseux]

Only thank you Owenboi66, supreme is the word !

[Weillfanatic]

Thank you, I am not an idiot, but appreciation your sweeping presumption.

This piece perhaps has the strongest melody of the "nuits" cycle, which I am currently learning and preparing to perform. Now I have got into the subtext, musical subtleties, etc. I can appreciate the piece in its own right. With the right singer, it works.

[Weillfanatic]

I meant "appreciate", not "appreciation."

[Weillfanatic]

However, most of the cycle still leaves me unmoved. I maintain that Berlioz's melodic lines DO pontificate rather than enthrall. Prominent opera critic Rodney Milnes shares my opinion.

A person who expresses a difference of opinion to your own is not an idiot. Choosing to personally attack them, however, does expose YOUR ignorance.

[Weillfanatic]

"for all those intermittent moments, he is unbearably long-winded, utterly humourless, devoid of any sense of stage time, and incapable of sustaining a melodic argument." Rodney Milnes.

[mltube]

Give it some time, and each song will open to you like an amazing flower. Never mind opera critics. Berlioz was not an opera composer. He was the greatest composer of film music, far ahead of his time :-). You may also want to hear how Steber sings it. Baker's approach is very similar, but Steber has far better support from the conductor, which is almost as important in these songs as the singing itself.

[Weillfanatic]

Well, I appreciate your comment. Thanks.

[mltube]

It is the most atmospheric song in this stunning cycle. One should actually smell it, as well as listen. I have a tiny qualm abut the way it is presented here: it sounds a liitle prosaic to me, with too slow tempi keeping the aroma low off the ground.

[tamesse]

Wonderful voice, I was really touched by her beautiful performance. Bravo and thank yoy,

[marcocito]

Quelle est cette façon de toujours comparer les interprètes. Mmme Baker chante drôlement bien les Nuits d'été. Il est vrai que Crespin le chante divinement. Chacun a sa façon d'interpréter, et c'est bien ainsi.C'est comme visiter un pays, et dire ici ce n'est pas comme chez-moi. Que c'est détestable! Si tu ne veux pas la différence, reste chez-toi.

[jolicrasseux]

Vous avez entièrement raison Marcocito, ce genre de querelles est du pur chauvinisme, ça me rappelle Crespin à Bayreuth, en Sieglinde, une Française quelle hérésie !!! Madame Baker chante merveilleusement ces "nuits" Elle me touche de pureté et d'humilité ! Merci, votre cause est juste !

[frenchyfrench]

Crespin is so much better.I'm French.Believe me the way Crespin understand both Berlioz and Gaultier is just a miracle.Baker said she made a mistake to sing that after Crespin.Anyway, the voice is great and it s very musical. But nothing to do with Crespin when you perfectly understand what she say in French.

[Weillfanatic]

What is it about Berlioz that bores me pantsless?

Perhaps it is his constant ability to hover near a melody but never quite find it...

[jolicrasseux]

Have you ever found a perfection anywhere ? Weaknesses are our human lot and they don't prevent us from emotion in front of pure beauty !

[sagalat]

I mistakenly thought so, too, for years until I heard his Grande Symphonie funèbre et triomphale which Wagner himself called the summit of French music. Listen, you will neither be bored NOT pants-less, my friend

[Prissie27]

Lovely!!

[troubleclef]

so captivating. what a sound! gorgeous. love her, love her, love her.  so glad somebody posted some JB

[kekszilva]

I can agree with joilicrasseux, Crespin is much better than Baker. But for me the best is David Daniels. His "Les Nuits d'Été" is amazing!!!

[jolicrasseux]

Sorry, Kekszilva, I wouldn't say Crespin is better than Baker...in fact i Prefer Dame Janet ! I compared a cat and a lion. I also prefer the cat !

[mariogorga]

Also one of my most favorite songs,Dame Janet was always very good in the Nuit d'ete cycle but I always go back to the Regine Crespin version.

[jolicrasseux]

Would you know any video on Crespin's "nuits d'été" ? Having an audio recording, I'd like to upload it, but what pictures might I add ?

Comparing Baker and Crespin = a cat and a lion...!

[mariogorga]

Dear jolicrasseux,in answer to you question you will find thar Regine Crespin singing Berlioz is avaible thru EMI,CLASSIC ARCHIVE series on DVD together with Denise Duval.A must have for Crespin funs.How come there is no Crespin in YouTube??

[embenadorfinearts]

In contemporary interpretations (besides the legendary Régine Crespin and Suzanne Danco) and in a very different music climate, Véronique Gens is remarquable!

[embenadorfinearts]

With intensity and integrity she conceives music and poems as a complete entity and incorporates every possible detail. Her musical accents are so intelligent & emotional that makes this performance exceptional, especially due to the poor literacy poems by Gautier. Part second of second

[delphine2310]

I do agree with you, your words are true and precise

[embenadorfinearts]

Janet Baker is one of the very rare singers to have such variety of repertoire. Here she deploys an immensely deep emotion which her voice rends very well with a deep comprehension of the French text. Her sense of phrasing and legato are of rare beauty, always towards music in one of most amazing compositions by Berlioz. see second part..

[mdol]

I LOVE Dame Janet (but she did have questionable fashion sense, it was 72 after all)

[dinacarina88]

Janet Baker Forever!

[BeauTenor]

This is one of my favorite songs ever...it's just incredible, and she does it SO WELL.

[benderpm]

Janet was such a fine singer.

[Toscarpia]

Wonderful ! Thank you very very much ! What a lesson, my God !

[Gabba01]

O wow, thanks alot. I love this song, and Janet Baker singing it.