Magnificent "premieres" are featured in this succulent release. First with the melodies of Henri Tomasi. These are not decorative pieces; Tomasi expresses innermost suffering through complex musical phrases, silences, contrasts, chromatics, stunning vocal flights (Printemps), and changing tempos (Kawai). The overwhelming sincerity sometimes leaves the voice laid bare (Attente). The conventional festival ending does not put an end to woman’s sorrow. Chant de la fee des îles (Song of the Fairy of the Iles), after a text by J.L. Baghio, employs both traditional forms (waltzes) and wide-ranging melodies and dissonant harmonies. Composed in 1944 during the Liberation, the piece expresses the social expectations of the period. It heralds the brilliant works of the 1960s. As for this great cycle of the young composer Lionel Ginoux, “music flows from a magnicent volcano. In “Un Braisier d’etoiles” there is a voice rising from the red lava and glittering chords. The musical setting Alain Borne’s compelling verses is distinctive, free, radiant, sometimes lunar, and always lyrical. Pure melody, a genuine diamond.” (Regis Campo, July 2016)