Saturday, May 16, 2015

ROMANTIC NIGHTS WITH REYNALDO




Every once in awhile, I like to throw a curve ball and write a blog post that no one will be interested in except myself.

It's May. Spring is in the air (along with pollen, allergies, bees, wasps, and assorted horrifying Tennessee mountain bugs that I've never before heard of). Despite all of the unexpected annoyances of mountain living, the weather is gorgeous. My rustic surroundings are inspiring. I'm in an acutely romantic mood. And I'll make a confession:

I've been spending my nights with Reynaldo.

My readers are gasping in horror, blessing themselves with signs of the cross, and expunging me from their "friends" lists.

I've been in love with Reynaldo ever since I was a music student in Los Angeles. We seem to have lost touch through the years, but have finally been recently reacquainted - thanks to YouTube.


I'm talking about the extraordinary but sorely neglected French composer Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947). He was actually born in Venezuela but his family moved to Paris when he was three years old.

 As a composer, Hahn's style and influence is exclusively French. He was a child prodigy and studied with the French masters: Massenet, Gounod, and Saint-Saens. Hahn composed an extraordinary amount of music - including operas, ballets, symphonies, and concertos. He was also a singer, conductor, music critic, and diarist. Today, he seems to be mostly remembered for his charming songs for voice and piano.

Reynaldo Hahn was extremely popular during his career and was the darling of the Belle Epoque drawing rooms (I won't mention the fact that he and Marcel Proust were lovers). 

I've chosen two of my favorite songs by Hahn - both of which are highly romantic and depict moonlit nights.

La Barcheta (The Little Boat) was written in 1901 and is from a series of six Italian-style songs, entitled Venezia (Chansons en Dialecte Venitien)
It depicts a romantic ride on a gondola in the moonlight.

It is sung by the delightful Italian bass  Giovanni Furlanetto.
Actually, he sings two songs by Reynaldo Hahn: La Barcheta (The Little Boat) and Che Peca (What a Shame)
 





L'Heure Exquise (The Exuisite Hour) was written in 1893 when Hahn was only nineteen.
It is based on the poem La Lune Blanche by Paul Verlaine, which depicts a moonlit night by a lake.

It is sung by the American bass Jason Hardy.
(the video has English subtitles)




 
And for those of you who are still awake and paying attention, I have an extreme rarity.

This is a ancient gramophone recording of Reynaldo Hahn actually singing La Barcheta and accompanying himself on the piano. It was recorded in 1909, when he was 35.
Over 115 years ago!!!!!!

The audio quality is really horrible and it seems much too fast, but what can you expect from a recording so old?


Since Hahn was a tenor, he sings La Barcheta in a slightly higher register than Furlanetto does.

19 comments:

  1. Awake and paying attention. Very nice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Paula, I'm glad that I didn't put you to sleep. Is it still raining in TX?

      Delete
  2. All lovely.But my favorite was the vintage recording from 1909. It was mesmerizing. I just wondered if you know if renowned violinist Hilary Hahn is related to Reynaldo?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's amazing that recordings exist from so long ago. At least we have some idea of what Hahn's voice sounded like.
      I did some research on Hilary Hahn, and so far as I can tell she's not related to Reynaldo Hahn. Interesting....

      Delete
  3. What a fascinating post. I had never heard of Hahn before. I love La Barcheta, and what it makes me think of is the soundtrack to an old film. Such a "period" sound. Actually I liked the tempo of the old recording, although I think that in the early days there was not necessarily a great match between the speed it was recorded at and the nominal speed 78 or 80 rpm, that was written on the label. It could be interesting to slow it down a bit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed the post, Jenny. There seems to be a recent revival of Hahn's music. I've found numerous compositions of his on YouTube.

      Delete
  4. Jon,
    You're right, I never heard of Reynaldo. But I understand writing a blog post just for yourself, I often do it myself. After all, it's your blog and if you get pleasure from writing about a subject you like, just do it. Thanks for sharing.
    Ron

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ron. I subtly incorporate a semblance of a learning experience for those willing to listen.

      Delete
  5. Like Ron, I never heard of Reynaldo ... but appreciate your 'fleshing out' the man behind the score. Proust, hmmm?
    Not just this image - but like so many others of that era - I wonder what he was thinking ... or, if he struggled not to smile. So youthful, so very serious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It only lasted a few years.....Proust wasn't easy to get along with (much like his writing isn't easy to read.....). I don't think I've ever seen a photo of Reynaldo smiling.

      Delete
  6. Thank you for this, Jon. I did not know of Hahn's work. I know of poet Verlaine and realize his words, "De chaque branche
    part une voix sous la ramée…" were MEANT to be sung. What a grand and kindly composer Reynaldo was --indeed, "Let us dream. It is the hour."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What I like most about "L'heure exquise" is the enchanting simplicity. You're right - - Verlaine's words were meant to be sung.

      Delete
    2. Geo. - - Reynaldo Hahn started setting Verlaine's poems to music when he was twelve and didn't finish until many years later. Verlaine heard Hahn play these songs and it is said that the poet loved them so much that he wept.

      Delete
  7. I'm ashamed to say that I wasn't familiar with Hahn, but I enjoyed these very much. The old recording is amazing isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm surprised that recordings exist from that long ago and I'm also happy to know that some of Hahn's music is now available on YouTube.

      Delete
  8. Never heard of Reynaldo but it's much more tolerable than those Tennessee bugs you were talking about. ha! I know that!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm still being mercilessly chased by wasps and bees. And I've found a few spiders that have given me nightmares.

    ReplyDelete
  10. this stupid thing won't accept my google whatever anyway - I like FB better wish you were there...if you ever head down to Florida St Petersburg let me know I will buy you dinner...:) love Sandi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Sandi - it's been a long time!!!! How are you doing? I lost your email address. Please keep in touch.

      Delete

I love comments. Go ahead and leave one - I won't bite. But make sure you have a rabies shot just in case.