Si j'ai aimé

Love in all its facets—loneliness, desire, seduction, intimacy, and recollection—is explored on this sublime album that relives the golden age of the 19th-century French orchestral song. Sandrine Piau’s beautifully expressive, warm soprano voice and the subtle colors of Le Concert de la Loge’s period instruments breathe glorious life into these perfumed miniatures by French composing giants Saint-Säens, Berlioz, and Massenet, plus a handful of forgotten talents. In fact, it’s these neglected composers who unexpectedly provide the most delightful moments, with Dubois’ yearning “Si j’ai parlé… Si j’ai aimé,” Vierne’s fluttering “Beaux papillons blancs,” and Guilmant’s magical “Ce que dit le silence” immersing us deep within this heady musical world.

Soprano Sandrine Piau has been known mostly as a Baroque specialist, but she has recorded several albums of 19th century French mélodies with spectacular results.