Milhaud, D.: Alissa / L'Amour Chante / Poemes Juifs

Featuring

Carole Farley
John Constable
Darius Milhaud

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Milhaud's Conservatoire master, André Gédalge, advised him to 'just write eight bars that can be sung unaccompanied,' influencing Milhaud's expressive lyricism.

Composer Biography

Darius Milhaud, one of the most prolific 20th-century composers, completed 443 works by the time he died at age 81.

Performer Biography

Carole Farley, the soprano on this recording, made her Metropolitan Opera debut at age nineteen in the title role of Lulu, a role she has performed a hundred times in four languages.

Recording & Production

L'Amour chante, Op. 409, is a world premiere recording on this album.

Composition History

Milhaud's song-cycle Alissa, Op. 9, was inspired by André Gide's short novel La Porte étroite, which profoundly influenced the composer.

Compositional Technique

In Poèmes juifs, Milhaud subtly uses polytonality, where the piano's left hand is in one key and the right in another, with the vocal line threading between them.