Nuits D'ete/Mort De Cleopatre

Some might think that, at just a hair over 61 minutes, this CD is small measure. Not so! These are some of Hector Berlioz's most important non-operatic vocal writings.

And they are gems as sung here by Véronique Gens. While normally thought of as a Baroque specialist (and I have a recording of Rameau's "Dardanus" which testifies to her expertise in that repertoire), Gens is more than "reasonably close to perfection" in these Berlioz works.

The two main works on this CD - Les nuits d'été and La mort de Cléopatre - are hardly strangers to the vocal repertoire. Neither has lacked recordings that many Berlioz lovers treasure. For Les nuits d'été alone, I number at least three - by Regine Crespin, Janet Baker and Jan DeGaetani - among such "treasures."

Gens, a lyric soprano, brings a sense of lightness and air to this song cycle that is, while different than, say, Baker's or DeGaetani's approach, nonetheless effective in its own right. Her relative lightness works very well in "Vilanelle," but she has more than enough vocal range and "adaptability" so that the more poignant songs in the cycle, such as "Le Spectre de la rose," are suitably captured as well: her expressive range, and her perfect knowledge of the language, are just fine for singing a song cycle for which Berlioz's directions as to voice-casting were not exactly cast in stone.

La mort de Cléopatre is an early Berlioz work, one of four such cantatas that he had submitted for the Prix de Rome competition. Put simply, he was too original for the competition committee to deal with him, and this cantata (the third of the four) was the one for which he simply threw his arms up in the air and wrote what he felt like. (Only on the fourth try, with a by-now almost forgotten cantata named Sardanapale, did he "play by the rules" and win.)

This cantata is every bit as revolutionary - and as bold - as Berlioz' most famous work, Symphonie fantastique, which shares approximate date of creation with it. It is full of original touches both harmonic and rhythmic (touches, in fact, that would contribute to labeling him as "wayward," "undisciplined" and even "untrained"). Gens readily shifts gears here, demonstrating a dramatic and tragic side not present in Les nuits d'été. The closing pages - as Cléopatre lays dying from the asp's bite - are rendered with chilling and moving effectiveness.

The remaining three songs, originally for voice and piano, are skillfully orchestrated by this most innovative orchestrator (who literally "wrote the book" on the subject). Particularly appealing is "Zaïde": with its castanets and its Spanish flair, it looks forward to Bizet and the Carmen that was yet to come, decades later.

There is a minor mislabeling error on my copy of this recording. "Zaïde," actually the final (10th) track (and properly identified in the booklet), is listed as track 8 on the package and on the disc as well. But no one will have any difficulty identifying "Zaïde" from the brief description above.

Gens shows a real affinity for this music, despite her French Baroque repertoire background. I'm not sure that any of the singers earlier mentioned, with the obvious exception of Regine Crespin, could have done as fine a job overall. Truly "Gens gems." And the orchestral support, with Louis Langrée leading the Lyon Opera Orchestra, is superb, as are the recorded sonics. Finally, the package is topped off with excellent and detailed booklet notes.

Bon anniversaire, M. Berlioz!