3 Mélodies

Boire à l’ombre (1869)

Au rossignol (1867)

Ce que je suis sans toi (1868)

According to Ravel, Gounod was nothing less than “the true founder of the mélodie in France.” While it is true that Ravel consistently underestimated Berlioz, the historical reality is that their successors were far less likely to follow Berlioz’s example than Gounod’s, even if they had little time for the songs written by the latter in the second half of his career, after he exiled himself to London in 1870. Written a year before that ill-advised adventure, Boire à l’ombre is a triumph of musical art over literary mediocrity: the rhythmic lilt,    the piano counterpoints to the vocal line, the modulations all achieved against the odds but apparently without effort in masterly through-composed setting. In Au Rossignol, on the other hand,    Gounod keeps changes of harmony to a minimum and restricts the piano part largely to a scarcely changing succession of crotchets – the idea being, while scrupulously avoiding anything as sensual as bird-song imitation, to preserve a hymn-like chastity throughout. Another modest setting, Ce que je suis sans toi transcends its limitations by the charm of its rhythmic syncopations, discreetly chromatic harmonies and its vulnerable vocal line.