This intriguing collection
of songs takes us from Pauline Viardot-Garciá
(b.1821) to Nadia Boulanger (b.1887),
who lived until as late as 1979. It’s
difficult however to pin down the actual
compositional dates of these melodies
and Lorelt is not exactly helpful on
the subject. Nevertheless though none
of the names will be completely unfamiliar
to readers the music probably will be.
We get five songs by each composer –
except Viardot-Garciá, of whose
songs we get four (ironic inasmuch as
hers are much the best settings in purely
vocal terms). Holmès was essentially
self-taught though she did later study
with Franck. Her earlier craving for
a romantic canvass gradually narrowed
in focus to song, though big descriptive
pieces were always flaring in her imagination.
Her settings are variously simple (La
belle Madeleine) to rather salon in
orientation (Chanson lointaine). Of
the handful La heine is by far the most
exciting, fuelled as it is by a resonant
and tough text to which she responds
with equal fervour. Harmonically and
temperamentally it is a cut above the
rest.
Nadia Boulanger always
acknowledged the superiority of her
sister Lili as a composer. Some of Nadia’s
1910 settings were jointly written with
the famous pianist Raoul Pugno. As Odaline
de la Martinez writes in her notes his
chromaticism and her newer sounding
dissonances make for a pleasing inner
tension. Vous m’avez dit sounds vaguely
Fauréan, though inclined to be
heavier, and the 1916 setting (by her
alone) of Soir d’hiver has plenty of
tendresse and also more declamatory
and carillon-like force. Chaminade was
a salon favourite who fortunately left
behind some recordings as examples of
her own pianistic style. Her songs are
as one would expect – salon effective
(Madrigal), cod Slavonic (Chanson slave)
and neat but lacking distinction (Rêve
d’un soir). The highpoint of her five
is undoubtedly Amoroso, which taps into
an altogether more rapt reflectiveness,
increasingly ardent and opulently expressive.
Viardot-Garciá was a famous singer
and sister of Maria Malibran, one of
the nineteenth century’s greatest sopranos.
Her son was Paul Viardot, dedicatee
of Fauré’s First Violin Sonata.
She was clearly a taxing word setter
because Berceuse cosaque is a mini scena
– independence of the pianistic right
hand, tolling motifs, coloratura demands
and mezzo depths are all here (and it
makes the generic wisp of Chaminade’s
Chanson slave sound ever more abject).
There’s élan and high spirits
in Bonjour mon Coeur and cleverly rocking
and insistent rhythmic patterns in the
accompaniment to Sérénade
Florentine. On this basis we could do
with more of her songs brought to wider
notice; Ott and Keller have recorded
some for CPO and Bartoli has recorded
a couple for Decca. Here honours are
taken by Rebecca de Pont Davies who
identifies herself as a mezzo-contralto.
Actually I see what she means; she has
a strong chest voice and a well-deployed
centre though her tone does noticeably
thin when she pushes up. Her diction
is also not the finest. Still she has
quite a lot of character and the Viardot-Garciá
settings certainly need that – and get
it. Clare Toomer is a good accompanist
and the whole is under the musical direction
(as they used to say on the 78 labels)
of Odaline de la Martinez. Quite what
that really means I can’t say but it’s
worked out relatively well. Texts and
translations are provided.
Jonathan Woolf
see also review
by Christopher Howell
Rebecca de Pont Davies (mezzo-contralto)
