Customer Reviews

Arleen Augér - American Soprano

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This Delos Double has only recently appeared in Australian CD stores and, I am informed, sold immediately. I have always admired the tonal beauty of Arleen Auger's voice and the intelligent communication of her singing. Like Kathleen Ferrier, she may well attain cult status, having died so young. These discs are superbly produced and are a fitting memorial in anyone's collection to this outstanding American soprano.

My copy did not have the works by Heitor Villa-Lobos. The first disk in the set is Delos 3026, "Bach, Handel: Arias," which includes two selections from Alexander's Feast and "He Shall Feed His Flock" from the Messiah. I am not disappointed. Ms. Auger sings wonderfully. My second disk is Delos 3029 "Love Songs," which makes it a good bargain. But there are no texts.

Words cannot express how much I adore these two discs, but here goes anyway. A friend gave me a burned copy 'Love Songs' which I lost and so I purchased this double disc set. Arleen is by far and away my favorite soprano of all time and if you end up owning these cd's, I have no doubt she will become yours as well. Arleen had the most gorgeous voice, a pure yet colorful tone. And her technique as demonstrated on these recordings was superb. If you are a singer as am I, you will not be able to ignore her phrasing on The Salley Gardens - it's truy astonishing. If you are in to doing side by side comparison, try listening to Arleen's version of O Del Mio Amato Ben, then listen to Sumi Jo's version. But be forewarned if you're a Sumi Jo fan, you won't be able to listen to her version ever again. Arleen wrings every bit of naked emotion out of that song without ever being cheesy or over the top. Her musical instinct and interpretation was as flawless as her voice and technique. I use these cd's as my personal master classes with an impeccable artist who was taken from us all much too soon.

After much auditioning and re-auditioning, Auger's "Rejoice" here has finally replaced Kathleen Battle's fine performance on "Grace" as my favorite.

Both singers are at their best in the repeat, where their technique and ornamentation will knock anyone's socks off. But where Battle does a musical and brilliant concerto-like display of Kathleen Battle, Auger instead serves Handel with overriding sincerity. She builds intensity to an incredible pitch, ending on an almost trumpet-like flourish to announce the coming of the King.

As did so much of her singing, this recording sets the all-time standard. Fortunately for the world, the damned brain cancer that killed her body could not take her music from us.

Arleen Augér (September 13, 1939 - June 10, 1993) though no longer with us left such an indelible mark on the art of singing that she has become a legend. Born in Southern California she has always been treasured as a 'local girl', having performed with both the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Opera (in an unforgettable performance as Handel's 'Alcina') and then becoming an in-demand artist throughout the world. She was most highly praised for the purity of her coloratura voice and the honesty and grace of her performances of works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Monteverdi, Gluck, and Mozart.

This double CD release is a selection of the works she recorded and in some ways it is a crazy quilt of selections but for those who have not had the privilege of hearing her perform, this is a generous sampler. There are Handel excerpts (especially 'Piangeró' from Giulio Cesare), Bach works (especially 'Bist du bei mir'), songs by Strauss, Mahler, Schumann, Schubert, Bridge, Poulenc as well as works by Copland (his setting of Emily Dickinson poems), Benjamin Britten, and even lighter songs by Lowe, Stephen Foster, and many others! It is a wide spectrum of repertoire and she delivers each one with her supreme intelligence, text communication, and impeccable musicianship. This is one 'Collection of' albums that is well worth the investment. Arleen Augér is greatly missed: she succumbed to a brain cancer at the young age of 53. Grady Harp, November 10

Be it known, I had no intention of writing a review of this recording. I still do not in fact. But I listened to the late Ms. Auger's reading of 'Lascia chio pianga' and nearly seized (cigarette in hand and all.) I've yet to move beyond track five. That being documented, I implore both the fastidious collector of vocal music and the layman alike to purchase this set. Oh, and about the Freud...following the aforementioned revelatory aural sensation of some five minutes, I typed amazing.com in place of the amazon.com destination. "Behind every mishap in speech, writing, etc. there lies an unconcious motive..."
Well,

Beware!! Defective!!! I am just now returning to Amazon my second copy of this two-disc-set recording. Both packages contained two "disc one"s, and no "disc two". Delos, get your act together! The late Ms. Auger was a great artist, and the recordings she made deserve much better. Having written all this, Amazon Customer Service has handled this situation to my satisfaction, and kudos to Amazon-but it would not have happened if Delos were more careful. So---beware!!!

Since I purchased this album specifically for the recording of the Villa-Lobos, I am extremely disappointed that it was replaced by "He Shall Feed His Flock." She sings everything beautifully, but it is not the recording it pretends to be.