Naxos’ first-rate edition of Poulenc’s complete chamber music continues with this very fine collection of shorter pieces and song cycles for voice and small ensemble. Baritone Franck Leguérinel turns in a smashing performance of Le Bal masqué from its manic opening Air de bravoure to the hysterical falsetto antics in the closing Caprice. He’s equally fine in Le Bestiaire, but the cruel vocal line and harmonic acerbities of the Max Jacob songs prove less congenial, though he’s no less stylistically assured. As in previous volumes, Alexandre Tharaud’s perfectly idiomatic piano playing (and percussion in the loony Cocardes) unifies the program and maintains the highest level of accomplishment throughout, whether in the austere Elégie for horn and piano, or the Ravelian delicacy of the Rapsodie nègre. His colleagues match him in accomplishment: there are no weak links in this crowd. The notes are extensive, and the booklet includes complete texts and translations. Many full-priced editions of this music offer far less value, both artistically and with respect to presentation. You simply can’t go wrong with any of the discs in this series, and at these prices you can surely afford to collect them all.
