French Art Songs of the Nineteenth Century by Philip Hale

French Art Songs of the Nineteenth Century by Philip Hale

The lyric art song, in which the piano plays as large a part as the vocal melody, is one of the characteristic products of the nineteenth century. These 39 French art songs, with complete vocals and accompaniments, original words, and English singing translations, constitute a well-chosen, representative collection from the ever-popular Romantic period. Much of this material is not available elsewhere.
French Art Songs includes works by the following composers: Hector Berlioz, Georges Bizet, Cecil Chaminade, Ernest Chausson, Claude Debussy (six songs), Leo Delibes, Henri Duparc, Gabriel Faure, Cesar Franck, Benjamin Godard, Charles Gounod, Reynaldo Hahn, Vincent d'Indy, Jules Massenet, Gabriel Pierne, Camille Saint-Saens, Ambroise Thomas, and Charles-Marie Widor.
The songs range from Berlioz's Villanelle, composed about 1835, to d'Indy's Lied maritime (1896). Bizet's Pastorale, Debussy's Harmonie du soir, Delibes's Les filles de Cadiz, Faure's Clair de lune, and Massenet's Ouvre tes yeux bleux are just some of the well-known pieces included in this collection.
Chosen by Philip Hale, an important turn-of-the-century American music critic, this superb selection of art songs provides unusual material for any performing soprano or tenor and accompanist as well as amateur singers and players. And many of the relatively simple but beautiful works in this well-edited and clearly printed edition are ideally suited for beginning voice students.