Regular readers probably know by now that my hang
up - as far as singing is concerned - is vibrato. Not that I dislike
vibrato generally, but when it grows too wide and insistent it
mars the musical line and draws the attention from the songs and
the readings. An ugly vibrato can destroy the listening pleasure
completely.
Elena Kelessidi's sometimes does, which is a pity,
since there is so much about her singing that is a pleasure to
hear. There is no doubt that she is well inside the songs and
throughout the recital she illuminates the poems through sensitive
and expressive phrasing and shadings of tone. Her pianissimo singing
is exquisite - just listen to how she floats the tone in the last
bars of Rachmaninov's Oh, do not sing to me (tr 17) - and
the soft singing in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Wind (tr. 12)
is truly admirable. There is also glow and intensity in the more
dramatic songs - Rachmaninov's In my garden at night (tr
20) is a splendid example.
Unfortunately there are also many examples of hard-edged
and badly controlled vibrato when she sings at forte. The first
of the Glinka songs is one, To a Lyre (tr 7) is much better
and the light and lively Tell me why (tr. 9), where she
doesn't have to push the voice, is truly agreeable. It may be
that she didn't have one of her best days when some of the songs
were recorded.
The disc is however of interest for some of the
repertoire. Tchaikovsky's and Rachmaninov's songs are rather frequently
heard and Had I only known (tr. 2) by the former and Lilacs
(tr18) by the latter are as good starting points as any to sample
the art of Elena Kelessidi. The rest of the songs are rather lesser
known. I have an LP with the great Evgeny Nesterenko singing an
attractive programme of Glinka songs - some of which he also performed
at a recital at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm some twenty
years ago. They are fine songs, as are those by Dargomyzhsky,
who is probably best remembered - if at all - for a couple of
operas. One of them is entitled Rusalka - not to be confused
with Dvořák’s opera. César Cui, the least known but most long-lived
of 'The Mighty Handful', is also little played today but he left
an impressive oeuvre in all genres bar the symphony. The sole
song by him in this collection, I touched a flower, written around
1890, is very attractive. Rimsky-Korsakov is known to all music-lovers
for his colourful orchestral works and, at least in Russia, for
his operas. The Nightingale and the Rose, an early song
composed in 1866 when he was still a cadet in the Russian navy,
has acquired some fame and was memorably recorded by Rosa Ponselle
in 1939. It was included in a Naxos 3 CD box with her late recordings
(see review).
Elena Kelessidi sings it exquisitely but her tone is slightly
uneven.
There remains to be mentioned the youngest composer
and the only one born in the 20th century. Vladimir Vlasov lived
until 1986 but the song included here, The Fountain of Bakhchisarai,
a setting of Pushkin, was composed in 1937, the centenary of the
poet's death. It is impassioned and it would be interesting to
hear more of Vlasov's works.
Malcolm Martineau accompanies extremely well and
the recording can't be faulted. For some seldom heard repertoire
and for quite a lot of the singing this disc is worth getting
to know but I would advise those interested to try to hear the
disc before buying, since the vibrato can be rather trying.
Göran Forsling
Elena Kelessidi (soprano),
Malcolm Martineau (piano)
[GF]
