Duelin' Sopranos - Under Her Spell: Viardot Effect

NOMINATED by 'The Just Plain Folks Music Organization' FOR BEST OPERA/CLASSICAL VOCAL ALBUM OF 2004!!!!! 'Your CD sounds great. You two ladies are precision and light! Very well matched voices and the Pauline Viardot complexity...Wow!' ---Leslie Fudge, director of Vocal Art Works, Reno, Nevada. 'The Duelin' Sopranos is a resource unlike any other, in bringing to life music history, foreign language, drama. Their program has spontaneity, color and is full of emotion, which makes the listener eager for more.' ---Doug Mrazek, Clark College, Vancouver, Washington. 'Our students were treated to a full concert of vocal perfection. Every phrase was executed with precision and taste; intonation was flawless. The duo selected a variety of literature and styles, and quickly connected with the audience.' ---Susie M. Jones, Music Director Mt. Hood Community College, Gresham, Oregon. Singing in harmony, raising voices in song, has been part of the musical tradition since the beginning of time. Why do we choose to du-it? For the joy of music, for the feeling of creating something greater than just one singer can produce, and to enjoy the indescribable sensation that takes hold when two such musical energies mesh. Duelin' Sopranos: Both singers in the duo have an affinity for French art song, and their journey of musical discovery continues to evolve. At the encouragement of colleagues Mary Dibbern and Virginia Holter, the duo became increasingly interested in the life and circle of the amazing musician, Pauline Viardot. Holter's first voice teacher, Helene Newrock Piotrovsky, had been a student of Viardot, and the vocal techniques Piotrovsky learned she continued to use after she immigrated to the United States. Viardot's vocal technique books are still available in print and her vocalizes legendary in their complexity. The Duelin' Sopranos have developed a program centered on Viardot's music and the music of composers she knew. Their journey to discover more about her has taken them to Paris, where they performed a Viardot-oriented concert with Mary Dibbern, walked through Viardot's neighborhood, located her residence, researched her music at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and paid homage to her at her grave. Vanessa Jump Nelson, soprano, has appeared in numerous solo and shared recitals throughout the Northwestern United States, and has been a featured soloist with the Oregon Symphony Pops Orchestra, Columbia Chorale of Oregon, and Portland Symphonic Choir, among others. Ms. Nelson has worked with a variety of conductors, including Jacob Avshalomov, Bruce Browne, James DePriest, Eric Ericson, Marvin Hamlisch, Skitch Henderson, and David York, and has participated in a multitude of solo, choral, and commercial music recording projects. Although well acquainted with all styles of music, she is particularly interested in the study and performance of French Art Song. Collaborative performances with Ms. Duvic and Ms. Dibbern have included recitals in Washington, Oregon, and France, where they presented a Viardot concert for the Atelier Concert Series in Paris. Ms. Nelson attended Mt. Hood Community College and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Portland State University. She is an alumnus of Bel Canto Northwest Vocal Institute, and has sung for Master Classes with Julianne Baird, Ellen Faull, Jane Klaviter, and Christopher Mattaliano. Her coaches have included Ruth Dobson, David Jimerson, Gwen Leonard, and Richard Poppino. A member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and Music Teachers National Association, she maintains a private studio in Portland, Oregon and is a member of the adjunct voice faculty at Portland Community College. April Brookins Duvic, soprano, received her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Whitman College, cum laude, where she studied piano with José Rambaldi and voice with Winnifred Ringhoffer. She earned her Masters of Science in Teaching from Portland State University. She has been on staff at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, since 1990, and was the 2001 recipient of the Exceptional Faculty Award, the college's award for academic excellence. She teaches Applied Voice, Music Education, and Music Appreciation and is director of the acclaimed Clark College Women's Choral Ensemble, which has performed in China, Mexico, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest. Ms. Duvic serves as an adjudicator and clinician at both solo vocal and choral festivals in Oregon and Washington. Active in musical theatre at Clark College and in the Vancouver area, she has received awards for her musical direction of Evita and West Side Story. She has received recognition from the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) as the teacher of the 2001 National Winner of the MTNA High School Voice Competition. Ms. Duvic has been featured as a vocal soloist with the Clark College Orchestra and was a member of the Leyden Singers, the Oregon Symphony's Vocal Pops ensemble. Her vocal instructors have included Gwen Leonard, Susan McBerry, Winnifred Ringhoffer, and Richard Miller in workshop settings. Mary Dibbern, pianist, works internationally as a free-lance vocal coach and accompanist. She is a frequent guest at operas in France, the United States and China. She has accompanied vocal recitals in the USA, Europe and Japan - notably at La Scala, the Theatre des Champs-Elysees, the Opera-Comique, Radio France and the Opera Royal de Versailles. She was in charge of musical and language preparation for the first French-language productions in China of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette and Bizet's Carmen. Her recital recordings include Mélodies de Jacques Leguerney released by Claves (Switzerland), a CD produced to honor the composer's 90th birthday celebration in Paris and which won the Grand Prix du Disque; Offenbach au Menu on the Maguelone label and Mélodies de Jacques Leguerney, Vols. I and II (LPs) for Harmonia Mundi France. After the success of her world premier recordings of Leguerney's songs, she was chosen to edit eight volumes of the composer's previously unpublished mélodies for Editions Max Eschig (Paris). She has accompanied vocal recitals in the USA, Europe and Japan-notably at La Scala, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Opéra-Comique, Radio France and the Opéra Royal de Versailles. She is the author of Tales of Hoffmann: Performance Guide and Carmen: Performance Guide for Pendragon Press, she has also written Interpreting the Songs of Jacques Leguerney: A Guide for Study and Performance in collaboration with Carol Kimball and Patrick Choukroun. Mary Chun, producer, has been involved in numerous recording sessions both as producer and conductor in Europe and the United States. She was responsible for musical supervision for more than a dozen opera and symphonic recordings made with the Opera de Lyon in France under Music Director Kent Nagano and has a keen interest in new and unusual repertoire. As a conductor, Ms. Chun has created the premieres for many composers, including John Adams's earthquake romance 'I was looking at the Ceiling and then I saw the Sky' in addition to world premiere CD recordings for composers Peter Allen and James Berenholtz and the film score for Canyon Sam's documentary film about the Chinese persecution of Tibetan nuns, 'The Dissident'. She is a frequent guest conductor with opera companies in Europe and the United States and is an advocate for women composers around the world. She makes her home in San Francisco where she regularly directs the San Francisco-based new music ensemble EARPLAY. The 24-page booklet contains a 2-page biographical description of Pauline Viardot, 'The Creative Force of Pauline Viardot,' written by Carolyn S. Goff, DMA, Mercer University, Assistant Professor, Macon, Georgia. It also contains the English translations as well as anecdotal information about each song. Cover photography by Jerry Ames, interior photography by Jerry Ames, Greg Duvic, and Shannon Nelson. Recorded and mixed by Jon Lemon at LemonCorp Recording in Portland, Oregon, mastered by Kevin Nettleingham of Nettleingham Audio, with CD booklet by the incomparable graphic design of Madame Shelly Nettleingham. Please be sure to check out our Christmas CD, 'Christmas Joy,' which was produced by Vijay Singh of the smooth West Coast a cappella vocal group Just 4 Kicks!

1) Les Cavaliers (Arr. Viardot)
2) Separation (Arr. Viardot)
3) Le Prisonnier (Malibran)
4) Oh Quand Je Dors (Liszt)
5) Havanaise Variee a Deux Voix (Viardot)
6) L'arithmetique (Gounod)
7) Serenade (Gounod)
8) La Vierge a la Creche (Franck)
9) L'enfant Et la Mere (Viardot)
10) Aux Petits Enfant (Franck)
11) Les Filles de Cadix (Delibes)
12) Les Filles de Cadix (Viardot)
13) Les Filles de Cadix (Debussy)
14) El Desdichado/Bolero (Saint-Saens)
15) Apres Un Reve (Faure)
16) Puisqu-Ici Bas Toute Ame (Faure)
17) Absence (Berlioz)
18) Les Bohemiennes (Arr. Viardot)