Biography (read more)
Reynaldo Hahn was a French composer, born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1874, who moved to Paris as a child and spent most of his life there, studying at the Paris Conservatoire under Massenet and Saint-Saëns and later serving as director of the Paris Opéra from 1945 until his death. His output centers on more than 100 mélodies (art songs) and extends to operas, operettas, orchestral works including concertos and ballets, chamber music, piano works, and incidental music. He died in Paris in 1947 from a brain tumor, possibly linked to a shell explosion near his residence during the Second World War.
Best known for his art songs, which exemplify the refined melodic aesthetics of the Belle Époque, Hahn was a close friend of Marcel Proust and Sarah Bernhardt and a central figure in Parisian musical and literary circles of his time. Though his reputation was largely neglected in the decades after his death, his work underwent a critical revival in the late twentieth century and his mélodies remain valued for their melodic brightness and refined setting of text.
Compare recordings piece by piece — 1 work of Reynaldo Hahn with more than one performance on the site →
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Repertoire
Le Ruban Dénoué – I. Decrets indolents du hasard
Performed by Arthur Jussen
À Chloris (Transc. for Oboe and Piano)
Performed by Albrecht Mayer
L’heure exquise (Chansons grises, No. 5)
Performed by Philippe Jaroussky
Le Rossignol Éperdu / The Bewildered Nightingale— Catherine Joly
Performed by Catherine Joly
À Chloris— Lea Desandre
Performed by Thomas Dunford
À Chloris— Philippe Jaroussky
Performed by Philippe Jaroussky
À chloris— Marlis Petersen
Performed by Marlis Petersen
Si mes vers avaient des ailes— Michel Dalberto
Performed by Michel Dalberto
Hahn : Si mes vers avaient des ailes— Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Études latines: No. 2, Néère— Lea Desandre
Performed by Thomas Dunford
Hahn: L’énamourée— Renée Fleming
Performed by Renée Fleming
L’énamourée— Marlis Petersen
Performed by Marlis Petersen
Rêverie— Michel Dalberto
Performed by Michel Dalberto
Le rossignol des lilas— Michel Dalberto
Performed by Michel Dalberto
“Quand je fus pris au pavillon”— Michel Dalberto
Performed by Michel Dalberto
Hahn: Venezia: No. 1, Sopra l’acqua indormenzada— Bengt Forsberg
Performed by Bengt Forsberg
Hahn: Venezia: No. 2, La barcheta— Bengt Forsberg
Performed by Bengt Forsberg
Hahn: Venezia: No. 3, L’avertimento— Bengt Forsberg
Performed by Bengt Forsberg
Hahn: Venezia: No. 4, La biondina in gondoleta— Bengt Forsberg
Performed by Bengt Forsberg
Hahn: Venezia: No. 5, Che pecà!— Bengt Forsberg
Performed by Bengt Forsberg
2 Études: No. 1, Allegro— Jean Doyen
Performed by Jean Doyen
2 Études: No. 2, Animato assai— Jean Doyen
Performed by Jean Doyen
Anonyme— Jean Doyen
Performed by Jean Doyen
Variations chantantes sur un air ancien— Steven Isserlis
Performed by Steven Isserlis
7 Chansons grises: No. 5, L’heure exquise— Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Hahn : L’heure exquise— Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Joyce DiDonato sings “À Chloris”— Joyce DiDonato
Performed by Joyce DiDonato
Le Rossignol éperdu, Série 4 “Versailles”: No. 52. Hivernale— Alexandre Tharaud
Performed by Alexandre Tharaud
7 Chansons grises: IV. En sourdine— Philippe Jaroussky
Performed by Philippe Jaroussky
7 Chansons grises: No. 1, Chanson d’automne— Philippe Jaroussky
Performed by Philippe Jaroussky
20 Mélodies, Book I: XVI. D’une prison— Philippe Jaroussky
Performed by Philippe Jaroussky
Hahn: 12 Rondels: No. 9, Les étoiles— Renée Fleming
Performed by Renée Fleming
Hahn: Chansons grises: No. 5, L’heure exquise— Renée Fleming
Performed by Renée Fleming
Ciboulette, Act 2: “Nous avons fait un beau voyage” (Duparquet, Ciboulette)— Gino Quilico
Performed by Gino Quilico