Even if you are familiar with the literature of the Melodies, the so-called French art songs of Debussy, Duparc, Fauré, Ravel and others, you probably do not know the songs of Lili Boulanger. Older sister of renowned composition pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, Lili lived for only 24 years (1893-1918). In this short life, burdened with chronic illness, Lili Boulanger composed a remarkable body of songs that are only now beginning to be recognized for the perfect masterpieces they are. A satisfying new recording, Clearings in the Sky (Cedille Records CDR 90000 054), will go a long way towards bringing these songs the exposure and reclamé they so definitely deserve. Here the composer has the great posthumous good fortune of having her songs beautifully, excitingly rendered by soprano Patrice Michaels and pianist Rebecca Rollins. These artists make such a strong case for Boulanger’s cycle, Clairères dan le ciel, and four other separate songs, that singers will surely begin to discover and add to their own programs.
The songs of Lili Boulanger, although in a familiar style, manifest a breathtakingly fresh musical voice. All of the ones on this highly recommended disc have in common a soaring, feverish ecstasy that presents the poetry with great beauty and emotional impact. Boulanger’s musical palette also includes the impressive grandeur heard in the final song, “Dan l’immense tristesse.” To give Boulanger’s songs a context, several others by her compatriots Fauré, Ravel, Debussy, Messiaen and Honegger have also been included in this richly satisfying program.
The freshness of Boulanger’s writing is fully matched by the freshness of Patrice Michaels’ vocal tone. Her singing gives me the impression of perfectly clear stream water breaking over smooth pebbles in the sunshine. This is no mere “voice of an angel” girlishness, but a lovely, mature instrument, carefully developed. Ideally, I’d like a bit more depth in the tone, but the absolute ease of attack, so welcome at the top, is sweet compensation. It enables Michaels to deliver thrillingly the arching rapture so elemental to this music. Her interpretations, striking and moving, have depth aplenty. In terms of steadiness and clarity, I am even reminded of Dame Maggie Teyte, for me a supreme interpreter of French song. Integral to this fascinating program — really a duet for voice and piano — is the splendid playing of Rebecca Rollins. This recording is a treasure.
—Freeman Günter
Surely the singing of Enrico Caruso needs no introduction to singers; he virtually invented the type of tenor voice that is the standard today. In the view of many, his singing has never been surpassed. He also single-handedly launched the recording industry, merely a novelty and a toy before he legitimized it by being the first great singer to agree to make records and the first great singer to be effectively captured by the nascent medium. Every serious singer should have the complete recordings of Enrico Caruso. Although they have been issued on compact disc by RCA (which bought up the original Victor Talking Machine Company and has now been bought up by BMG) in a 12-disc boxed set, not every vocal afficionado was entirely satisfied by RCA’s digital remastering. First issued on LP, RCA’s Caruso project was begun in the ’70s and was one of the first commercial uses of computers in processing music. The creators of RCA’s Stockard Soundstream System attempted to “correct” what they considered to be the flaws in the original acoustic recording process. They tried to make Caruso’s voice sound as they thought it would have had he been recorded with modern technology, and this changed the sound of these long familiar records. Many felt that, despite the added clarity, the recordings no longer sounded like Caruso. In view of this discrepancy, Naxos’ decision to issue their own 12-disc series of Caruso’s complete recordings is not as redundant as it might first appear to be. This is especially true since Naxos has secured the services of the gifted Ward Marsdon, a master at lifting the voices off of historical recordings and delivering them with near miraculous clarity and presence. With his own unique wizardry and by paying special attention to the difficult matter of recording speed and pitching, Marsdon has, indeed, done a most effective job on the first two discs now available: The Complete Recordings of Enrico Caruso, Volume 1 (Naxos 8.110703) and Volume 2 (Naxos 8.110704). (Marsden also mastered a complete Caruso set for the Pearl label some years ago. These are not recommended because of this label’s preference for inadequately processed, rough-sounding transfers and because of their much higher price.)
On Volume 1 are those first ten sides that changed the world. Recorded in one afternoon in a Milan hotel room in 1902, we hear the fresh voice of this singer, not yet thirty and with a few technical flaws not quite erased from his technique. Perfection was not the goal that afternoon, only getting the contracted ten arias down on wax. You’ll hear, along with the fabulous singing, a few false starts, a bit of awkward falsetto and a throat clearing or two. Volume 2, (and the rest of the proposed series) consists of recordings made in America for the Victor Talking Machine Company, and most impressive is the rapid improvement in both Caruso’s singing and the recording techniques. The recordings on Volume 1 (which also corresponds exactly with RCA’s first disc) were not originally Victor records, and so RCA had to lease them from the original owners; they were never digitally “corrected” as are all of the rest of recordings. Although there is little difference in the sound of Naxos’ Volume 1 and RCA’s, Marsden’s transfers for Naxos are notably warmer and more musical. When we get into Volume 2, the sides that RCA “improved,” the difference becomes enormous, always in Marden/Naxos’ favor. I never heard Caruso in the flesh (he died in 1922), but I have a large collection of the original one-sided 78s and a wind-up, acoustic phonograph on which to play them. Naxos comes far closer than RCA to capturing the splendor of an acoustic record when played as originally intended. This welcome reissue project is a stunning achievement thus far and I eagerly look forward to completing the set, disc by disc. As with all of Naxos releases, the buyer can be assured of two things: they will be first-rate musically and technically, and they will be cheap. Keep ‘em coming, Naxos!
—Freeman Günter
Considering the serious trouble the classical recording industry is in at the moment, it comes as no surprise that some of the most interesting operatic releases have been coming from small labels — Naxos (historical series), Gala, Marston, Opera D’Oro. Because few (if any) of these companies supply libretti for their compete operas, these releases should be considered as valuable supplements to versions one already owns.
High on the list is Gala’s release of the 1951 world premiere of one of the most important and enduring of 20th century operas in English: Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress (Gala GL 100 567). During the 50 years of its life, about six or seven commercial recordings have been made, most of those in the last three decades. For many years the point of reference remained the first Columbia recording conducted by the composer and featuring artists from the 1953 Metropolitan opera production. (This was originally scheduled for release in Sony’s Opera series, but that is now, unfortunately, defunct.) Stravinsky’s score is an obvious tribute to the operas of Mozart, and it is that quality which makes it continually accessible to audiences of all musical persuasions. The short but colorful opening brass fanfare says it all. Like the rest of the opera, it is unforgettable. Although not completely idiomatic, the first recording boasted an enchanting Anne by Hilde Gueden (with her affecting, wispy lower register and easy high C) and a sympathetic Tom by the much underrated American tenor Eugene Conley.
Gala’s release of the Venetian premiere (which is in good sound for the time) is welcome for a number of reasons. First, it is a document of an important event. True, the performance is not as tight in production as is now typical and the ensemble is occasionally ragged, but it remains an invaluable glimpse of the premiere of an important 20th century work. Colorful, inventive, poignant, humorous, and completely accessible to the listener, this unusual score lends itself extremely well to repeated hearings. Gala’s recording is also a treasurable example of a youthful Elisabeth Schwarzkopf at her most fresh and unfettered. Anne’s grand Act I scena may have been done better by others in the succeeding decades, but this first performance shows the beauty and expressivity of not only Stravinsky’s music, but also the Schwarzkopf instrument. Anne’s moving lullaby to Tom in the madhouse is another highlight of Schwarzkopf’s performance. Robert Rounseville is a fine Tom with an attractive voice that is only occasionally troubled by the tessitura. Ottakar Kraus is wonderfully malevolent as Nick Shadow. It is Jennie Tourel, however, as Baba the Turk, who commands the most attention. Having made her Met debut as Mignon in 1937, she was a seasoned performer by this time and it shows. She is a delight. Don’t miss this one. (A note — my copy had the labeling of the two CDs reversed.)
Also not to be missed is a (practically forgotten) 1964 Amsterdam performance of Saint Saëns’ Samson et Dalila, with Jon Vickers in his prime and at his most intense (Gala GL 100 574). (I found myself having to listen to his Act I scene at least three times before being able to move on to the rest of the opera.) Dalila is sung with surprising elegance by Oralia Dominguez. I say surprising because most listeners know this singer from her dramatic, over-the-top yet wonderfully unique Amneris in the famous 1951 Mexico City Aida with Maria Callas and Mario Del Monaco. (If you do not own this performance, stop reading this right now and go out and buy it, because it is Exhibit A of what opera is all about. Dominguez practically stole the show away from the Greek diva, despite the latter’s interpolation of a spectacular high E flat at the end of the Triumphal scene.) Dominguez was an underrated, versatile singer who excelled in Monteverdi as well as Massenet, Spontini, Cavalli, Cesti, Prokofiev and Verdi, and she is underrepresented in the recording catalogue. The performance is superbly gauged by Jean Fournet. As a filler, Gala includes the end of Act I and the big Act II duet between Samson and Dalila from a Met performance with Bumbry and Tucker from 1971. Gala’s sound is excellent and for $10.00 this is a bargain.
In 1951, the Cetra recording company, in cooperation with the Italian Radio recorded a series of Verdi operas to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death. These recordings have been available in one form or another since their initial release. Many Americans know them mainly from Everest-Cetra LP pressings made during the 1960s and 70s. Easily accessible and budget-priced, they were only partially successful as reproductions of the originals.
This year, for the Master’s 100th anniversary, Warner Fonit has re-released the Cetra series of complete Verdi operas in a budget line CD (costing about $5.00 a disc) attractively packaged in a cardboard box with libretti (only Italian) and some photos/pictures. In addition, Warner Fonit has expanded the original series to include such other Cetra Verdi sets from later in the decade as the Callas Traviata, the Caniglia Forza, the Taddei Rigoletto, the Tagliavini Ballo, a 1977 Oberto, and a few others. For many of today’s record buyers who are used to the sound and performances of more modern recordings, it may be hard to realize that these Cetra recordings were of the utmost significance when they were first released. In many cases they were the very first complete recordings of the work, and it is through them that many listeners and students first learned the glorious diversity of Verdi’s operas. Historically speaking, these rough-and-ready performances are indispensable to anyone’s current operatic library, serving as excellent supplements to more recent recordings. Bristly around the edges, and with occasional jagged vocalism, these performances still bear a stamp of authority. And compared to the generalized, almost generic manner of performing these works that we often hear nowadays, these Cetra recordings are like a breath of fresh air.
I am not one who feels that only native-born singers are capable of correctly performing works indigenous to their country. That very concept negates the entire premise of spirituality and innate sensitivity mysteriously born in musicians. There is, however, something special about being able to hear Italian works performed by Italian casts raised and surrounded (since birth) by Italian operatic tradition.
The transference to CD has, for the most part, been excellently done, but these recordings have always had a certain boxy quality that cannot be eliminated due to the taping process prevalent in Italy at the time. Once one adjusts, however, the clarity of the transference is commendable. (The Falstaff and the Aida have a few problems — you might want to wait until the second run of pressings before getting those.) These recordings also demonstrate the genius of such conductors as Fernando Previtali, Carlo Giulini, Vittorio Gui and Angelo Questa, all of whom show individuality that is governed solely by the music and its requirements. Verdi’s music is presented pretty much come scritto, and in many cases these discs serve as a good starting place for any student. What are my personal favorites? I have always been partial to the earthy Nabucco (superbly conducted by Fernando Previtali, who underlines the pagan aura of the music and story), Battaglia di Legnano, Don Carlo, (all of which were the first versions I heard) as well as the Tagliavini Ballo and Taddei-Pagliughi Rigoletto. Actually, to be honest I like them all — no matter the blemishes. In many instances these Cetra recordings remind me of a great artist’s pencil sketches before he has settled on the paint and colors he wishes to use for the final work of art. Today’s versions may be more finished and polished, but these Cetra recordings (many taken from actual live concert performances) are the first thoughts on documenting these works for posterity. There is much to be learned from them. That does not mean that they should (or can) replace other favorite, more modern and polished recordings of these works. Rather, they attest to the dedication and efforts of those pioneering musicians who promoted these works.
The Oberto was never a part of the original series. It has excellent work from two under-recorded artists — Simon Estes and Angeles Gulin. Complete with applause, this Bologna performance is a welcome addition to the original series. In any case, for the price and the performances themselves, you should grab up all that you can. They are fascinating, involving documents that predate the great excavation of these works, and the performances repay attention and study.
— Nicholas E Limansky
