Louis Beydts: Mélodies & Songs

Cyrille Dubois is unstoppable: after two albums dedicated to Liszt and the Boulanger sisters, both acclaimed by the critics, and a flamboyant complete set of Fauré songs, the tenor is back to his preferred repertoire, the French art-song. He reunites with his accomplice, pianist Tristan Raës, to bring the Bordeaux composer Louis Beydts (1895-1953) out of oblivion, most of whose pieces are recorded here for the first time.

From these miniatures, Cyrille Dubois draws the sap of the musician's art: a pure product of French hedonism, refined and elegant, with a generous vocality... but also daring, for Beydts forbids himself nothing: echoes of jazz and light music, of Hahn or Fauré, polymodality and polytonality, his melodies traverse everything with supreme freedom, between fantasy, humour and contemplation.

By transporting us into this singular universe, Cyrille Dubois establishes himself as an invaluable performer of the repertoire and a pioneer of French music, with an uncommon mastery of the combination of word and music.

• D'Ombre et de soleil; 6 Ballades francises; Le Coeur inutile; 4 Odelettes; 5 Humouresques; Le Pont Mirabeau; La Fontaine de pitie; Le Sylphe; Chanson pour les oiseaux