Reviews in December 1996

Our Christmas Songs For You

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano) / Roberto Alagna (tenor) / Thomas Hampson (baritone) / London Voices / The Abbey Road Ensemble / Jonathan Tunick (EMI CDC7 243 5 56176 2)

This is a brand new collection of largely familiar Christmas tunes, all sung by three of the most beautiful voices around today. What makes this new release so special is the choice of repertoire - we find not so much the traditional hymns sung at this time of the year, but rather the more contemporary Christmas songs.

What a joy to hear three glorious voices singing ever so animatedly and energetically in unison in the opening bars of the opening track, Leroy Anderson's well-known Sleigh Ride! Thomas Hampson's lovely velvety tone brings back a Nat King Cole-kind of nostalgia when he literally croons The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire), and you get the exact same warm feeling listening to his Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. A lesser-known piece, My Christmas Song For You, is delivered with delightfully simple earnestness. Dame Kiri's contributions are predictably beautiful. Her creamy tone in the less-familiar Toyland brings just an ecstatic frisson to this listener, and the jazzy I'll Be Home For Christmas could not have sounded better.

Perhaps it is only young star tenor Roberto Alagna who does not seem quite as comfortable in the pop/jazz idiom as his distinguished colleagues, as seen from his choice of solo items. The easy panache of the rhythmic Il est né, le divin enfant sounds truly delightful. I enjoyed his unfussy rendition of the French version of O Holy Night, sung with such beauty and simplicity that elude many operatic tenors in this lighter repertoire.

The duets and trios come off well too. Hampson and Dame Kiri sound deliciously light in Winter Wonderland, and she teams up with Alagna in In The Bleak Midwinter, one of the best tracks on this wonderful CD. The Twelve Days of Christmas is straightforward yet effective, at times brilliant. (I'm very tickled each time Alagna sings "Two Turtle Doves"!)

The thing about this new collection is that everything is presented in such an unpretentious, earnest way, all lovingly sung by the soloists. We get the impression that everyone is having as good a time singing and being merry as the listener. The wonderful arrangements by Jonathan Tunick, who also directs the orchestra, go a long way towards realising the special quality of this Christmas CD. Perhaps one would have wished for richer instrumentation in Te Kanawa's easy-going Silent Night, but this is not really a problem.

With good, clean digital recording of wide dynamic range, this CD makes not just the perfect gift this Yuletide season, but also the best mood-setter for your home this Christmas.

Written by Lionel Choi

Jessye Norman at Notre Dame

Jessye Norman (soprano) / Choeur Régional Vittoria d'Île de France / Lyon Opera Orchestra / Lawrence Foster (Philips 432 731 - 2)

Recorded live at the famous cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris in December 1990, this Christmas concert features one of the greatest sopranos today teaming up with (nearly) all-French forces. Norman's chosen repertoire for this occasion is truly varied; there are contemporary compositions by Bruce Saylor (born 1946), who arranged many of the pieces in this disc, as well as Negro spirituals and songs by Schubert, Brahms, Bach, Gounod and Bizet. An interesting selection that also receives very special treatment from all the musicians.

I have great problems with Saylor's original works. The concert opens with a grand fanfare, complete with ringing church bells, in his Jubilate Fanfare - Jubilate Fantasy. The work seems very undecided as to which direction it wants to head, and the orchestration at the opening before Ms Norman's glorious entry is inexplicably and, to these ears, inappropriately sparse. But as soon as Norman and the chorus enter, things get back on track, and what a joy the rest of the work conveys! Star of Wonder, another Saylor composition, is another weird piece that tries to say too much, and the end-result is extremely out of focus.

But otherwise, Jessye Norman is in glorious form and rises to the occasion. Her unique tone is rich, sonorous and, above all, utterly beautiful. I like her plaintive way with Et Exsultavit by Bach, and the grand full-throated singing in Schubert's Die Allmacht. She brought down the key for the Gounod/Bach Ave Maria, and while it might seem a little strange at first, Norman's singing is never unidiomatic. Bizet's Agnus Dei is wonderful. Arguably the finest items here are the three spirituals, all varied in style. O Poor Little Jesus is heart-wrenching, and the a cappella Go Tell It On The Mountain is energetic and bold.

This recording, however, is plagued with some rather major problems. While the Lyon Opera orchestral forces under the baton of Lawrence Foster lend sterling support to their distinguished soloist, the regional all-French chorus is quite a different matter. The singing is very bad, and their diction in Go Tell It On The Mountain is unforgivably embarrassing. What's more, they all sound rather under-rehearsed. To make matters worse, the recording, made in notorious Notre-Dame acoustics, is so diffuse and blurred. The chorus' words become so unclear, and orchestral detail is entirely obscured. The overt reverberation of the sanctuary obviously made it difficult to record, but alas, it is quite a pain to listen. Fortunately, Norman's voice is balanced quite forward, so at least we get to experience her amazing vocal cords in this well-chosen repertoire.

This is not a first choice as far as a Christmas CD is concerned, but definitely an interesting item to add to the collection of every Jessye Norman admirer.

Written by Lionel Choi

When You Wish Upon A Star -
Barbra Hendricks sings Disney

Barbra Hendricks (soprano) / London Voices / The Abbey Road Ensemble / Jonathan Tunick (EMI CDC7243 5 56177 2)

Although I'm not a big fan of Ms Hendricks, I am however very charmed by her new recording - a collection of songs from the vaults of Walt Disney. And what a delightful collection it is! The choice of songs here, which Hendricks claims (in the skimpy liner notes) to have picked herself, is appropriately varied, ranging from the old tunes from "Snow White" to Elton John's Circle of Life from "The Lion King". And Hendricks is such a natural interpreter of this repertoire. She lightens her tone beautifully, and fits most comfortably into the music. She sounds like she is telling a story with each song she sings, and she is really doing a fantastic job!

Listen to Hendricks, the innocent princess as she yearns that Someday My Prince Will Come (Snow White), or Hendricks, the quirky yet loving nanny as she sings Feed The Birds (Mary Poppins), which, by the way, is my favourite track. Bella Notte (Lady and The Tramp) is nostalgically beautiful. She is absolutely delicious in the fun numbers like I'm Late (Alice In Wonderland) and Zip-a-dee-doo-dah (Song of the South). What is of special interest here is how Hendricks is able to make the newer songs sound totally natural - both Beauty and The Beast and Circle of Life come off very well indeed, and Part of Your World from "The Little Mermaid" is presented with a believable wide-eyed innocence. The jazz-inspired Cruella DeVil from "101 Dalmatians" is wonderfully sultry and sensuous.

One very serious snag is the title track itself. It is in itself a song that suits Hendricks' style very well, but she obviously got too carried away and ended up 'scooping' almost every single note throughout. She was way overdoing it, and the end-result was excruciatingly painful to listen to.

But you can easily program your CD players to bypass Track Two. This is a very fine collection where a top-notch singer pays a well-deserved tribute to these underrated pieces of the highest quality. The digital recording places the voice a little too forward, but it is perfectly all right in this music. The arrangements by Jonathan Tunick are excellent, and the ensemble and chorus accompany most sympathetically.

Take a walk down memory lane this Christmas; with Hendricks, it's going to be quite a happy trip.

Written by Lionel Choi

Christmas Stars

Dame Joan Sutherland / Dame Kiri Te Kanawa / Renata Tebaldi / Leontyne Price / Luciano Pavarotti (Decca 433 010 - 2)

I have mixed feelings about this 1991 compilation of selections from older Christmas albums by these operatic stars. The repertoire in this disc is largely traditional. The items by Te Kanawa come off best, and it is a pity there are only two. Her Silent Night is simple and straightforward, though a little on the fast side, but never lacking in tenderness; her Angels From The Realms of Glory is appropriately grand and joyous. Next in line must be Leontyne Price's contributions. Her warm and heartfelt account of a familiar Negro Spiritual, Sweet Little Jesus Boy, is excellent, and so is the beautiful Ave Maria by Gounod.

I have slight reservations about the rest of the singers. Dame Joan Sutherland is fiercely impressive in the fast, jaunty numbers, especially in the grand Joy To The World that starts this CD off. The 12 Days of Christmas is deliciously light, though the arrangement by Douglas Gamley tries too hard to be different and unique and ends up sounding rather odd. However, I enjoyed Good King Wenceslas and the tender, simple What Child Is This, though Sutherland's mooning manner is rather obtrusive here. Renata Tebaldi's unique soprano is an acquired taste, and I do not quite warm to her way with what are after all just Christmas carols, not heavyweight Wagner or Puccini arias. She needs to lighten up a lot more - Adeste Fideles is unbearably operatic in style, sung with just too much vibrato. And her tone is just too hard for Gounod's O Divine Redeemer. Having said that, her account of Schubert's celebrated Ave Maria is lovely.

Finally, I think the greatest mistake in this otherwise listenable collection is recording Pavarotti in this repertoire. O Holy Night is not an operatic showpiece or a swaggering Neapolitan song; to make matters worse, his overtly Italianate pronunciation of the English lyrics is totally inappropriate. Gesù Bambino also sounds too coarse.

The recording, which spans some 25 years, is very bold and brilliant, though not very consistent in quality. With absolutely no notes or lyrics included, this compilation seems a lot like a rush job to cash in on the holiday season. In any case, at mid-price, this is a worthwhile investment if you are looking for more traditional Christmas carols for the festive season.

Written by Lionel Choi

Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741)

The Four Seasons; Violin Concerto in B minor, RV580; Violin Concerto in F, RV551

Salvatore Accardo (violin I) / I Solisti Delle Settimane Internazionali Di Napoli (Philips 422 065 - 2)

If you were to go browse through the CDs of recordings of Vivaldi's celebrated meteorological masterpieces in a well-stocked shop, you would notice that there are just so many of them in existence. These are among the most-often recorded works in the classical repertory, and for the budget-conscious, deciding on a recording to buy can be quite a headache since we are so spoilt for choice these days.

I would happily recommend this release on Philips as one of the best in the catalogue. Top-notch violinist Salvatore Accardo takes on the role of director as well as soloist in these delightful chamber pieces. His playing is, without a doubt, dazzling, well-shaped, poised and elegant. This is aristocratic playing of the highest order. And never does Accardo sound lame; all the pieces are well characterized, and where required, he plays with an easy virtuosity and panache to match his more extrovert competitors like Itzhak Perlman. I especially like his Winter, where he produces a tone that is truly chilling, and his daringly wide tonal palette and dynamic range adds extra bite to the music. Spring could not have been more joyful, and Summer, with all of its dramatic contrasts well brought out, is excellent. Accardo has an excellent ensemble of very fine players to accompany him, and his direction is both precise and thoroughly sympathetic. Perhaps some might quibble that the finale of Autumn could have done with a little more swagger and guts. And instead of driving home the joy of triumph of the hunters after having successfully captured their game with a fortissimo conclusion, Accardo opts for a subito piano in the very final phrase; this is truly a very curious choice. But for all these slight idiosyncrasies, Accardo puts across his point with such grace that it is hard not to accept his view of the music.

What is of special interest here is that Accardo uses a different Stradivarius for each concerto! The CD also includes two more violin concertos as generous fillers to outclass competitors. They are similarly well-played, particularly the RV551.

The 1987 digital recording is excellent. A truly delightful recording to add to the festive atmosphere this Christmas, and all year round too!

Written by Lionel Choi

George Frederic Handel (1685-1759)

Messiah (Oratorio in three parts)

Heather Harper, soprano / Helen Watts, contralto / John Wakefield, tenor / John Shirley-Quirk, bass / Ralph Downes, organ / Leslie Pearson, harpsichord / William Lang, trumpet in D / London Symphony Choir / London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis, conductor (Philips 438 356 - 2)

Who can think about Handel and Christmas and fail to remember 'Messiah' in the same thought? This greatest of oratorios established Handel's reputation as a musical genius of the highest order and its first performance in Dublin on 13 April 1742 subsequently became a milestone in the history of music.

There are many delightful moments during the recording. I liked John Wakefield's fresh-sounding and assured rendition of 'Ev'ry valley shall be exalted'. Shirley-Quirk is even more impressive as the bass part. Listen carefully to the unadorned and moving way he lingers over the words in 'For behold, darkness shall cover the earth'. Another nice track to listen to is Track 12 which contains a recitative concerning the angelic announcement to the shepherds. Heather Harper as soprano gives a convincing and poetic account and her voice is sweet without being overpowering. Another great track is the charming and joyful 'For unto us a child is born'.

The felicities in this disc could go on and on. I could talk about the buoyant and light 'Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion' and the tragic-sounding chorus from 'Surely He hath borne our griefs' but suffice to say that the performance in this disc is remarkably even and there is excellent singing from all four soloists. One must not forget to mention the 'Hallelujah Chorus', possibly the most recognised chorus in the history of music. Like everything else in the disc, it is wonderfully transparent and the ensemble singing is neat without any hint of cluttering. I wouldn't have minded if Davis could have delivered something stronger and louder --- to me, it seems that the chorus is a little underpowered.

Colin Davis gives us a more than accomplished and competent accompaniment with the LSO and they are always careful not to drown out the soloists. The timing is measured and steady and the playing is precise and well-articulated. The 1966 recording, in its remastered form, is of a very high quality and you can expect clear, well-balanced sound. In its new super-budget incarnation, this disc is an extraordinary bargain and should be purchased without reservations by all lovers of choral music.

This work is not only an extraordinary tour de force but also an intimate voyage into the life of the greatest man who ever lived. When celebrating the festive season, let your thoughts of Christmas not only be evoked by the many Christmas carols out there but also remember this very early celebration of the joy and wonder of the Messiah's life.

Written by Melvin Yap