Description
Released in Aboulker”s 80th birth year
Julia Kogan soprano
Isabelle Aboulker piano
Isabelle ABOULKER (1938–)
”mélodies • songs”
en français and in English
Julia Kogan, soprano
Isabelle Aboulker, piano
Première commercial recordings: tracks 2, 4–6, 8–11, 15, 16, 18
(all songs sung in the original French, and also in English)
CD1 (in French)
1. Le Lion devenu vieux
2. La Chatte métamorphosée en femme
3. L’Inconstante
Savoir vivre et usage mondains
4. …à propos de la chaussette blanche…
5. …comment on offre le bras…
6. …et à propos de gants…
7. Le Loup et l’Agneau
8. La femme qui craignait le tonnerre
9. La Femme noyée
10. Escale à Rio
11. Au marché Saint-Paul, j’irai
12. La Cigale et la Fourmi
13. L’Archet
14. La Tortue et les deux Canards
15. Tenir
16. Lettre d’amour
17. Le Corbeau et le Renard
18. La Princesse au Petit Pois
19. Couplets: Jusqu’au plaisir de nous revoir…
20. Je t’aime: vocalise amoureuse pour soprano éperdue
CD2 (in English – translations by Timothy Ades and Julia Kogan)
1. The Lion in old age
2. The Cat transformed into a Woman
3. The inconstant one
Guide to Fine Etiquette and Worldly Manners
4. …on the subject of White Socks…
5. …offering one’s Arm…
6. …and about Gloves…
7. The Wolf and the Lamb
8. The Woman who feared thunder
9. The drowned Wife
10. Stopover in Rio
11. I am off to the market day
12. The Grasshopper and the Ant
13. The Bow
14. The Tortoise and the Two Ducks
15. Holding
16. Love letter
17. The Crow and the Fox
18. The Princess and the Pea
19. Couplets: We certainly must meet again…
20. I love you: amorous vocalise for distraught soprano
Recorded at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford on Avon, UK, 8–10, 12–15 August 2017
24bit, 48kHz hi-resolution recording and mastering
Produced by Peter Bronder and Julia Kogan
Engineered by Daniel Thomason and Peter Bronder • Edited and mastered by Adaq Kahn
Photos taken by: Ben Ealovega, Edmond Rosenfeld and Robin Totterman
Artwork: David Murphy
2CD DigiSleeve album
Press Quotes
“All great, but if asked to pick just one item, I’d settle on the gatefold double album from octogenarian French composer and pianist Isabelle Aboulker. She accompanies soprano Julia Kogan in authoritative, affectionate performances of 20 songs which belong to the French chanson tradition. Aboulker’s elegant settings of fables and etiquette tips are compelling. Plus, we get each song twice, the witty English versions courtesy of master translator Timothy Adès. It’s really, really enjoyable. Help make it a best-seller, and buy your copy today.” (The Arts Desk – Best Classical CDs of 2019 pick)
“Never heard of Isabelle Aboulker?… This smartly conceived double album allows us to sample what non-francophones have been missing… Kogan’s voice never grates, and her immaculate diction means that anyone with a smattering of French will be able to follow what’s going on…. An important, enjoyable set.” (Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk)
“This lovely set of two discs, one with melodies en Francais, the other with songs in English, consists of art songs written by Isabelle Aboulker, captivatingly sung by soprano Julia Kogan. A deep testament not only to the breadth of Aboulker’s life’s work but also to the long friendship between the two artists, this album will charm and delight. And, with textual subject matter ranging from love letters and fables to Pushkin couplets, this work is worthwhile for your favorite literary Francophile.” (American Record Guide)
Julia Kogan also on FHR