Any project which serves
to make listeners familiar with some
of the great body of Respighi's work
beyond the familiar orchestral pieces
is to be applauded. I have no hesitation
in offering applause - if slightly qualified
- for this third volume of the Channel
series of Respighi's songs for voice
and piano, prepared and performed under
the guidance of the excellent Reinild
Mees.
Mees has largely devoted
herself to working as an accompanist.
She is also the driving force behind
The 20th Century Song Foundation (Stichting Het
20ste-eeuwse Lied), based in Amsterdam, which, as the liner-notes
rather charmingly put it, "aims at fanning the flames of
enthusiasm for the extensive repertory of songs written during the
last century". Both in concert performance and on CD, Mees' work
has thrown fresh - and deserved - light on the songs of Karol
Szymanowski and Franz Schreker as well as on Respighi, quite a
number of whose songs were written for his wife Elsa - formerly,
as Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo, one of his students - with whom Respighi gave many song
recitals.
This present CD begins with four settings of
Armenian folksongs - Respighi set folksongs from many cultures.
The vocal lines here are reminiscent,
at times, of Armenian chant and the
piano accompaniments are attractively
responsive to the texts and their moods.
The first three songs ('No, non è
morto il figlio tuo', 'La mamma è come il pane caldo' and 'Io sono la
madre') set texts by the modern poet Constant Zarian, while the
fourth - and best - is a fine setting of words
('Mattino di Luce') by the hymnist Nersès
the Gracious (1112-1173), one of the
medieval leaders of the Armenian Church.
The expressively prayerful text here
receives a fully persuasive treatment
from Respighi. Elizabetta Scano sings
with clarity and precision, but not
with any great subtlety of interpretation
or variety of tone; her voice, at least
as recorded here, is perhaps a little
too 'cool' for such warmly Italianate
music. Scano is the soloist in settings
of two pastoral songs translated from
the French, and her light voice is perhaps
better suited to this often demanding
music.
In the Cinque Liriche
of 1917, Respighi sets two poems by
Shelley (in translations by Robert Ascoli),
two by the Swedish 'decadent' Jacques
Conte d'Adelsward Fersen (1880-1923)
and one by Tagore (translated by Clary
Zannoni Chauvet). Respighi's interest in - and particular
responsiveness to - the poetry of Shelley is familiar
from Il Tramonto (1918), where
he again set a translation by Ascoli.
Not surprisingly, these two Shelley
lyrics ('Time Long Past' and 'A Dirge')
draw from Respighi some of the best
music to be heard on the CD. Again,
Scano's performances are good and competent,
but lack the final refinements of interpretation.
In the six poems from
D'annunzio's the soloist is Leonardo
di Lisi, an accomplished tenor, occasionally
stretched by the lower passages in the
songs, but radiant in the higher ones.
There are some lovely melodies here,
and di Lisi does something like full
justice to them. The often shadowy nocturnal
imagery of the four songs from the Poema
Paradisiaco is matched by some gorgeously
dark piano writing, in which the excellent
Reinild Mees is very impressive.
The CD closes with
four pieces I had not heard before,
and with which I have immediately fallen
in love! The 'Four Scottish Airs' are
'The Piper of Dundee', 'When the Kye
come hame', 'Within a Mile of Edinburgh Town' and 'My Hearts in the Highlands'.
Retaining the traditional tunes (and
the words are set in the original Scots)
Respighi prepares for them and decorates
them with piano writing of great inventiveness
without ever distracting from the power
of the originals. There are many subtle
touches, many harmonic and rhythmic
elegances. Why are these superb songs
not better known? Here they get an outstanding
performance from Andrea Catzel, passionate
and intelligent in equal proportions,
and from Mees, heard at something like
her very best as an accompanist.
The earlier part of
the programme, while never less than
enjoyable, lacks the sheer spark of
these four songs which close it. But
everything here suggests how serious
the neglect of Respighi's songs has
been, and all the performers (and Channel
Classics) deserve our gratitude for
their attempt to undo some of that neglect.
Glyn Pursglove
Review
of Volume 1
a Elisabetta Scano (soprano); b
Andrea Catzel (soprano); c Leonardo
de Lisi (tenor); a-c Reinild Mees (piano)
for
details 
