SABINE MEYER • OLEG MAISENBERG : Plays Devienne, Poulenc, Saint-Saëns, Milhaud (2007) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

It matters not that the clarinetist Sabine Meyer is German and pianist Oleg Maisenberg is Ukrainian: this recital of clarinet sonatas is still French to the bone marrow. The principal reason for this, naturally, is the repertoire. With works by Saint-Saëns, Poulenc, Devienne, and Milhaud, this recital could hardly be anything but French. But while other non-native players might misplace the accents or misjudge the rhythms, Meyer and Maisenberg are deep into the Gallic groove. Of course, no matter what the language, Meyer is a consummate musician with an immaculate technique and unfailingly good taste, and Maisenberg is a polished accompanist with a strong technique and unhesitatingly generous support. But here they speak French like natives. Their Saint-Saëns is tart, tender, and reserved. Their Poulenc is sweet, soulful, and insouciant. Their Devienne is smart, stunning, and virtuosic. And their encore -- three movements from Milhaud's Scaramouche arranged for clarinet and piano -- is wry, witty, and, in the closing Brazileira, fall-down funny. Captured by producer John Fraser in sound so real you'll swear this is no recording at all, but rather purest aural magic, this disc commends itself to Francophiles of any nationality. by James Leonard  

SHARON BEZALY • LOVE DERWINGER with special guest BARBARA HENDRICKS - French Delights (2007) Mp3

Israeli-born Swedish flutist Sharon Bezaly has been in the forefront of a group of players who have rediscovered the virtuoso literature of the flute (and other instruments) from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in France especially. She yields to no one in the technical arena, flawlessly executing the circular-breathing techniques and the careening arpeggiations written into the six works presented here. But this disc is about something other than sheer virtuosity -- although there is plenty of that on display here (check out the final Valse of Benjamin Godard's Suite de trois morceaux, Op. 116), the listener who is interested purely in technical frontiers might do just as well to check out her recording of Jacques Ibert's flute concerto, also on the BIS label. What's remarkable about this release is the rediscovery of music long since thrown onto the historical scrap heap, and the shaping of that music into a satisfying program. Bezaly brackets the program with showcases of technique -- the little-known Godard suite and the 1946 Sonatine of Pierre Sancan. Next, at each end, comes works with more complex rhythms or textures, the pleasing, slightly jazzy Sonatine of Milhaud, and another obscure work, the Suite for flute and piano, Op. 34, of Charles-Marie Widor, otherwise known mostly for his organ music and just a few pieces at that. In Bezaly's hands and that of pianist Love Derwinger, the flute and piano take on an almost organ-like sound, with dense harmonies filling out basically simple structures. With the center of the program, the listener comes, one might say, to the center of the mystery in the often Eastern-flavored Joueurs de flûte, Op. 27, and most surprisingly the Deux poèmes de Ronsard, Op. 26, for the rare combination of soprano and flute. Try playing the album for someone without describing its contents -- the ethereal African-American-Swedish singer Barbara Hendricks seems to come out of nowhere and lead the listener into a charmed realm to which Bezaly's playing has pointed the way. The program as a whole is light but wholly absorbing. If there's a complaint it's the sound, which does pick up the technical details but is on the harsh side, with lots of breathing noise that audiences simply wouldn't have heard or wanted to hear when these works were originally performed. by James Manheim  

MILHAUD - Suite for clarinet, violin and piano; Scaramouche; Violin Sonata No. 2 (2010) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

This is a nice little selection of the chamber music of Darius Milhaud featuring clarinet, violin, and piano in varying combinations, beginning with the brief Suite for all three instruments. There's a gentleness and wittiness in most of this music -- although Milhaud could also be dolorous, for example in the introduction of the Suite's finale -- primarily because he drew on themes from his stage music for the Suite, Scaramouche, and the Cinéma fantaisie d'après Le bœuf sur le toit, not to mention the presence of his trademark infectious Brazilian rhythms. The Violin Sonata No. 2 and the Clarinet Sonatina are slightly more serious in mood, and in the case of the Sonatina, more harmonically adventurous. The three musicians here -- clarinetist Jean-Marc Fessard, violinist Frédéric Pélassy, and pianist Eliane Reyes -- work excellently together to bring the music to life. Their ensemble work in the Suite is sharply precise. Even in the Sonata and Sonatina, there is a sense that it's not all just about the violin or clarinet. Pélassy and Fessard allow Reyes to bring out the piano part to show that the works are often more like true duets, for example in Scaramouche's dizzying opening or the Violin Sonata's Vif movement. The Fantaisie is a more of a duet almost by necessity because there's so much going on in it, but without a doubt it's the violin that gets the spotlight with some fancy effects (such as playing in two keys at once) and even a cadenza that's not in the original work. The three musicians also give detailed attention to coloring in a natural, instinctive-sounding way. The sound is good enough that you can occasionally hear Fessard's and Pélassy's breathing, but with the speakers at anything less than average volume, some of the shaping of phrases is missed and even quiet notes are lost at times. The Suite, Scaramouche, and the Fantaisie are obvious picks here, leaving no doubt as to why they are so popular, but the other selections are also deserving of a listen. by Patsy Morita 

MILHAUD - Music for Two Pianos (Coombs-Pizarro) (1998) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

DARIUS MILHAUD : Symphonies 1 & 4 (Alun Francis) (1998) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

DARIUS MILHAUD : Symphonies 2 & 3 Te Deum (Alun Francis) (1998) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

DARIUS MILHAUD : Symphonies 5-6 (Alun Francis) (2000) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

DARIUS MILHAUD : Symphonies 7-9 (Alun Francis) (2000) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

DARIUS MILHAUD : Symphonies 10-12 (Alun Francis) (1989) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless