La Voix - Patrick Burgan

La voix (The voice) — the title of this album is not only a reference to the first melody heard, but a broader tribute to the voice that Patrick Burgan has so magnificently honored throughout his works, as well as to the now-silent voices of the great writers who inspired them.

In a recital of art songs, the voice is often alone. Yet it can also find a counterpart, as with the violin here, which takes a brief moment to converse with its soprano sister in a short duet. But there is one voice that occupies a significant space—so much so that we tend to forget its own particular vocality: that of the piano!

What better introduction to a disc dedicated to the voice than this long and gentle pianistic melopée that provokes the singer’s awed question: “Who is singing there?” The poetry of Philippe Jaccottet, in its apparent simplicity, opens vast horizons on the world, its appearances, and its hidden reality. The voice in his poem is intangible, unreachable. It is like the “invisible bird.” One must be patient and listen to the intimacy of silence. The voice spoken of here is not one we hear; the piano itself is merely a distorted mirror of it. Only silence allows us to sense it. And “only the heart can hear it…”

La voix (Philippe Jaccottet : extrait de L'Ignorant)

Hugoliennes (Victor Hugo) 

Prière *  (Victor Hugo : extrait de Je respire où tu palpites...)

Cyrano dans la lune (Edmond Rostand : extrait de Cyrano de Bergerac) 

La lune blanche (Paul Verlaine)

Rilke Lieder (Rainer Maria Rilke)

Le spectre de la rose (Théophile Gautier)

Yuki Daruma (Haiku traditionnel)

Barcarolle (Étude-vocalise sur les grands intervalles)

Sonnet pointu (Edmond Haraucourt)

Anne Warthmann, soprano
Ninon Hannecart-Ségal, piano
*Hector Burgan, violin