01. Phidyle (de Lisle) [5'11]
02. L'Invitation au Voyage (Baudelaire) [4'44]
03. La Vie Anterieure (Baudelaire) [4'05]
04. Le Manoir de Rosemonde (de Bonnieres) [2'39]
05. Testament (Silvestre) [3'37]
06. Au pays ou se fait la guerre (Gautier) [5'25]
07. Chanson Triste (Lahor) [3'12]
Maurice Ravel:
08.- 10. Sheherazade [15'29]
Kiri Te Kanawa- soprano, Belgian National Opera Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Pritchard
EMI Japan CC38-3220 (recorded June & July 1983; this CD release 1984. Also issued in Europe as EMI CDC 7471112)
(flac and scans)
Recording venue: Belgian Radio Studios, Brussels
Recording engineer: Neville Boyling; Producer: John Fraser
I was surprised that an internet search didn't reveal these recordings (even in reissued guise with additional material) as being easily available. Unfortunately, this Japanese issue means that the sleevenotes are useless to non-Japanese readers so I apologise that I have abbreviated the scans to just the pages with English and French.
Te Kanawa's performances of seven of the eight songs that Duparc orchestrated are very beautiful and appreciate their very refined romanticism. The Ravel is equally beautiful. She is ably supported by the orchestra under John Pritchard's masterly direction and I think this is one of her very finest discs. Some critics have found the performances without sufficient drama and understanding of the poems but this has never bothered me.