“La Blancheur des Cygnes” is a poetic and reflective musical project that celebrates feminine energy, beauty, and strength through the timeless art of the French chanson. Historian Els Kloek’s liner notes frame the album as a continuation of the conversation started by Simone de Beauvoir – exploring how women have evolved from “the other” to agents of their own expression. Through Charlotte Haesen’s evocative voice and the refined strings of the Café des Chansons quartet, the album traverses nearly a century of song – from Charles Trenet’s joyful optimism to modern interpretations by artists like Zaho de Sagazan and Solann – weaving themes of love, self-acceptance, vulnerability, and empowerment.

At the heart of this collection lies a reclamation of beauty as a feminine right: no longer dictated by the male gaze but redefined as a source of power and authenticity. The title, La Blancheur des Cygnes (“The Whiteness of Swans”), alludes both to Baudelaire’s poem La Beauté and to Andersen’s tale of The Ugly Duckling, reflecting transformation, grace, and the freedom to be seen. Through these fourteen chansons, Charlotte Haesen and the ensemble offer a moving counterpoint to the enduring dominance of masculine energy – proposing empathy, love, and artistic sensitivity as the true instruments of balance in our modern world.