Gerard Souzay: Ganymed D.544

Gerard Souzay sings Ganymed with warmth, ideal diction and poetic insight.

Gérard Souzay's public appearances began in 1945 with recitals and concerts, including a performance of Fauré's Requiem in a centenary tribute to the composer at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He rapidly established an international career as a recitalist, admired not only in French music but also for his command of the German repertoire, especially Schubert and Schumann. In recital, his first accompanist was Jacqueline Bonneau (who had been his contemporary at the Paris Conservatoire), but she was reluctant to travel and from 1954 onwards he formed a close partnership with the American pianist Dalton Baldwin which continued for the rest of his career. Souzay's exceptional linguistic gifts enabled him to sing convincingly in 13 different languages including Hebrew, Portuguese and Russian. In contemporary music he performed in Honegger's La danse des morts and in the world première of Stravinsky's Canticum sacrum. The composer Jacques Leguerney (1906-1997) wrote many songs for Souzay and for his sister. His operatic career began in 1947 in Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, but it was not until the late 1950s that he extended his stage work - though even then it did not take precedence over his recitals. His roles included Monteverdi's Orfeo, Mozart's Don Giovanni and Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Lescaut in Massenet's Manon, and Méphistophélès in Berlioz's La damnation de Faust. One of his favorite and most successful roles was Golaud in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande. He did little operatic work after the 1960s, but continued his recital career, finally retiring from performance in the late 1980s. He spent the last years of his life giving master classes in the United States, Europe and Japan: he was an inspiring teacher, preferring to work on phrasing and the mood of a song rather than French diction. He was a keen abstract painter, and in 1983 he published a book Sur mon chemin: pensées et dessins [1] in which a selection of his paintings was accompanied by his written commentary, on art and life. He died at his home in Antibes in the south of France on 17 August 2004.
- Wikipedia

- Obituary: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2004/aug/18/guardianobituaries.france

Category:

Music

Tags:

• ganymed
• lieder
• schubert
• souzay

[ganymmedes]

wunderbar !!

[piasecznik]

@tenorjamestaylor

Uh... what about Cambon or Thill?

[clytemnestre1]

Ok with Gerard Souzay but ... Should be usefull to listen to Thomas Questoff in the same piece....

[tenorjamestaylor]

Only French singer worth a hill of beans in the last 100 years. Amazing his German.

[pkrdy3]

Who is the accompanist on this recording?

[marijke0607]

@SoulNotes1 I could not agree more...the top!

[SoulNotes1]

Thanks for this absolute gem of a voice and this beautiful lieder. Stupendous Souzay!

[kuddelfranz20001]

Für mich der grösste Bariton-Liedrsänger

[vonspre]

I am coming, I am coming! but whither? To where? Upwards I strive, upwards! The clouds float downwards, the clouds bow down to yearning love. To me! To me! In your lap upwards! Embracing, embraced! Upwards to your bosom, All-loving Father!

[vonspre]

(3) I am coming, I am coming! but whither? To where? Upwards I strive, upwards! The clouds float downwards, the clouds bow down to yearning love. To me! To me! In your lap upwards! Embracing, embraced! Upwards to your bosom, All-loving Father!