# Vocal music similar to Debussy/Ravel?



## Cnote11 (Jul 17, 2010)

I always wish to expand my collection of vocal music in general, and two of my favorites happen to be Debussy and Ravel, so I was wondering if anybody could recommend me any discs that you would reckon I would enjoy.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)




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## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

For French vocal music from that era, try the chansons of Gabriel Faure, who was Ravel's teacher. Faure's music has one foot in the romantic era, one foot in the "impressionist" / fin-de-siecle period. A few examples:

"Chanson d'amour" op. 27, no. 1:






"Apres un reve," op. 7, no. 1:






Hyperion has done the complete songs of Faure (four volumes, I believe):

















I have read about but not heard a fine older set from the 70s on EMI:


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## Cnote11 (Jul 17, 2010)

Faure is one of my favorite composers, but I've never really heard (or thought to hear) his vocal works, so that is a great recommendation. You'd think that would be an obvious choice for me, and yet I hadn't thought of it. So, thank you very much!

Szymanowski, I haven't heard much of. I'm reading Scriabin, impressionist, and atonal influences, all of which play very well to my tastes! 

So far, so splendid. Thank you both very much, Aramis to Alypius.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Most directly in the same musical ballpark would be the _Mélodies_ (French, art song) of Henri Duparc and Francis Poulenc. They are each more in what is now considered that modern but gently so 20th century musical vocabulary which is closest to Debussy and Ravel while each composer has their own distinctive voice.

Duparc's music remaining to us is little (a pyschological condition had him ceasing to compose at a young age) but what we have is highly esteemed as some of the finest of the literature. This is late romantic on the cusp of modern, fine writing, and very much French school vs. sounding more Germanic -- which was a predominating taste and style of his time.

We have much more from Poulenc, the emotional range being from near cafe-style charming waltzes to the deeper emotional states, with wonderful writing being a constant. (if you want to go further into vocal / choral rep, Poulenc's _Gloria_ is wonderful, there are a number of other very fine choral works as well as acapella works, like his _Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence_ and _Litanies à la vierge noire._) Poulenc's music is resolutely modern yet very conservatively so while having the originality of a uniquely personal stamp on everything he wrote.

Both composer's _Mélodies_ are highly esteemed, a must inclusion in considering the body of art song literature, and I think you would find great pleasure and satisfaction in exploring their songs.

ADD: Three other 20th century French composers whose songs are worth checking out, again each are not so musically far afield from the Debussy / Ravel style, while they are distinctly different.
Charles Koechlin; Darius Milhaud.
Erik Satie wrote some irresistibly and seductively charming songs which are waltzes, and not at all far from the music hall dance floor


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Another French composer (with a very small body of work because of her early death) would be Lili Boulanger.

This disc is worth getting to know.


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## AST (Oct 8, 2014)

Look into Joseph Marx. He was German, but has Impressionistic tendencies. Gorgeous songs.

http://www.joseph-marx.org/en/discography.html#Songs


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