In Dreams / En rêves / In Traume

THE CD IS OUT AND IT IS EVERYTHING THAT COULD BE HOPED FOR FROM THE SAMPLING!
Though the CD of these MP3 selections won't be release until October, it is well worth the investment to purchase each one of these songs for you pleasure right now. This is the formal recorded introduction of an astonishingly gifted new baritone from Canada who is only 23 years old and has the vocal and intuitive maturity of one much more experienced in years and in performance an din the discoveries of life. He won the Metropolitan National Council Audition in 2011 and since that time (and even before that time) he has proven to have a golden voice, striking handsome gook looks of a movie star, a stage manner in difficult roles that proves his acting skills, and a personality that is warm, ingratiating, and communicative with the audience both while singing and while accepting the thunderous applause. He is most assuredly a star in the ascent.
The collection of songs here and on the upcoming CD are gathered under the title `In Dreams/En rêves/In Träume' and with his collaborator Michael McMahon at the piano the recital is as follows;

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Dichterliebe, Op. 48

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Don Quichotte à Dulcinée

Guy Ropartz (1864-1955)
Poèmes d'après l'intermezzo d'Heinrich Heine

Jonathan Dove (1959 - )
Three Tennyson Songs in a World Premiere Recording.

Sly's affinity for the Schumann 'Dichterliebe' is evident in the manner in which he approaches the varying moods of each of the sixteen songs: as the poet he portrays the varying emotions of each of these moods with conviction, graceful tone, and exceptional attention to the poetry of the Lyrisches Intermezzo of Heinrich Heine. His German diction is perfect. Being French -Canadian it seems natural for Sly to make the difficult `Don Quichotte à Dulcinée' songs of Ravel his own - a fact that he clearly does with the first few bars. TO hear him change so comfortably between languages and periods is a sign of a very intelligent well-trained singer.

The music of French composer Guy Ropartz is less well known, at least in this country, but his `Poèmes d'après l'intermezzo d'Heinrich Heine' dating back to 1899 make a strong statement for his importance the way that Sly brings them to life. The final works are three songs by the prolific British composer Jonathan Dove, best known for his several operas. These Tennyson Songs are definitely in the contemporary mode but they are accessible and bear hearing frequently. Here Sly again marries his vocal finesse with the English lyrics with the pure beauty of sound from his rich baritone resources. This is a collection or sampling of music from the mid 1800s to the present day and Philippe Sly, graced with the superb pianism of Michael McMahon, makes a case for the standard of performance of lieder reached by only a few. Grady Harp, September 12

I want to agree with the enthusiastic praise of young Philippe Sly offered already, but there's also more to say in detail. To be one of the winners of the Met's national auditions doesn't guarantee a high-profile career. One hears immediately why the judges were impressed by such a young singer. The voice is rounded and mature-sounding, with a natural flair for open-hearted romance. These qualities show up in particular in the Three Tennyson Songs written for Sly by a composer friend in Canada, Jonathan Dove. they bring out the strong middle register of Sly's voice, and with emotions worn on his sleeve, he sounds in English astonishingly like Josh Groban. A crossover career awaits if Sly wants it.

But his natural gift is for German lieder and French chansons. sly attracted immediate notice with a YouTube video where he sings Schubert's Erlkonig. I think he was barely twenty-one, but the authority of the interpretation made it seem as if Sly was Gerard Souzay in his prime. Or to come closer to home, he sounded like Sanford Sylvan, the exceptional lieder singer who was one of his teachers at McGill University. In voice and manner student and teacher are very close.

With that video in mind, I was eager to hear what Sly could do with Schumann's ardent Dichterliebe cycle. The news is mixed. In the faster songs he does beautifully. One believes that his is a poet in the springtime of love, careless in rapture and sorrow. But the slow songs aren't quite as successful. He has o trouble sustaining a long line, but the emotion turns a little generic - for the first time, I was aware of a gifted singer who is still on a learning curve. sly isn't helped by the dragging tempos set by his accompanist, whose solo playing - an important element in Schumann's song writing - is prosaic throughout.

Better are the chansons by the obscure French composer Guy Repartz (who was quite long-lived, 1864-1955). These Quatre poemes are taken from the same collection of Heine lyrics that Schumann drew upon; they are quasi-Faure more than quasi-Ravel, and Sly sings them more comfortably than the Schumann, no doubt because of his French-Canadian background. Just as impressive are Ravel's little song cycle Don Quichotte a dulcinee. Sly is far form sounding like the aged knight of the woeful countenance, but his musical instincts serve him well here, and the listener's enjoyment isn't hounded, as it was in Dichterliebe, by past greats who did more as mature artists than Sly can do right now in his early twenties.

This is a potentially great singer of art songs, a genre that attracts baritones because they can shine outside the shadow of tenors, who steal the juicy parts in the opera house. Sly will no doubt focus on becoming an opera star, as well he should. He has finished a year in the San Francisco Opera's apprentice program, and when the time is right, I'm sure the Met will beckon. but if he could keep his eye on lieder and chansons, the audience, although much smaller, will adore him. It's hard not to already.

This debut recording from Philippe Sly, with accompanist Michael McMahon, is another fine offering from the Canadian label Analekta that helps to promote home-grown artists. This CD contains a good mix of familiar lieder repertoire, from Robert Schumann and Ravel, and more off-the-beaten-track songs, from Guy Ropartz and some new songs that British composer Jonathan Dove composed for Sly. The latter is what gives this recital its particular interest, particularly with the Ropartz, since very few recordings outside of France exist of Ropartz's songs inspired by Heinrich Heine's "Lyriches Intermezzo". This makes a nice and indeed sly (pun intended) connection between the Ropartz works and Schumann's "Dichterliebe", since both of them derive from the same Heine literary original. The new Jonathan Dove settings of Shakespeare are in a very accessible idiom that should not put off anyone who might be concerned about "modern music".

Although Sly is clearly the center of attention, and understandably, as he is a fine singer who gives good performances and sings intelligently throughout, McMahon should not be ignored, as subliminally communicated by the smallness of the print font on the CD cover. In fact, McMahon deserves a huge degree of credit for part of the enterprise of this album, since it was his idea to include the Ropartz songs as part of this album. McMahon is a very fine accompanist through, and deserves something closer to equal billing as a true artistic partner here.

One aspect of this album does bring down my overall rating a bit. You should be aware that the CD booklet does not contain any of the sung texts. But more than that, there is no note in the CD booklet to tell you that you can download the texts from Analekta's website. It's understandable these days to save on printing costs by omitting sung texts and directing customers to the label's website to find pdf's of the CD booklet. However, Analekta dropped the ball in all aspects here, by not simply omitting the texts, but omitting where you can track them down. Black mark there, I'm afraid.

Still, once you know that with this album, you won't be getting any sung texts and that you have to find them on Analekta's site, if either the repertoire on this CD or checking out emerging young singing talent interests you, this CD is certainly worth checking out.