Sophie Karthauser and Eugene Asti – Le Bal des animaux (2018) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

With the exception of one sole Rossini piece – and even then, the text isn’t very Italian as it’s the Cats’ Duet whose only lyric is “miaow” – this whole programme is dedicated to French works, mostly vocal, with a couple for solo piano. Sophie Karthäuser and Eugene Asti have set off on a wild goose, pig, dromedary, cricket, crow, and fox hunt, keeping an eye out for many other furry, feathered and scaly beasts along the way, with Ravel, Chabrier, Offenbach, Hahn, Bizet, and Poulenc for company – all of whom have written music for creatures great and small, real and fantastical. Alright, on occasion these animals might not be animals, strictly speaking, like Satie’s Statue de bronze (although the statue in question is of a frog), or The Little Shepherd from Children’s Corner by Debussy. Another rarity: there are three melodies from Poulenc’s Bestiaire which have been left out of most recent editions: La Colombe, La Puce and Le Serpent.

Tracklist:
1 La Chanson de l’alouette 01:31
2 Histoires Naturelles, M. 50: Le Paon 04:25
3 Le Bestiaire, ou Le Cortège d’Orphée, FP. 15a: 1. Le Dromadaire 01:11
4 Le Bestiaire, ou Le Cortège d’Orphée, FP. 15a: 2. La Chèvre du Tibet 00:34
5 Le Bestiaire, ou Le Cortège d’Orphée, FP. 15a: 3. La Sauterelle 00:23
6 Le Bestiaire, ou Le Cortège d’Orphée, FP. 15a: 4. Le Dauphin 00:26
7 Le Bestiaire, ou Le Cortège d’Orphée, FP. 15a: 5. L’Écrevisse 00:38
8 Le Bestiaire, ou Le Cortège d’Orphée, FP. 15a: 6. La Carpe 01:01
9 Children’s Corner, CD. 119: The Little Shepherd 02:29
10 Le Papillon et la Fleur Op. 1, No. 1 02:12
11 Les Hiboux, IDS. 12 02:55
12 Villanelle des petits canards, IEC. 40 01:58
13 Les Cigales, IEC. 11 03:29
14 Histoires Naturelles, M. 50: Le Grillon 02:58
15 Histoires, IJI. 27: Le Petit Âne blanc 02:29
16 Trois Mélodies, IES. 34: 1. La Statue de bronze 01:39
17 Trois Mélodies, IES. 34: 2. Daphénéo 01:10
18 Trois Mélodies, IES. 34: 3. Le Chapelier 00:51
19 Duetto Buffo di due Gatti 03:27
20 Six Fables de La Fontaine: Le Corbeau et le Renard 02:14
21 Le Rossignol des lilas, IRH. 83 01:43
22 La Coccinelle, WD. 87 04:21
23 Mélodies, Op. 2: Le Colibri 02:38
24 L’Oiselet 02:54
25 Histoires, IJI. 27: La Meneuse de tortues d’or 03:30
26 Histoires Naturelles, M. 50: Le Cygne 03:16
27 Le Bestiaire (mélodies inédites), FP. 15b: La Colombe 00:47
28 Le Bestiaire (mélodies inédites), FP. 15b: La Puce 00:53
29 Mélodies, FP. 162: La Souris 00:46
30 Le Bestiaire (mélodies inédites), FP. 15b: Le Serpent 00:34
31 Children’s Corner, CD. 119: Jimbo’s Lullaby 03:39
32 Pastorale des cochons roses, IEC. 25 04:49
33 Ballade des gros dindons, IEC. 5 03:13