Formidable!

by Thomas Oliemans, Amsterdam Sinfonietta

Overview

The list of singers from the classical sphere who can put popular songs across well is quite a bit shorter than one might think. Renee Fleming, who had early experience in jazz, can do it, and a few others, but it's rarely done as well as it is here by baritone Thomas Oliemans, who grew up with the French popular chanson. In one way, he moves away from his classical training; his purring lower register is not that of an operatic baritone but that of a crooner, a distinctly pop phenomenon. Consider his version of Barbara's L'Ile aux mimosas, where he has to hang out at the bottom for most of the song and seems absolutely comfortable there. In another way, though, this is a classical album and not an attempt to crack the pop charts (although it certainly could do so if marketed that way). Relying on a variety of arrangers, Oliemans brings lovely chamber orchestra renditions of these French song classics by the likes of Jacques Brel, Charles Trenet, and Michel Legrand, accompanied by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, sometimes with a quintessentially French accordion. Oliemans is a sensitive text interpreter, and for non-French listeners, who will in many cases know these songs hazily, the album is an excellent way into the genre, although the booklet, despite having notes in four languages, leaves the song texts untranslated. Channel Classics assists with fine sound from the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	10/29/2021
Label:	CHANNEL CLASSICS
UPC:	0723385433217

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Thomas Oliemans   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals
Amsterdam Sinfonietta   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Candida Thompson   Violin,Conductor
Ruben Drenth   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Jens Meijer   Drums
Bert van den Brink   Piano,Accordion

Technical Credits

Ad van der Kouwe   Cover Design
Stephen Taylor   Liner Note Translation
Wijnand van Klaveren   Arranger
Stromae   Composer,Lyricist
Gerard Daguerre   Arranger
Monique Andree Serf   Composer
Leonard Evers   Arranger
Anne Habermann   Liner Note Translation
Jacques Brel   Lyricist,Composer
Jacques Prevert   Lyricist
Eddy Marnay   Lyricist
Cesar Franck   Composer
Charles Trenet   Composer,Lyricist
Michel Legrand   Composer,Lyricist
Gabriel Faure   Composer
Gerard Jouannest   Composer
Gilbert Becaud   Composer
Jacques Demy   Lyricist
Claude Debussy   Composer
Charles Aznavour   Composer,Lyricist
Hubert Giraud   Composer
Jared Sacks   Editing,Engineer,Producer,Mastering,Liner Notes
Jean Drejac   Lyricist
Luc Plamondon   Lyricist
Marco Borggreve   Cover Photo
Pierre Delanoe   Lyricist
Clemence Comte   Liner Note Translation
Thomas Oliemans   Concept,Liner Notes
Stephan Heber   Liner Notes
Willem de Bordes   Concept
Jacques Plante   Lyricist
Various Composers   Composer
Paul De Vugt   Assistant Engineer
Anna van Kooij   Photography
Bob Zimmermann   Arranger
Joseph Kosma   Composer,Lyricist
Bert van den Brink   Editing,Arranger