RTF Classical releases Paris 1913: L'Offrande lyique - music by Auric, Boulanger, Caplet, Chaminade, Debussy, Durey, Fauré, Grovlez, Hahn, Milhaud, Ravel, Ropartz, Saint-Saëns and Satie, in partnership with Nimbus Alliance, on 7 February 2025 (NI 6455).
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The world première recording of Louis Durey’s L’Offrande lyrique Op. 4, six songs set to texts by Rabindranath Tagore (recipient of the 1913 Nobel Prize for Literature) in French translation by André Gide, is a highlight of this collection. Inspired by the atonality of Arnold Schoenberg’s The Book of Hanging Gardens, and often credited as the first piece of free twelve-note technique in French music, L’Offrande lyrique navigates a harmonic language which can hold clarity and vivid colour in Lumière ! ma lumière !, or blur into dark heavy clouded gesture in Les nuages s’entassent, effectively supporting Tagore’s language. At times, the words seem to muse over seemingly unconnected piano motifs, before meeting - sometimes harmonically, sometimes not - sometimes walking the same path, other times meandering separately again. For Paris 1913 to include a world première recording of such important music, written over a century ago, is thrilling, and places Durey firmly alongside his contemporaries in the cafés and salons of pre-war Paris. Far from being overshadowed by the better-known composers in this anthology, these songs stand as a testament to the strength of French melodies of the era. © Andrew Matthews-Owen & Claire Booth
Claire Booth
British soprano Claire Booth is renowned for the vitality and musicianship that she brings to the operatic stage and concert platform, with a versatility that encompasses repertoire spanning from Monteverdi and Handel, through Rossini, Berg and Strauss, to a fearless commitment to the music of the present day... A champion of lesser performed vocal repertoire, Booth has released a series of vocal retrospectives of Grainger, Grieg, Mussorgsky and Schoenberg. Her discovery of Durey’s ‘L’Offrande Lyrique’ fits squarely into this narrative, and she is extremely happy to partner with long-time friend and collaborator Andrew Matthews-Owen for this inaugural recording of Durey’s work. © www.claire-booth.com
Andrew Matthews-Owen
Welsh-born pianist Andrew Matthews-Owen studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where he received numerous prizes and has been elected an honorary Associate. He now enjoys a busy career partnering some of the most successful classical singers of our time, on the concert platform, on acclaimed commercial records, on broadcasts and as a vocal coach. Andrew has partnered singers including Patricia Bardon, Susan Bickley, Claire Booth, Susan Bullock and many more.
Claire Booth
British soprano Claire Booth is renowned for the vitality and musicianship that she brings to the operatic stage and concert platform, with a versatility that encompasses repertoire spanning from Monteverdi and Handel, through Rossini, Berg and Strauss, to a fearless commitment to the music of the present day... A champion of lesser performed vocal repertoire, Booth has released a series of vocal retrospectives of Grainger, Grieg, Mussorgsky and Schoenberg. Her discovery of Durey’s ‘L’Offrande Lyrique’ fits squarely into this narrative, and she is extremely happy to partner with long-time friend and collaborator Andrew Matthews-Owen for this inaugural recording of Durey’s work. © www.claire-booth.com
Andrew Matthews-Owen
Welsh-born pianist Andrew Matthews-Owen studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where he received numerous prizes and has been elected an honorary Associate. He now enjoys a busy career partnering some of the most successful classical singers of our time, on the concert platform, on acclaimed commercial records, on broadcasts and as a vocal coach. Andrew has partnered singers including Patricia Bardon, Susan Bickley, Claire Booth, Susan Bullock and many more.
RFT Classical is a record label owned by the Richard Thomas Foundation, aiming to bring interesting and occasionally challenging pieces of contemporary music to new audiences. Our first recording of songs with Claire Booth and Andrew Matthews-Owen (and Susan Bickley) was Songs and Vexations (2019) including songs by Debussy, Fauré, Satie and Jonathon Dove, which went on to win the ALLMUSIC.COM “2019 Vocal Recording of the Year”.
Press kit and listening link available for reviewers and radio producers from Ulysses Arts.