Idylle

Singers often try mixing musical genres in their programmes, but few manage it with the aplomb of Lea Desandre in Idylle, the French mezzo-soprano’s second solo recital. It starts in the 17th century, with a sensual rendition of Honoré d’Ambruys’ song “Le doux silence de nos bois”, complete with dazzlingly fluid note-runs indicating Desandre’s experience in Baroque repertoire. By song three, however, Desandre has flipped forward 300 years, to an effortlessly idiomatic take on Françoise Hardy’s “Le temps de l’amour”, from the French chanteuse’s 1962 debut album. Elsewhere, Debussy happily rubs shoulders with 1960s star Barbara’s “Dis, quand reviendras-tu?”, and there’s a delicious slice of Offenbach (“Amours divins!”) as an encore. Thomas Dunford accompanies on lute, seamlessly complementing the pure vocal class and often disarming insight of Desandre’s interpretations.