5.Ernest Chausson, Irma Kolassi, Poème de l´amour et de la mer, le temps des lilas

Part 3. suite and finale.´La mort de l´amour`, (´le temps des lilas`).

A recurrent theme in the art of the end of the 19th century: the death of love. The subject agonizes because of a loss of love that sinks him in a merciless self or in an inhospitable, hostile world.

Ernest Chausson, french composer 1855-1899, created his ´poem of love and sea` over an extended period : 1882 and 1892. The poem consists of three parts: 1. ´La fleur des eaux`- ´the flower of the water`. 2. orchestral interlude. 3. ´La mort de l´amour`- ´the death of love`. It uses two poems by Chausson´s friend, poet Maurice Bouchor, 1855-1929. In the third part another poem by the same author is added: ´Le temps des lilas`- ´the time of lilacs`.

The whole work soaks in a voluptuous melancholy emerging from an opulent harmonic context. Feel free to detect currents coming from the athosphere of Baudelaire and Duparc (it is dedicated to him) or music streams descending from Massenet and above all Wagner.

Irma Kolassi, greek mezzo of armenian-french origins, occupies a special place in the hearts of melomanes and in the history of singing. She was born in Greece on the 28th of May 1918. She studied piano and singing in Athens and then in Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome. After 1949 she moved to Paris and straight forward developed an internationnal career (Europe and N. America) mainly focused on the refined interpretation of French music (mostly Ravel, Debussy, Chausson, Faurè etc.), oratorio and lied. She gave the world premières of works by several french composers (D. Milhaud, A. Honegger, H. Andrienssen etc.). She is admired for her soft, velvet timbre; her even, instrumental voice; her ability to construct beautiful, long phrases; her impeccable diction and noble intonation; the absence of artifacts. Kolassi has been honoured with the highest distinctions of the French State and cultural institutions. She lives and teaches in Paris.

Her rendition of Chausson´s poem is considered as one of her major achievements and an absolute reference to whoever wishes to listen to this work. Louis de Froment extracts from the London Philharmonic Orchestra all the necessary colours to create a world of reserved and noble grief. 1955. A strongly recommended cd of Decca/London.

Painting:
Lucio Fontana, Spatial Concept, 1962.

Enjoy.

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[bruckner4444]

Pour moi, c'est la plus belle version de cette si belle chanson...

[PhilPhilUSA]

profoundly great and noble expression... and yes so sad.

[andreas111075]

Incredibly beautiful. And so sad.