Fauré: La bonne chanson & L'horizon chimérique - Mélodies de Duparc, Chausson, Debussy, Saint-Saëns...

On July 5th, we will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Charles Panzéra’s passing. In the mid-1920s, microphone recording opened up new aesthetic possibilities for music producers: records could finally capture the nuances and refinement of the mélodie, the quintessential intimate genre. The Swiss baritone Charles Panzéra would become the first star of electrical recording and would establish the prestige of the great French art song cycles - notably Fauré’s L’horizon chimérique, the master’s ultimate vocal masterpiece, which was dedicated to him. This release is largely devoted to recordings of the wonderful singer accompanied at the piano by his devoted wife Magdeleine. It showcases an artist uniquely attentive to the nuances of the text, who would go on to mentor the most brilliant singers of the next generation, foremost among them Gérard Souzay. Finally, it highlights several rare orchestral recordings (Debussy, Chausson, Caplet) conducted by Piero Coppola.