Gerard Souzay!
My father was a great music lover. He loved Schubert, and Mahler, and Mozart. And I am always grateful to him for having classical music in our home; I heard this music either on the radio, in live performances (my father was a violinist), and on recordings.
I recall that about 60 years ago (1952) my father purchased a recording of Schubert songs, performed by Baritone Gerard Souzay. I loved Mr. Souzay’s singing style, his wonderful voice, and the sensitive way in which he presented the poems which Franz Schubert had set to music. And we are lucky that Schubert left us more than 600 of his Lieder!
Today… at 5 AM I heard Gerard Souzay perform some French songs, which were also his specialty.
This recording is an album of 4 CD’s, with selections by Schubert, Schumann, Debussy, Ravel, Duparc and others, as performed by Mr. Souzay; it was issued in February, 2010
Gerard Souzay was born in 1918. He attended the Paris Conservatoire from 1940 to1945. In 1944, while still a student, he made his professional debut and his first two recordings. He did a limited amount of operatic work, even the role of Don Giovanni, but his true excellence was displayed in his performance of French songs and of German Lieder.
Here is Gerard Souzay performing “Nacht und Träume D827” (Night and Dreams) by Franz Schubert. See if you don’t agree with my view that Souzay’s musicality, phrasing, sustaining the sound, diction, and the expression of longing in this song are nothing short of amazing!
And… Souzay was a master of giving us the French song! Here he is performing Henri Duparc:
And finally here’s Schubert’s “Die Forelle” in a truly moving interpretation:
If you’d like to purchase the Album at Amazon, you may do so by clicking below:
Tags: Gerard Souzay, Schubert, Schumann, Duparc, Debussy, Ravel