Debussy perhaps mind the minor flaws in French, he loved Teyte and Garden. Such radically different singers, Teyte restrained, cool and perfect, Garden, sensuous and sweeping. Thanks goodness for the Gramaphone.
I wonder what makes the bass notes in Le Faune sound like a timpani... The effect is absolutely spellbinding but how is it achieved? Were I to pick my desert island discs, this minute and a half of magic would definitely make the cut.
This might be one of the earliest cases of a "prepared piano", later explored by John Cage! But I don't think it is prescribed in the score by Debussy. Cortot must have placed a tool (piece of cardboard?) between the g- and d-strings of the bass in order to create that damping effect...
Undoubtedly a significant document, with some really lovely, clear and cultured singing (and playing) but, to my ears and despite all Margaret Tate's 'Frenchification' I can still hear too much 'Englishness' in her approach and delivery to be 100% convinced by it (and yes, I know that Debussy liked her ... !)
Debussy more than "liked" her, Julian. As critical as he was, he selected HER to sing the role of Mélisande, and she studied his music with him for nine months, to his complete satisfaction. Also, she studied with Jean de Reszke in Paris, lived there for many years, even married a French advocate etc....quite a "Frenchification"! ;-) Not sure what you mean by "Englishness" in her approach (diction?), but it doesn't bother me at all...I think this is delightful, enchanting...the 1936 Debussy recordings are miraculous, also thanks to Cortot's magic...and they proof that you don't have to be French to be able to sing Debussy's music idiomatically!
I agree that these performances are enchanting and delightful but to my ears just a little too inflected by English 'correctness' - actually, amongst English singers, I find Janet Baker more idiomatic in her delivery of French repertoire (not that, to my knowledge she ever sang these Debussy songs). Re Maggie's 'Frenchification', it is perhaps worth remembering that by 1936 she had not lived in France for over 25 years and had long-since ditched her French husband. Maybe her 'Englishness' was beginning to re-establish itself ... but I'm aware that we all hear things differently!
Maybe I need a bit more of "Anglicisation" before I completely understand what you are talking about! If there is any "correctness" here, whether it is British or French, I consider it a positive feature. Yes, we all hear things differently, but in this case I find nothing to criticize...her singing may not be completely convincing to you, but I do think Teyte's (Tate's) style is perfectly idiomatic here... Even if she went back to England later in life, her French educational experiences (including Debussy's coaching) were clearly still intact & preserved in 1936... Like I wrote on the previous post, I think we CAN be pretty sure that this way of interpreting had Debussy's approval, but of course this is not the ONLY valid way to interpret Debussy's songs!
