Let’s focus on two tracks from the album:
Natalie Dessay is best known as a coloratura soprano—think stratospheric highs and rapid-fire ornamentation. But in this recording, she doesn’t "sing" the piano part. Instead, she performs the Poèmes of Louis de Vigny? No. Wait. Correction: On this specific album, Dessay and Cassard explore the intersection of voice and piano through transcriptions and mélodies. Debussy. Clair de lune -Dessay- Cassard- -FLAC-
But every generation, an artist comes along to rip the velvet off the piano strings. Let’s focus on two tracks from the album:
Beyond the Stereotype: Rediscovering Debussy’s Clair de lune through the Lens of Dessay & Cassard (FLAC Review) But every generation, an artist comes along to
Let’s address the elephant in the recital hall. Claude Debussy’s Clair de lune (Suite Bergamasque, L. 75, No. 3) is arguably the most overplayed, over-streamed, and unfortunately, under-listened piece in the piano repertoire. It has been reduced to elevator muzak, ringtones, and "relaxing piano" playlists that strip it of its harmonic audacity.
Cassard refuses the sentimental slowdown. Most pianists play the opening andante très expressif as if they are wading through honey. Cassard moves with a gentle, flowing gait. In FLAC, listen to the pianississimo (very, very soft) at measure 27. Most systems will lose this to background noise. On a good DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter), you hear Cassard’s fingers barely grazing the keys—like moonlight on water, not like a floodlight.
Have you heard Dessay sing Debussy? Does the FLAC version change your perception of this overplayed classic? Let us know in the comments below. #Debussy #ClairDeLune #NatalieDessay #PhilippeCassard #FLAC #Audiophile #ClassicalMusic #LosslessAudio #FrenchMelodie