François Le Roux and Romain Raynaldy, Le Chant Intime: The Interpretation of French Mélodie, trans. Sylvia Kahan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021). x + 283 pp. $99.00.

Abstract

This book addresses students, teachers, performers, and scholars who wish to fathom the unique nature of the French vocal genre of the mélodie, doing so in a warmly personal manner that may surprise as well as please. Le chant intime: De l’interprétation de la mélodie française originally was published in 2004, and this slightly expanded English-language version is welcome, given the globally increasing interest in nineteenth-century French aural culture among musicians and audiences today. Although there is an expanding array of resources devoted to themélodie, this one differs in design and substance. Within the Foreword, journalist Romain Raynaldy reveals its origins as interviews with the baritone François Le Roux: ‘I suggested that François not take amusicological approach to French art song, but rather to write the kind of work that would allow his readers to discover and expand their understanding in a lively and accessible language’ (p. ix). Within the Introduction, Le Roux surveys its structure: