Episode 367. Bernac Sings Not-Poulenc
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SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM
Continuing our exploration of queer pride in classical music, I bring you the great baryton-martin Pierre Bernac (1899 – 1979), known first and foremost as a creator of some of the most exquisite mélodies of his friend and musical partner Francis Poulenc. Later Bernac became renowned as the exemplar of style and taste in the interpretation of French art song. In this episode, however, I wanted to explore his contribution as a singer of the music of composers other than Poulenc. I had already found some great orchestral song cycles by André Jolivet and Louis Beydts, as well as a sublimely anachronistic recording of a Bach cantata, but just yesterday I came upon a series of rare recordings that Bernac made in 1935 for the Ultraphone label. These include songs by Debussy and Hahn accompanied by pianists Jean Doyen and Boris Golschmann (who was the brother of the conductor Vladimir Golschmann, and whose tragic story I relate), as well as an earlier (and even more exquisite) recording of Chausson’s “Le colibri.” But perhaps the crown jewels among these early records were two duets with the exquisite French-Algerian soprano Leïla Ben Sedira which won the Grand Prix du Disque in 1936. I have folded these deeply satisfying early recordings into the setlist that I had already partially assembled for a very special episode that I hope that you will enjoy!
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Emmanuel Chabrier, Éphraïm Mikhaël: L’île heureuse. Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc [1950]
Camille Saint-Saëns, Jules Barbier: El desdichado. Leïla Ben Sedira, Pierre Bernac, Jean Doyen [1935]
Johann Sebastian Bach: Aria. Meine Seele rühmt und preist (Meine Seele rühmt und preist, BWV 189). Pierre Bernac, Orchestra conducted by Charles Münch [1943]
Charles Gounod, Alphonse de Lamartine: Au rossignol. Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc [BBC 1957]
Reynaldo Hahn, Paul Verlaine: L’incrédule. Pierre Bernac, Boris Golschmann [ca. 1935]
Reynaldo Hahn, Jean Lahor [Henri Cazalis]: Nocturne. Pierre Bernac, Boris Golschmann [ca. 1935]
Ernest Chausson, Leconte de Lisle: Le Colibri, Op. 2/7. Pierre Bernac, Jean Doyen [1935]
Franz Liszt, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Freudvoll und Leidvoll. Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc [1938]
Robert Schumann, Heinrich Heine: Dein Angesicht, Op. 127/2. Pierre Bernac, Gerald Moore [1950]
Robert Schumann, Heinrich Heine: Ich hab’ im Traum geweinet (Dichterliebe, Op. 48/13). Pierre Bernac, Robert Casadesus [1952]
Pierre Vellones, Charles Fontaine: À mon fils. Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc [1942]
Georges Auric, René Chalupt: Le gloxinia (Trois Interludes, No. 2). Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc [1936]
Louis Beydts, Tristan l’Hermite: La belle esclave morte (La lyre et les amours, No. 3). Pierre Bernac, Orchestra conducted by Louis Beydts [1943]
André Jolivet: La complainte du soldat vaincu (Les trois complaintes du soldat, No. 1). Pierre Bernac, Charles Münch, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire [1943]
Samuel Barber, Rainer Maria Rilke: Mélodies Passagères, Op. 27. I. Puisque tout passe; II. Un cygne; III. Tombeau dans un parc; IV. Le clocher chante; V. Départ. Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc [1952]
Maurice Ravel, Stéphane Mallarmé: Sainte, M.9. Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc [1936]
Maurice Ravel, Jules Renard: Le Paon (Histoires naturelles, M.50/1). Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc [1950]
Maurice Ravel, Paul Morand: Chanson à boire (Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, M.84/3). Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc [live Festival de Bordeaux 26.V.52]
Claude Debussy, Paul Bourget: Les cloches. Pierre Bernac, Jean Doyen [1935]
Claude Debussy, Paul Verlaine: Colloque sentimental (Fêtes galantes II, L.80/3). Pierre Bernac, Jean Doyen [1935]
Ernest Chausson, Théodore de Banville: La nuit, Op. 11/1. Leïla Ben Sedira, Pierre Bernac, Jean Doyen [1935]