When performers before
the public change their names some confusion
inevitably results. This is the same
Lorraine Hunt who recorded a complete
version of Theodora for Harmonia
Mundi in 1991, but this is a new recording,
not excerpts from that old recording,
which I’ve not heard.
This is also one of
the finest vocal recordings in any voice
I’ve ever heard. Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
has a magnificently powerful, pleasant,
expressive, controlled voice with extraordinary
power at both ends of the range and
the dramatic instinct and musical intelligence
to make the most of it. What she does
not have is a pretty, bright, Italian
contralto, hence she cannot dazzle us
with flights of coloratura staccato.
But she has explored her own capabilities
and devised an extensive range of embellishments
and ornaments which perfectly suite
her voice and this music, so these performances
are fully in character and authentic
to the period. The only voice of recent
memory I can compare her to is that
of Kathleen Kuhlmann (Mrs. Lieberson
has recorded some of the same roles
Ms. Kuhlmann made famous) or, for expressive
power, Kathleen Ferrier, but whether
it is the repertoire or the recording,
the experience of hearing Lorraine Hunt
Lieberson is comparable to none, no
one, nothing I’ve ever heard before.
This disk reminds one
forcefully of an important aspect of
Handel’s art. When his music is sung
by talented but not spectacular voices,
the pieces seem merely pretty and a
bit overlong. But when a true vocal
superstar performs them they have an
excitement, drama, and power that takes
us into another world altogether, as
on this record. One need only compare
Margaret Ritchie singing "I know
that my Redeemer..." or Russell
Oberlin in "But who shall abide..."
or Jan Peerce or Justino Diáz
in "The trumpet shall sound..."
with less inspired singers to observe
that we have not merely moved up a little
along a continuous scale of quality,
but have burst into a new dimension
entirely. Handel’s genius in making
possible this miracle is generally understood
but not often acknowledged.
The contribution of
Harry Bicket and his fellow players
to this recording must not be minimised;
the jewel of Ms. Lieberson’s voice is
here set in pure gold. All of the arias
in the list at the top of this review
are prefaced by their respective recitatives
except "Lord, to Thee.." and
"Se brammante..." and the
timings include these recitatives.
The surround sound
recording is unusual. From the photograph
in the booklet we see that the musicians
were on stage in a large auditorium,
the singer with her back to the hall,
the musicians in front of her seated
in a circle around a microphone. This
bears out the experience of listening
where there is very little directional
quality to the recorded perspective.
However, when the soloist reaches a
powerful loud note, the ambient contribution
from the hall in the rear channels gives
the voice a bloom of power and size.
It’s a subtle effect, and if your system
is not carefully adjusted you may miss
it. You may prefer to play the disk
in two channel with your regular surround
sound decoder switched on and set in
an ultra-wide position. The first Theodora
aria is accompanied by double-basses
recorded so realistically you can use
it (I did) to adjust critically your
system and speakers for low range definition.
Naturally, I would have preferred a
"stage" surround sound mix
with the accompanying instruments spaced
around the room to give me the illusion
of being present and in the middle of
things.
The CD tracks are remarkably
near in quality to the two channel SACD
tracks.
The original audiences
were bored so nearly to death by Theodora
that it closed after three performances,
the worst flop Handel ever experienced.
What extenuating circumstances may have
contributed may only be guessed at.
The story is tragic, the music almost
unrelievedly sombre. Handel himself
said, "The Jews will not come to
it because it is a Christian story and
the ladies will not come because it
[is] a virtuous one."* While audiences
did not care for Theodora, Handel and
some of his musically knowledgeable
friends thought it to be one of his
better works, and apparently Lorraine
Hunt Lieberson thinks so also, and brilliantly
makes her point with this recording
which will leave you humming tunes you’ve
likely never heard before.
The Cantata "La
Lucrezia" is also a tragic story,
an Italian cantata from Handel’s early
years which again gives Mrs. Lieberson
another vehicle for her exceptionally
compelling tragic style. The accompaniment
is very imaginative use of a small group
of instrumentalists recorded very close
with the soloist.
With Serse,
the mood lightness a bit from sombre
tragedy to a uniquely Handellian kind
of English genteel graciousness, unique
in Handel’s time that is but resurrected
by Elgar early in the last century where
he called it "nobilmente."
*This quote, which
is new to me, supports my observation,
previously expressed in this forum,
that Handel consciously aimed his music
in part to a Jewish audience, and lends
a little credence to my controversial
assertion that his sympathies with that
audience were based in part on personal
conviction. Since this is his sole religious
drama set in Christian times and his
worst failure, the aptness of his strategy
seems to be proven.
Paul Shoemaker
see also review
by Christopher Webber
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson mezzo-soprano 
AVIE
AV0030 [67.01] 
for details