Reader Submission: French Bass-Barihunk Nicolas Brooymans

Nicolas Brooymans

Our latest reader submission in French Bass-Barihunk Nicolas Brooymans.

Brooymans began singing at an early age as a member of the Chœur d'enfants de l’Opéra de Paris (Children's Choir of the Paris Opera). He went on to study at the Conservatoire du 18ème à Paris and the Masseur-Kinésithérapeute, graduating in 2007.

Since 2013, he has been performing with the Ensemble Correspondances, with a focus on music of the 17th century. Upcoming performances with the group include a program of Charpentier and Purcell in Vienna, Charpentier's Te Deum in Versailles, and concerts in Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Versailles and Metz, France.

Nicolas Brooymans sings Purcell's "Wondrous Banks":

On the operatic stage, Brooymans has performed Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Masetto and the Commendatore in Mozart's Don Giovanni, and Pluton in Charpentier's La descente d'Orphée aux enfers.

He appears on the recording of La Descente D'Orphée on Harmonia Mundi with the Ensemble Correspondances under the baton of Sébastien Daucé. 

More French Music: Your Bottom Three

The magnificent French baritone Gérard Souzay

Yesterday we featured music by Francis Poulenc who is leading our poll of your favorite French composers. Today we thought we'd feature the three composers at the bottom of the poll. Apparently, early music isn't particularly popular with readers as both Lully and Charpentier at the bottom along with the 19th century composer Ernest Chausson.  We hope that these clips will introduce some new music to readers. As we so often do when we feature French music, the first two clips are from our beloved French barihunk Gérard Souzay. If you've never heard Souzay sing Lully's "Je ne puis en votre malheur," you're in for quite a treat.

Gérard Souzay sings Ernest Chausson's "Le Colibri":

Le Colibri (The Hummingbird)

The hummingbird, the green prince of the heights,
feeling the dew and seeing the sun's clear light
shining into his nest of woven grass,
shoots up in the air like a gleaming dart.

Hurriedly he flies to the nearby marsh
where the waves of bamboo rustle and bend,
and the red hibiscus with the heavenly scent
opens to show its moist and glistening heart.

Down to the flower he flies, alights from above,
and from the rosy cup drinks so much love
that he dies, not knowing if he could drink it dry.

Even so, my darling, on your pure lips
my soul and senses would have wished to die
on contact with that first full-fragrant kiss.

Gérard Souzay sings Jean Baptiste Lully's beautiful "Je ne puis en votre malheur" from "Persée":



Here is an excerpt from Marc-Antoine Charpentier's "Magnificat" with countertenor Dominique Visse, tenor Michel Laplénie and bass Philippe Cantor: