DOUCE FRANCE

After delivering a spine-tingling performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic closing ceremony, French star tenor Benjamin Bernheim releases his first solo song album Douce France: Mélodies & Chansons. Inspired by his long study and experience of French song, Bernheim imaginatively couples the famous 19th-century melodies of Berlioz, Chausson and Duparc with the classic 20th-century chansons by Brel, Kosma and Trenet. While some of these cycles are nowadays associated with the female voice accompanied by orchestra, the tenor was determined to return to the deep intimacy that a keyboard accompaniment can conjure. Bernheim’s regular duo partner, pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson, transcribed the relevant orchestral scores into the more idiomatic versions for piano heard on this album.