Various Composers - Choses vues… et chantées! Les voix de Victor Hugo (Courtin; Palloc; Barbier)

Information

1. Rue de Chartres…
2. Gabriel Fauré - Deux Mélodies, Op. 1: No. 1, Le papillon et la fleur
3. Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte
4. La pluie…
5. Reynaldo Hahn - Si mes vers avaient des ailes
6. Promenade à Wallendorf
7. Franz Liszt - Oh ! quand je dors, S.282/1
8. La liberté d'aimer
9. Gaetano Donizetti - Nuits d'été à Pausilippe, A 183-194: No. 6, Le crépuscule
10. Le voleur de pain
11. Le chiffonnier de Notre-Dame
12. Le serrurier de Bruxelles
13. Le rêve du Palais-Royal
14. Franz Liszt - Comment disaient-ils ? S.276
15. Guizot
16. Talleyrand
17. Franz Liszt - Enfant, si j'étais roi, S.283
18. Pensées politiques
19. L'abolition de l'esclavage
20. Il n'y a qu'un Homme…
21. Le rêve de Guernesey
22. Georges Bizet - La chanson du fou, WD 86
23. Mal à la tête et mal aux dents
24. Benjamin Britten - Quatre Chansons françaises: No. 3, L'Enfance
25. Madame de Chateaubriand
26. Juliette
27. César Franck - Roses et papillons, CFF 152
28. Le duc et le prisonnier
29. Georges Bizet - Adieux de l'hôtesse arabe, WD 72
30. Humblot, condamné à mort
31. Chopart, condamné à mort
32. Dieu
33. Édouard Lalo - 6 Mélodies, Op. 17: No. 4, Dieu qui sourit et qui donne !
34. Les Contemplations, Livre Quatrième, poème XI

Pauline Courtin, soprano

Antoine Palloc, piano

Christophe Barbier, reciter

Date: 2025

Label: Aparté

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In 2025, France marks the 140th anniversary of Victor Hugo’s death, honoring his immense influence as poet, novelist, playwright, essayist, politician, and activist. The album Choses vues … et chantées! – Les Voix de Victor Hugo, created by soprano Pauline Courtin, pianist Antoine Palloc, and reciter Christophe Barbier, pays tribute to his legacy. It blends art songs by Fauré, Bizet, Liszt, Hahn, and Britten, all set to Hugo’s poetry, with readings from Choses vues, his posthumously published collection of notes and memories, offering a rich portrait of this towering figure of 19th-century culture.

Pauline Courtin (b. 1977), a graduate of the Marseille Conservatory, CNIPAL, and Rome’s Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, launched her career with debuts in Rome and Lucca as Blondchen in The Abduction from the Seraglio. She has since become a versatile soprano with an international career, performing on major French stages including the Paris Opera, Théâtre du Châtelet, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, and Toulouse, in roles ranging from Gilda, Despina, and Eurydice to Micaëla and Sister Constance. Abroad, she has appeared at festivals and opera houses across Europe, South America, Asia, and Russia, singing a wide repertoire that highlights her adaptability and expressive artistry.

Antoine Palloc, pianist from Nice, studied with Catherine Collard before specializing in vocal accompaniment under Dalton Baldwin and Martin Katz. Dedicated to serving voice and text, he has built an international career as recital partner to leading singers including Sonya Yoncheva, Karine Deshayes, Patricia Petibon, Jennifer Larmore, and Frederica von Stade. Since 2013, he has been musical director of the recital series L’Instant Lyrique. Palloc has performed in major venues worldwide, from Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall to the Paris Opera and Concertgebouw. Also a committed teacher, he gives masterclasses across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. His discography spans recordings for Warner Classics, Decca, Saphir, Opera Rara, and Harmonia Mundi.

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