Fleur de Paris (2010)

Clearly one's attitude toward this disc is conditional upon one's tolerance for (or even enthusiastic embrace of) classical cuteness, with timbrally unlikely arrangements of French popular songs like "Une femme est une femme" mixed in with light classical selections. Evaluated purely on technical grounds, however, the accomplishment of the cellists of the venerable Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra here is impressive. The key thing is that the arrangements of this music, perhaps even more so than on other 12 Cellists albums, ... Read More

Clearly one's attitude toward this disc is conditional upon one's tolerance for (or even enthusiastic embrace of) classical cuteness, with timbrally unlikely arrangements of French popular songs like "Une femme est une femme" mixed in with light classical selections. Evaluated purely on technical grounds, however, the accomplishment of the cellists of the venerable Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra here is impressive. The key thing is that the arrangements of this music, perhaps even more so than on other 12 Cellists albums, force the cello melody lines into the top range of the instrument and keep them there, demanding not only smoothness but syrupy French lyricism. Sample Debussy's Clair de lune, track 8, which must have required many hours of rehearsal, even for these world-class musicians, to create the quiet surfaces heard here. The conclusion of the program with an arrangement of Poulenc's wartime Paris cantata Figure humaine, rather than with a pure encore piece, is another nice touch, and the... Read Less