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La jeune fille a la fenetre eugene samuel holeman

La jeune fille à la fenêtre
Samuel-Holeman

Pauline Claes - Sturm und Klang - Thomas Van Haeperen - Mathias Lecomte

Label : Musique en Wallonie
Release: september 2019

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Contemporary of Claude Debussy and close friend of Maurice Maeterlinck, the composer Eugène Samuel-Holeman (1863-1942) takes us to the heart of the fin-de-siècle milieu in Belgium, between symbolism and modernism. "La jeune fille à la fenêtre" (1904) is a sung monodrama with a text by the writer Camille Lemonnier (1844-1913), a major figure in Belgian literature. Created and championed for about a decade by the famous mezzo-soprano Jane Bathori, this "lyrical prose" is astonishing both for its instrumentation and its innovative harmonies, bearing witness to the emancipation of musical language at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Eugène Samuel-Holeman, La Jeune fille à la fenêtre - Teaser

Reviews

"The Young Girl at the Window" dates from 1904-1906, and the ear is immediately struck by the unusual instrumental lineup (harp, horn, oboe, and strings), which, combined with the refinement of the writing, inevitably evokes memories of Ravel's experiments in this field, with even a slight hint of "Transfigured Night" here and there. Nonetheless, Samuel-Holeman expresses himself in a personal style."

Laurent Bury – Forumopera.com – September 30, 2019

 

"The entire vocal part of this three-quarter-hour score is well defended by Pauline Claes, through a component of bitterness, nostalgia, regret, and inevitability, feelings that speak to the soul and challenge us about the fragility of human nature. The performance by the Sturm und Drang ensemble, founded in 2000 by Thomas Van Haeperen and conducted by him, is exemplary. [...] Their complicity with Pauline Claes is in tune with this indispensable resurrection."

Jean Lacroix – LIVRaisons – Octobre 19, 2019

 

"This piece enjoyed great success until the 1920s thanks to the mezzo Jane Bathori and is one of the rare testimonies of the symbolist musical movement in Belgium. To give contemporary colors to this once modernist song, the contemporary ensemble Sturm und Klang has teamed up with the generous tone of mezzo-soprano Pauline Claes."

Stéphane Renard – L’Écho – November 2, 2019