Nineteenth-Century French Song: Fauré, Chausson, Duparc, and Debussy

It's probably safe to say that this book--originally published in 1980 and now out in its first paperback edition--is the definitive volume on the 19th-century oeuvre of French art song as practiced by Chausson, Debussy, Duparc, and Fauré. Meister offers an intelligent overall discussion of the anti-Wagnerian aesthetic of these four masters of the art song, and examines each of their song settings in loving and well-informed detail. Translations are provided from French to English (and, as in the case of a French version of a Shakespeare song, back again from French for a surprisingly different view), along with observations on the flow of the song and interpretations. Although bound to be of interest to a small audience, Nineteenth-Century French Song will prove invaluable to anyone with a regard for this delicate art form, and particularly the singers and pianists who perform it.