Reynaldo Hahn

Venezuelan-born and formed in Paris, Hahn wrote well over a hundred songs, most before the First World War, alongside operettas, chamber works and piano music. Early pieces such as Si mes vers avaient des ailes already show the hallmarks: graceful melody, unforced harmony and a distaste for overstatement. Cycles including Chansons grises and later favourites such as L'énamourée and À Chloris ask for controlled warmth rather than display; the vocal line stays exposed and the piano keeps a light, elegant tread. On the recital stage his French songs reward slow tempi, exact intonation and close partnership between singer and pianist, the music sounding nostalgic without sentimentality.