Suzanne Danco (soprano)
The Decca Recitals
rec. 1947-1956
ELOQUENCE 484 0868 [8 CDs: 558 mins]
Belgian born Susanne Danco was one of the foremost French-speaking sopranos during the early post-war years, and she was equally at home in the Italian and German repertoire. In the present 8 CD box we get a full-size portrait of her versatility in recordings from the late 1940s and the 1950s. A large quantity of the items are first CD releases on Decca, even though some of them have been available on other labels. She had an important career on the opera stages in Europe, but even more as a recitalist, and the majority of the recordings belong to the latter category.
Suzanne Danco made her first recording in Milan in February 1941, a privately recorded 78rpm for HMV with two madrigals. One of them was included in EMI’s “The Record of Singing”, Volume 4. Not until six years later did she return to the recording studio when she began her long-time association with Decca in July 1947. Three Mozart arias were set down, two of which are included here: Come scoglio from Così fan tutte and Voi che sapete from Le nozze di Figaro. Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte was her professional debut role in 1941, a role that became a signature role which she continued to sing during her long career. The third aria, Per pieta ben mio also from Così fan tutte (Decca K 1815), has unfortunately not been able to
be located. The rest of CD 1 contains arias and songs also issued on 78rpm discs, of which the following six also were issued on LP (Decca LXT 2557) in March 1951. While the Mozart arias are less than interesting, these six are in a different division. Though she was fluent in several languages it was the French repertoire that was closest to her. Depuis le jour from Louise is so nuanced and she audibly savours every syllable, reaches the climax gloriously and then fines down to a soft piano. Her Violetta in La traviata is affectionate and nervously expectant – and French insofar as it plays in Paris with surroundings. Manon’s farewell to her beloved table is sung with strong involvement, the brave Micaéla’s excursion to the mountains in search for Don José is also emotive and Gluck’s Alceste is impressively strong and dramatic. Dido’s Lament rounds off a very attractive recital. One of her legendary readings was Ravel’s little cycle Shéhérazade. The recording from Paris 1948 was her first collaboration with Ernest Ansermet – there were a lot more to follow, including a stereo remake of this cycle. The recording is a little dim which to a certain extent affects the exquisite orchestration, but the singing is probably as close to what Ravel had wanted as anyone’s.
The rest of the disc is occupied by a handful of songs not previously released on CD by Decca. A beautiful song by Bononcini and Caccini’s evergreen Amarilli, though accompanied on a modern grand, is touchingly sung. Finally two takes of Schubert’s Wohin? and a glittering Die Forelle remind us that she was just as comfortable in the German lied tradition as the French mélodie. These sides were also her first collaboration with Guido Agosti, who was to become her regular accompanist
Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Liederkreis Op 39 were issued by Pristine some years ago, and I refer readers to my review. here. I wasn’t quite satisfied with all of it but on the whole, they are estimable readings. The group of Schubert songs opens with the great clarinettist Gervase de Payer sharing the solo role with Ms Danco in Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, and both are brilliant. Die Forelle, was also on the previous disc, and the reading is very similar. The timing is identical. Gretchen am Spinnrade is nuanced, and the climax is intense. Du bist die Ruh is ideally vocalised with well-judged crescendos, while Der Musensohn is very swift, almost rushed, but still well-conceived.
The five Brahms songs that open the disc, are attractive, with Die Mainacht sensitively sung and the much-loved Wiegenlied simple and folksy – very likeable! Wir wandelten, warm and inward, also stands out, while Meine Liebe ist grün is intense and eager. These songs have never been issued on CD by Decca, and this also goes for the first five Wolf songs. Verborgenheit is slightly fluttery but sung with great warmth. She builds the reading towards a great climax and then back to a fine pianissimo. Blumengruss is simple and low-keyed, just as Gleich und Gleich, while Frühling übers Jahr is more dramatic but still lyrical. In Anakreons Grab she darkens the tone skillfully. The sixth song, Elfenlied, was previously unpublished, which is a mystery, since it is the most delicious of them all.
As I mentioned earlier, she was a natural Mozartean, and the four songs presented here – all of them
the first time on Decca CD – are touchingly sung with brittle tone. She is just as adept in the Strauss group, five of his most delicious songs, and they have in fact been available on Decca before. The disc is filled out with five Arie antiche, which today probably would have been accompanied on a harpsichord, but back in 1952 a concert grand was fully accepted. The singing is lovely. Gluck’s O del mio dolce ardor the best known, but Alessandro Scarlatti is always a pleasure to hear and both Caldara and Surante, the latter Spanish influenced, are welcome. Caccini’s Amarilli is one of the most gripping love songs, sung with tenderness and deep insight. It’s a pity all of these have been collecting dust in the archives for so long.
On this and most of the following disc she is truly on her home-ground, French melodies. All her Debussy songs, rubbing shoulders with Fauré’s La Bonne Chanson is a feast for Francophones, and all of it is exquisite and lovely. The Fauré cycle is also of historical interest as a very early reading. Charles Panzéra set it down as early as 1936, but I believe Suzanne Danco was the first on LP. The rapport between Fauré and Verlaine is legendary, but here we can also compare them with Debussy’s more restrained settings of the same poet in Fêtes galantes.
The disc opens with Ravel’s Shéhérazade, which she recorded as early as 1948 (CD 1 tr. 9 – 11). Here, six years later, we can enjoy the brilliant orchestration so much more in early stereo. Her singing is also more assured, even though the difference of the reading is marginal, but it is a great pleasure to hear the beautiful voice wallow forth effortlessly and the balance between voice and orchestra is ideal. As on the earlier recording it is Ernest Ansermet who conducts. I have many favourite recordings of this little cycle: Crespin, Baker, von Stade possibly topping the list, but Ms Danco is definitely in their company.
The other two groups of Ravel songs can likewise hardly be surpassed, and generally speaking all three can be regarded as reference recordings.
Vincenzo Bellini, the great melodist, breaks the line of French composers, and he is always worth a listen, but Vaga luna is, to my mind, sung too mechanically. The other three are quite OK. Gounod as a song composer isn’t too well-known, which is a pity. Venise, is a lovely song. His tribute to a nightingale, Au rossignol, is also enchanting. The short Viens! Les gazons sont verts! Whizzes by in no time – but is fresh and charming.
The filler is a half-dozen popular gems. Schubert’s Ave Maria always invites comparison with Marian Anderson’s legendary recording. The latter’s statuary and otherworldly nobility may feel a bit stale, while Suzanne Danco breathes more life and flexibility in the music. Still the basic tempo is quite similar. Mendelssohn’s Auf Flügeln des Gesanges and Brahms’s Wiegenlied are both sung inwardly and simply – and very naturally. Gounod’s Sérenade (text Victor Hugo) is probably his best-known non-operatic melody – unless we count his “improvement” of Bach’s prelude from Das wohltemperierte Klavier. Both are sung with commendable naturalness. In between she also treats the listener to Fauré’s Aprés un rêve. A nice collection of classical lollipops, which filled a 10-inch LP (LW 5229), released in January 1956.
So far the repertoire in this box has, with one or two exceptions, been fairly standard. But on CD 6 we trod basically unknown territory. The background is an album presented in March 1835 by Gioacchino Rossini to a certain Louise Carlier, daughter of a prominent impresario in Paris. The album contained songs by then celebrated composers, and they were all in original manuscript form. It was recorded October 1956 in Florence, where Suzanne Danco lived, and she was accompanied by the famous conductor Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, who was a close friend to Ms Danco. Of the 18 composers represented, only about a third are generally known today: Rossini himself of course, Vincenzo Bellini, Fernando Paer (possibly), Saverio Mercadante (arguably), Giacomo Meyerbeer, Luigi Cherubini and Gaspare Spontini (probably). This doesn’t mean that the rest is negligible, and I do recommend readers to do a blindfold test, to see whether they can sort out the wheat from the chaff. There may be one or two surprises!
There is a filler here too, and an important one. Set down in Cincinnati on 24 April 1951, her recording of Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été was the first complete ever. It is a valuable document, and if we can disregard the recording quality – mono and rather limited in dynamics – it is a marvellous reading, and Suzanne Danco’s voice leaps out of the loudspeakers with astonishing clarity.
The next disc is devoted to Bach: two of the best-known cantatas (BWV 51 and BWV 202), with some odd songs and one by Schütz, accompanied by organ. In the cantatas the accompaniments are provided by Stuttgarter Kammerorchester under Karl Münchinger, who were among the leading Bach-authorities before the HIP-movement made its entrance. I’m no HIP-purist and can enjoy modern instruments in these works. Ms Danco is sometimes challenged by the high tessitura, but generally she is fine. And I like to hear Bist du bei mir, which isn’t by Bach at all and here correctly ascribed to Gottfried Heinrich Stötzel.
The last disc is devoted to arias from operas & oratorios, culled from various complete recordings. Cherubino’s two arias from Le nozze di Figaro were my introduction to the voice of Suzanne Danco, when I, in the early 1960s, bought a highlights LP from the complete Erich Kleiber recording. She expresses the eagerness and youthful exuberance of the young boy. This is Mozart singing of the highest order – as is the complete opera, which still is among the top-contenders.
In the excerpts from the complete Orphée et Eurydice, we also encounter the superb Léopold Simoneau, elegant, stylish, expressive and singing with golden tone. And Suzanne Danco matches him in one of the still best recordings of the tenor version.
Back to Mozart and Don Giovanni. Here we meet another great lyric tenor from the 1950s, Anton Dermota as Don Ottavio. On stage Suzanne Danco’s role in this opera was Donna Elvira, but for the recording she was brought in at short notice to replace an ailing Leonie Rysanek. Both are great, but Ms Danco is impressively magnificent in a role she had never essayed before. She is also utterly adept in the coloratura of Non mi dir.
The rest is French repertoire with the reliable Ernest Ansermet at the helm of the orchestra. Mélisande in Debussy’s opera was one of her great roles, and here we get three substantial pieces from the opera, and there is an extra bonus in having Pierre Mollet as Pelléas. Ansermet recorded the opera again in stereo, but with another soprano, and many afficionados state that this older recording is preferable. Of course she also excels in snippets from Ravel’s two short operas, as well as Honegger’s Le Roi David. Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien is not an opera but a mystery play in five acts by Gabriele d’Annunzio with incidental music by Debussy and La Chambre magique is from the second act. The play with the incidental music is very rarely heard complete but there have been a number of recordings, more or less complete, and Ansermet’s was one of the earliest. Rounding off the more than 9 hours of music in this box is the beautiful Pie Jesu from Fauré’s Requiem, recorded in excellent stereo. I have spread out the listening sessions over a period of several months, and I believe that is the best way of savouring the singing of one of the foremost French-speaking singers of the mid-20th century.
Göran Forsling
Contents
CD 1 [68:11]
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756 – 1791)
Così fan tutte, KV 588
1. Come scoglio [4:29]
Le nozze di Figaro, KV 492
2. Voi che sapete che cosa è amor [3:06]
Gustave CHARPENTIER (1860 – 1956)
Louise
3. Depuis le jour [4:45]
Giuseppe VERDI (1813 – 1901)
La traviata
4. E strano ... Ah, fors’è lui ... Sempre libera [6:23]
Jules MASSENET (1842 – 1912)
Manon
5. Allons ... Adieu, notre petite table [4:20]
Georges BIZET (1838 – 1875)
Carmen
6. C’est les contrabandiers … Je dis que rien ne m’epouvante [6:23]
Christoph Willibald GLUCK (1714 – 1787)
Alceste
7. Divinités du Styx [4:43]
Henry PURCELL (1659 – 1695)
Dido and Aeneas, Z.626
8. Thy hand, Belinda … When I am laid in earth [4:59]
Maurice RAVEL (1875 – 1937)
Shéhérazade, M.41
9. Asie [9:03]
10. La Flûte enchantée [2:40]
11. L’Indifférent [3:15]
Giovanni BONONCINI (1670 – 1747)
12. Deh pié a me non v’ascondete [2:36]
Giulio CACCINI (1551 – 1618)
13. Amarilli mia bella [3:44]
Franz SCHUBERT (1797 – 1828)
Die schöne Müllerin, D795
14. Wohin? (Take 1) [2:04]
15. Wohin? (Take 2) [2:07]
16. Die Forelle, D 550 [2:09]
CD 2 [74:30]
Robert SCHUMANN (1810 – 1856)
Dichterliebe, Op 48
1. I. Im wunderschönen Monat Mai [1:13]
2. II. Aus meinen Tränen sprieBen [0:49]
3. III. Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne [0:30]
4. IV. Wenn ich in deine Augen seh [1:29]
5. V. Ich will meine Seele tauchen [0:51]
6. VI. Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome [1:53]
7. VII. Ich grolle nicht [1:44]
8. VIII. Und wüBten’s die Blumen, die kleinen [1:11]
9. IX. Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen [1:19]
10. X. Hör‘ ich das Liedchen klingen [1:57]
11. XI. Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen [0:59]
12. XII. Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen [2:01]
13. XIII. Ich hab‘ im Traum geweinet [2:02]
14. XIV. Allnächtlich im Träume [1:32]
15. XV. Aus altern Märchen winkt es [2:22]
16. XVI. Die alten, bösen Lieder [4:29]
Liederkreis, Op 39
17. I. In der Fremde [2:03]
18. II. Intermezzo [1:50]
19. III. Waldesgespräch [2:24]
20. IV. Die Stille [1:23]
21. V. Mondnacht [3:29]
22. VI. Schöne Fremde [1:14]
23. VII. Auf einer Burg [2:43]
24. VIII. In der Fremde ("Ich hör die Bachlein rauschen") [1:52]
25. IX. Wehmut [2:28]
26. X. Zwielicht [2:46]
27. XI. Im Walde [1:13]
28. XII. Frühlingsnacht [1:12]
Franz SCHUBERT
29. Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D.965 [10:36]
(with Gervase de Peyer, clarinet)
30. Die Forelle D.550 [2:09]
31. Gretchen am Spinnrade D.118 [3:26]
32. Du bist die Ruh, D.776 [4:08]
33. Der Musensohn D.764 [2:03]
CD 3 [65:19]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833 – 1897)
1. Die Mainacht, Op 43 No 2 [3:56]
2. Wiegenlied, Op 49 No 4 [1:41]
3. Ständchen, Op 106 No 1 [1:55]
4. Wir wandelten, Op 96 No 2 [3:21]
5. Meine Liebe ist grün, Op 63 No 5 [1:20]
Hugo WOLF (1860 – 1903)
6. Verborgenheit [3:10]
7. Blumengruss [1:18]
8. Gleich und Gleich [0:56]
9. Frühling übers Jahr [2:26]
10. Anakreons Grab [2:21]
11. Elfenlied [1:32]
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART
12. Das Veilchen, KV 476 [2:16]
13. Abendempfindung, KV 523 [4:30]
14. Dans un bois solitaire, KV 308 [2:52]
15. An Chloë, KV 524 [2:41]
Richard STRAUSS (1864 – 1949)
16. Morgen, Op 27 No 4 [3:33]
17. Ständchen, Op 17 No 2 [2:26]
18. Traum durch die Dämmerung, Op 29 No 1 [2:28]
19. Zueignung, Op 10 No 1 [1:44]
20. Freundliche Vision, Op 48 No 1 [2:55]
Christoph Willibald GLUCK
21. O del mio dolce ardor [3:43]
Alessandro SCARLATTI (1660 – 1725)
22. Se Florinda è fidele [2:27]
Antonio CALDARA (1760 – 1736)
23. Come raggio di sol [2:51]
Francesco DURANTE (1684 – 1755)
24. Danza, danza [1:12]
Giulio CACCINI
25. Amarilli mia bella [3:44]
CD 4 [67:52]
Claude DEBUSSY (1862 – 1918)
Trois Chansons de Bilitis, L.90
1. I. La Flûte de Pan [2:22]
2. II. La Chevelure [3:04]
3. III. Le Tombeau des naiades[2:31]
Le Promenoire des deux amants, L.118
4. I. Auprès de cette grotte sombre [2:05]
5. II. Crois mon conseil, chère Climène [1:29]
6. III. Je tremble en voyant ton visage [2:07]
Ariettes oubliées, L.60
7. I. C’est l’extase langoureuse [2:41]
8. II. Il pleure dans mon coeur [2:32]
9. III. L’Ombre des arbres [2:19]
10. IV. Chevaux de bois [2:38]
11. V. Green [1:57]
12. VI. Spleen [2:17]
Gabriel FAURÉ (1845 – 1924)
La Bonne Chanson, Op 61
13. I. Une sainte en son auréole [2:12]
14. II. Puisque l’aube grandit [1:59]
15. III. La Lune blanche luit dans les bois [2:19]
16. IV. J’allais par des chemins perfides [1:57]
17. V. J’ai presque peur, en vérité [2:08]
18. VI. Abant que tu ne t’en ailles [2:32]
19. VII. Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d’été [2:19]
20. VIII. N’est-ce pas? [2:34]
21. IX. L’Hiver est cessé [2:51]
Claude DEBUSSY
Fêtes galantes, L.80
22. I. En sourdine [2:57]
23. II. Fantoches [1:11]
24. III. Clair de lune [2:56]
Trios Ballades de François Villon, L.119
25. I. Ballade de Villon à s’amye [4:18]
26. II. Ballade que Villon fait à la requeste de sa mère [3:57]
27. III. Ballade des femmes de Paris [2:02]
CD 5 [72:05]
Maurice RAVEL
Shéhérazade, M.41
1. Asie [9:00]
2. La Flûte enchantée [2:30]
3. L’Indifférent [3:08]
Deux Mélodies hébraïque, M.22
4. I. Kaddisch [4:37]
5. II. L’Enigme éternelle [1:25]
Trois poems de Stéphane Mallarmé, M.64
6. I. Soupir [3:32]
7. II. Placet futile [3:54]
8. III. Surgide la croupe et du bond [2:34]
Vincenzo BELLINI (1801 – 1835)
9. Il ferviso desiderio [2:34]
10. Dolente imagine di fille mia [2:53]
11. Vanne, o rosa fortunata [1:47]
12. Vaga luna che inargenti [2:44]
Charles GOUNOD (1818 – 1893)
13. Venise [3:50]
14. Au rossignol [5:04]
15. Viens! Les gazons sont verts! [0:54]
Franz SCHUBERT
16. Ave Maria, D.839 [6:07]
Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809 – 1847)
17. Auf Flûgeln des Gesanges, Op 34 No 2 [3:13]
Johannes BRAHMS
18. Wiegenlied, Op 49 No 4 [1:43]
Charles GOUNOD
19. Sérénade [3:43]
Gabriel FAURÉ
20. Après un rêve [2:33]
Charles GOUNOD after Johann Sebastian BACH (1685 – 1750)
21. Ave Maria [2:39]
CD 6 [75:28]
Album de Musique offert par G. Rossini à Mademoiselle Louise Carlier
Giachino ROSSINI (1792 – 1868)
1. Mi lagnerò tacendo [0:54]
Vincenzo BELLINI
2. Dolente immagine [2:57]
Fernando PAER (1771 – 1839)
3. Ange à la voix tendre [3:14]
Édouard BRUGUIÈRE (1793 – 1863)
4. Le Printemps arrive [3:10]
(with Ester Orel, mezzo-soprano)
Auguste PANSERON (1796 – 1859)
5. Il n’aurait pas dû venir [1:16]
Giovanni TADOLINI (1789? – 1872)
6. Com’è soave a l’anima [2:02]
Michele COSTA (1808 – 1884)
7. Trova un sol, mia bella Clori [1:19]
Marco Aurelio MARLIANI (1805 – 1849)
8. La gita in gondola [2:32]
Saverio MERCADANTE (1795 – 1870)
9. Aure amiche, ah! non spirate [1:58]
Francesco MORLACCHI (1784 – 1841)
10. La rosa appassita [3:34]
Giacomo MEYERBEER (1791 – 1864)
11. Soave l’istante [1:22]
Henri BERTON (1784 – 1832)
12. Air À trois notes [0:40]
Louis BERTIN (1805 – 1877)
13. Ah, dors en paix, mon bel enfant [4:03]
Luigi CHERUBINI (1760 – 1842)
14. La pietosa bugia [1:40]
Gaspare SPONTINI (1774 – 1851)
15. L’Adieu [5:02]
Georges ONSLOW (1784 – 1853)
16. Le Dante dans le paradis [3:43]
Luigi GORDIGIANI (1806 – 1860)
17. Ognuno tira l’acqua al suo mulino [2:37]
Antonio BAZZINI (1818 – 1897)
18. Chi ami? [2:32]
Hector BERLIOZ (1803 – 1869)
Les Nuits d’été
19. I. Villanelle [2:15]
20. II. Le Spectre de la rose [5:54]
21. III. Sur les lagunes [7:03]
22. IV. Absence [5:04]
23. V. Au cimetière (Clair de lune) [4:39]
24. VI. L’île inconnue [4:18]
CD 7 [58:57]
Johann Sebastian BACH
Cantata ‘Jauchzt Gott in allen Landen’, BWV 51
1. I. Aria: Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen [4:42]
2. II. Recitative: Wir beten zum dem Tempel an [2:17]
3. III. Aria: Höchster, mache deine Güte [4:41]
4. IV. Chorale: Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren [4:23]
5. V. Aria: Alleluja! [2:34]
Cantata 'Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten', BWV 202
6. I. Aria: Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten [6:41]
7. II. Recitative: Die Welt, wird wieder neu [0:35]
8. III. Aria: Phöebus eilt mit schnellen Pferden [4:50]
9. IV. Recitative: D’rum sucht auch Amor sein Vergnügen [0:53]
10. V. Aria: Wenn die Frühlingslüfte streichen [3:09]
11. VI. Recitative: Und dieses ist das Glücke [1:06]
12. VII. Aria: Sich üben im Lieben [5:39]
13. VIII. Recitative: So sei das Band der keuchen Liebe [0:33]
14. IX. Gavotte: Sehet in Zufriedenheit [1:59]
Heinrich SCHÜTZ (1585 – 1672)
15. Eile mich, Gott, zu erretten, SWV 282 [4:27]
Johann Sebastian BACH
16. Bist du bei mir, BWV 508 [3:02]
Aria by Gottfried Heinrich Stötzel, from Anna Magdalena Bach Notenbüchlein
17. Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz, BWV 516 [3:24]
From Anna Magdalena Bach Notenbüchlein
18. Komm, süsser Tod, BWV 478 [3:24]
From Schemelli Gesangbuch
CD 8 [75:13]
Arias from Operas & Oratorios
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART
Le nozze di Figaro
1. Non so più cosa son [2:42]
2. Voi che sapete [2:53]
Christoph Willibald GLUCK
Orphée et Eurydice
3. Viens, viens, Eurydice, suis-moi [4:21]
4. Viens! Suis un époux qui t’adore [4:36]
5. Mais d’où vient qu’il persiste [1:27]
6. Fortune ennemie [3:35]
With Léopold Simoneau, tenor (Orphée)
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART
Don Giovanni
7. Ma qual mai s’offre, o dei [6:32]
8. Don Ottavio, son morta! ... Or sai chi l’onore [5:50]
9. Non mi dir, bell’idol mio [4:41]
Anton Dermota, tenor (Don Ottavio) (7, 8)
Claude DEBUSSY
Pelléas et Mélisande
10. Vous ne savez pas où je vous ai menée? [6:44]
11. Mes longs cheveux [5:41]
12. Je les tiens dans les mains [4:13]
With Pierre Mollet, baritone (Pelléas)
Maurice RAVEL
L’Enfant et les Sortileges
13. Ah! C’est elle! C’est elle! [5:51]
With Flore Wend, mezzo-soprano (L’Enfant)
LHeure espagnole
14. Oh! La pitoyable aventure! [2:33]
Arthur HONEGGER (1892 – 1955)
Le Roi David, P.71
15. Ah, si j’avais des ailes de colombe [2:30]
Claude DEBUSSY
Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien
16. La Chambre magique [6:38]
Gabriel FAURÉ
Requiem, Op 48
17. Pie Jesu [3:12]
