Sophie Karthäuser, Stéphane Degout, Eugene Asti & Alain Planès - Debussy: Harmonie du soir, mélodies & songs (2018) [CD-Rip]

The centenary of Claude Debussy's death has awaited a strong recording of his mélodies, or songs, and this fine duo recital by soprano Sophie Karthäuser and baritone Stéphane Degout, conceived by the pair themselves, has many strengths. One is that there's not only a pair of accompanists, Eugène Asti and Alain Planès, but they're not in one-to-one correspondence with the singers. This gives each one room to explore more unconventional interpretations, such as the very hushed piano in the three Chansons de Bilitis with Karthäuser, which may be sampled. The songs are grouped in the sets from which they come, all devoted to works by a single poet, and there's plenty to chew on here as the chronological development of Debussy's style is set against his engagement with poetry; almost half of Debussy's 100 songs are included, with an emphasis on those from sets of poetry. The title of the box comes from that of a poem by Baudelaire in the settings of the Cinq poèmes that close out the program, and Belgian soprano Karthäuser is sensitive to the subtlety of his verse. Here again there is a nice contrast with Degout's singing; her strength is a luminous beauty of tone. The intimate sound from the Teldex Studio in Berlin is ideal. ~ James Manheim