“Les Filles du Rhin Rheinmädchen”
Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner
The Rhine hymned by women’s voices.
A major source of inspiration for writers and painters (Hugo, Nerval, Heine, Eichendorff, Turner) and above all composers throughout Romantic Europe, the legends of the Rhine still enthral our imaginations even today. The Ensemble Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon invite us on a fantastic voyage through famous works (including Wagner) and others, much more rarely recorded, that are absolute gems of the repertory for female voices.
harmonia mundi
1 hour 14 minutes — 1 CD — March 2016
Awards
La presse en parle
‘We are charmed by the Pygmalion ensemble’s interpretation, which is full of finesse and precision. The polyphony is highlighted with a clarity that is magnified by the naturally reverberant sound recording. Emmanuel Ceysson’s seraphic harp also deserves special mention. It enhances the magic of certain episodes such as Schumann’s dreamy Wiegenlied, Brahms’ four Gesänge, and even the prelude to Das Rheingold, performed by twenty-four female voices, harp, four horns and two double basses.’ (Jean-Noël Coucoureux, 2016)
‘Raphaël Pichon pays homage to the legendary sources of Romantic Germany in this new album, which takes us on a journey in six stages – from the Daughters of Morpheus to the Daughters of the Rhine, via Les Pleureuses and Sirènes – where the music is by turns enchanting and wild, but always evocative.’ (Marie-Aude Roux, 2016)
‘Not only does this instrumentarium never seem weak, but the balance is perfect. With this enchanting disc, Pygmalion inaugurates a trilogy devoted to the art of the canon in German music, where this compositional technique, used since the Renaissance, is constantly being updated.’ (Sophie Bourdais, 2016)