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Sunday, November 4, 2012

Pol Plançon, French Basse Chantante

Pol Plançon was born in Fumay, France, in 1851.  Because so large a part of his life and career was in the 19th century, during the 80's and 90's, he is properly seen as an exemplar of 19th century singing, and most especially of 19th century French singing, with its many refinements.

Plançon's teachers were the famous tenor Gilbert Duprez and Giovanni Sbriglia, who also numbered among his students the de Reszke brothers, Jean and Édouward.  His debut was in 1877, in Lyon, in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots.  His rise was quite rapid, and in short order he was singing in Paris, both at the Théâtre de la Gaîté Lyrique (1880) and the Paris Opera, where his debut (1883) was Faust, an opera that was to become one of his most frequently performed, as Mephistopheles quicklybecame a signature role for him.  He would spend 10 years at the Paris Opera,  where he participated in several premieres,  including Le Cid, and Saint-Saëns's Ascanio.  He also sang at Covent Garden, to general acclaim, during the early 1890's.  He continued to add new roles to his repertoire, including Massenet's La Navarraise, Lalo's Le roi d'Ys, and Massenet's Hérodiade.  Plançon did not neglect the standard repertoire, and during the peak of his career he could be seen in  Aida, Fidelio, Die Meistersinger, Mefistofele, The Damnation of Faust, and Martha.  He only avoided those roles that required anything approaching  roughness or—especially—buffoonery, as he was, above all else, debonair and elegant—the ultimate bel canto singer, with extraordinary vocal and aesthetic refinements at his command, including a perfect trill, and a remarkable ability to sing fioratura and rapid cadenzas.  These abilities and refinements are almost never seen in basses.  Plançon's Metropolitan Opera debut was 1893, in Gounod's Philémon and Baucis.  He sang at the Met until 1908, in over 600 performances.  He retired from the stage in 1908 and returned to Paris, where he gave lessons.  He died at age 63, in 1914.

The first recording I have chosen is a truly extraordinary record of bel canto bass singing.  It shows the essential Plançon gifts:  Absolutely immaculate French, with every syllable perfectly clearly pronounced; smooth and elegant vocalism, supporting a musically perfect style, and, from the middle of the recording to the end, what I believe are unique examples of rapid cadenzas and fioratura executed by a bass.  If you do not know Plançon, and this is the first example  of his singing you have heard, keep an open mind!  Those among us who have been raised in the verismo era of giant-voiced, roof-shaking Russian basses are in for a surprise at this example of an elegant French bel canto artist singing 108 years ago! :


Now isn't that something!  You can see, right away, why he is the darling of bel canto lovers.  This is one of the important examples of 19th century bel canto singing, recorded in 1904, when Plançon would have been 53 years old. His was not a huge or even large voice, yet he could be heard perfectly well (as most bel canto artists could be) even in large theaters such as the Met, which even back then was a large house.  It isn't size that accounts for carrying power, it is, and always has been, focus.  And of that he had enough.

This next recording is a gem, and my own personal favorite of Plançon's recorded arias.  It is not easy to think of this voice as a Verdi bass, and yet his performance of this aria from Verdi's Don Carlos is so good, and so sensitively done, that it is absolutely heart-rending.  Don Carlos, known in Italian as Don Carlo, was originally written in French, and Verdi intended it to be a big 5-act French opera.  This aria, which we know today from the later Italian version as "Ella giammai m'amò,"  ("She never loved me") has to be one of the saddest things ever written, and when it is sung by a consummate artist like Plançon, as opposed to being sung in the many window-shattering renditions by huge basses, one actually feels the excruciating painfulness of the lyrics:


Not much I can add to that!  Sigh..................

Finally, a non-operatic selection.  The season now being fairly close to hand, here is his delicate and beautiful rendition of O Holy Night:


Pol Plançon, clearly one of a kind!


 

 

18 comments:

corax said...

as one of the commenters opined on that first youtube page: « Ce genre de chanteur n'existe plus. »

JD Hobbes said...

How wonderful it is that you find and bring these excellent artists to our attention. It always makes me wonder why certain artists rose to the top while others remain hidden from our view. If communications in 1910 had been as they are today, which artists would have gained the most fame? Inability or unwillingness to travel might have been one major factor in 1910. What are your thoughts?

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you, Mr. Hobbes, for your comment. Good question! I think that certain artists who have the drive and ability to reach out and communicate with their audience would have benefitted, without doubt. It is evident that those who sought out early recording contracts had a distinct advantage. And Plancon did. He was recording as early as 1902. Had there been TV then, we can assume that gregarious personalities like Pavarotti would have done then what they did now. All that counts. And the contrary. Those who chose to stay close to home (like Georges Thill, who rarely ventured far from the Paris Opera, whould have had a smaller, but probably just as satisfying career.

Edmund St. Austell said...

To Corax: C'est vrai, mon ami, c'est vrai. How I wish it were otherwise!

Anonymous said...

This is a new discovery for me. He doesn't really sound like a bass until he goes down, and then the low notes are there. In the middle and upper ranges it's a differnt sound. Not sure what I would call it, but one thing is sure...he sings beautifully, and its almos magic how he captures attention. Superb singer! Wow. Thanks. Jim S.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you, Jim. Glad to have been able to show him to you. He's a classic, that's for sure!

meltzerboy said...

To put it quite simply, Pol Plancon is the greatest bass singer ever to have recorded. By this I mean he has completely mastered the art of singing: superb legato, elegant phrasing, crystal-clear diction, florid agility, evenness of register. His tone is also beautiful. However, there are other basses whose voices are, in their own way, just as beautiful: I think of Adamo Didur, Alexander Kipnis, and Lev Sibyriakov, to name a few. But none is a finer singer than Plancon, who is as close to perfection as humanly possible. Thank you, Edmund, for presenting this wonderful selection from the master.

DanPloy said...

I was first introduced to Pol Plancon through one of those marvellous 'collection' CDs that the BBC, Nimbus and others occasionally put out. What a treasure trove of lesser known singers they can be.

Bel canto is an interesting term; perhaps smoothness or beauty of tone encapsulates it. If so Plancon's singing, with no hint of vibrato, is the definition of bel canto.

What I find surprising in his singing is the emotion it engenders. Without deviating at all from the musical line, with no aspirations or any false emotion, somehow through singing alone, he creates a feeling that others with all their grace notes and declamation cannot hope to achieve.

Only one bass I feel can come close to him, and that is Ezio Pinza, at least in terms of beauty of tone.

But Pinza did not have the vocal extensions and in this perhaps Plancon is closest to Ramey.

In looks and in his singing one word comes to mind, and that is aristocratic. One of the truly great singers, without doubt.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you so much, Nate and Dan; two of my favorite correspondents, whose opinions I greatly respect. You sum up Plancon's extraordinary abilities so well that there is nothing I can add; I just wish I had concocted some of the sentences you wrote! Thanks again, gentlemen!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the article. It’s hard to believe that we can hear the singer, who “ retired from the stage in 1908”. Amazing. His recordings are excellent, true masterpieces. And the quality of sound is very high. He was great. It seems to me that there was a cult of effortlessness in those years, and singers took more care of their voices. His voice sounds young and fresh , and it seems strange that he retired 1-2 years later.

n.a.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you Natalie; as always, I particularly appreciate your comments and your great loyalty as a reader. You are right, of course, his dates seem a little strange by today's standards, but he did sing until he was 57 years old, and I think that back in those days, that was somewhat older than it would be today. Health in general was not nearly as robust in those days as it now is. The fact that he died a mere 6 years later is an indication that he worked until pretty late in what was going to be his life. Also, back in the days before income taxes, I suspect that he was quite wealthy by that point. But he certainly was a fine singer, of that there is no doubt, and his voice did remain fresh and seemed young, even when he was not. I suspect that owes to bel canto technique, which is very easy on the voice.

Hildegerd said...

I love the big "whiteness of his sound.

Edmund St. Austell said...

Yes, the old school of singing--open and largely uncovered. A different world from the dark, heavily covered, larynx-in-the-boots style so common in verismo opera. Interesting observation! Thanks

Anonymous said...

Great article on Plancon, Edmund. I've loved him for years; one of my all time favorite singers! But actually I'm writing to applaud you for putting up a short piece on the girl Elena. BRILLIANT idea to bring some attention to talented kid! She's beautiful and so is her voice! This could be a wonderful feature of your blog. I'm sure there are kids out there who are really talented who would love the exposure. Bravo!

Martha

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you, Martha. I always appreciate your comments. I'll give it some thought. It's a nice idea. We'll see what people say. I would have to be careful, and honest about the fact that I would not accept any but well-considered encouraging comments. No child shoud be too exposed, too young. Thanks for your lovely comment!

JD Hobbes said...

Yes, good comments on Elena. It is nice to see you encourage and support her. You are also right about some young people being ruined by their coaches or by trying too much too soon. I think Jackie Evancho has been wise in choosing a lower register and saving her young voice, but I do wish someone would help her with diction and clarity. She really needs to focus on that.

Darren Seacliffe said...

Well said, Edmund. Many thanks for the Pol Plancon article.

You're correct. Plancon is the classic example of a singer with a smooth and elegant vocalism. After all, he's one of the best representatives of the old French school of singing, a school characterized by charm and elegance. No matter what operas these old masters sing, they never over-act like some Italians are notoriously prone to do. The portrayals they give are always those of elegant noble gentlemen, no matter how violent the plot may be. It's a shame that this school has more or less died out. Only 1 person is left today.

Yes, he is the darling of bel canto lovers. After all, he was one of the last practitioners of the 19th century bel canto singing technique and one of the best of those who've left records.

Vallons d'Helvetie is good but there's something better which Plancon recorded.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LZL9jYB36Y

I think the bel canto trills and leaps are more apparent here. Plancon doesn't exactly have 2 voices here but his singing here shows the art at its best. Charming, smoothly elegant, flexible voice with good technique at a rather advanced age. Imagine what would he be like when he's young. If you like Plancon, you may want to try listening to his successor, Marcel Journet, who left significantly more recordings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVK28jNaG8c
(Here's the Church Scene from Journet's Faust. He actually did record the complete opera. If you like it, I can send some highlights to you. I have the recording)

Edmund St. Austell said...

Thank you, Darren, for a most interesting and informative comment!