The lieder of France, the French melodie enjoyed it's golden age in the last three decades of the 19th century. Influenced by the German lied, the texts of noted French poets illuminated the scores that foretell the passing of the era of Romanticism. The noted soprano, Veronique Gens adds to her illustrious and acclaimed discography with her second release of melodies accompanied by the noted recitalist Susan Manoff in a collection featuring works by Henri Duparc, Ernest Chausson, and Reynaldo Hahn with gorgeous performances that impart the range of finely wrought songs of melancholy, great charm and plaints that characterizes this era.