Customer Reviews

Arleen Auger: Love Songs

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
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This recording is possibly one of the best examples of beautiful singing one will ever find. The repertoire, the artfulness, the line and the sheer beauty of Miss Auger's voice is a rare find. I've just recently purchased another copy as I loaned mine to a friend who begged to keep it! One note on the cover - this new cover art seems to imply this CD is some light version of 1970's Montovani romance music. Nothing could be further from the truth. Though the previous jacket (a photo of Miss Auger on pale pink) did look dated, I hope the next pressing of this (& I'm sure they'll be many more to come!) will give this collection the class packaging it deserves. This is a collector's item. Enjoy!!

So first of all, ignore the cheesy cover art and album title. This is a beautiful collection of songs, beautifully performed. Since I concur with the other reviews that laud Auger's performance (though don't forget the accompanist Dalton Baldwin, who is also outstanding), I'll add only the comment that there is a certain melancholy surrounding a lot of the songs and performances that (a) I find haunting and appealing, and (b) you would never know simply from looking at the album.

The performance of "Why, No One to Love" is worth the price of admission alone.

I'm 15, and never really was one for classical vocal music. But when I heard Arleen Augers sing I was walking on a cloud! It's absolutely beautiful. The pure, rich quality of her voice is something unmatched, and her choice in music is breathtaking. I would implore anyone and everyone to add this CD to their collection. It's sheer perfection!

The late and much-missed American soprano Arleen Auger made many beautiful recordings, but none more lovely than this extraordinarily wide-ranging song recital. What other singer could move effortlessly through such a program, encompassing as it does everything from German lieder (Schubert, Schumann, Strauss), French chansons, and Spanish and Brazilian songs, all the way to numbers from Noel Coward's "Conversation Piece" and Lerner and Loewe's "Camelot"? Auger finds the appropriate style for every piece--bewitchingly seductive in Ovalle's langruous "Azulao," wittly pointed in Mahler's beguiling "Liebst du um Schonheit," darkly impassioned in Donaudy's storm-tossed "O del mio amato ben," exquisitely limpid in Britten's heart-stopping arrangement of "The Salley Gardens" (taken at an awe-inspiringly slow speed), and utterly without even a hint of condescension in the Broadway show tunes. And throughout this stylistic and linguistic Babel of a recital, Auger's characteristically ravishing tone remains absolutely pure and untroubled. Accompanied as she is with unfailing pianistic imagination and virtuosity by Dalton Baldwin--and recorded with you-are-there digital realism by Delos--Auger has given us a CD that is not only a wonderful memorial to her incomparable vocal art but also a joyful confirmation that perfection is achievable on earth.

A wide selection of songs, all well sung. I have yet to find a replacement for Arleen Auger. With a voice like that, she can easily win a lot people's hearts.

My copy of this disc was released with a different cover. All the better!

I wish I could give this recording more than 5 stars. Auger's voice is stunning- so touching, so expressive, so moving. Every song is bouyed up by her astounding artistry: sophisticated, intelligent phrasing, miracles of breath control, not one opportunity for telling expressiveness missed, every gesture full of communicative meaning. Her voice is such an amazing instrument- so angelic, penetrating to the center of your heart. Her death was a tragedy for anyone who loves music, and it is impossible to hear the eligiac songs without feeling a sense of loss. Thank God we have her recordings. This will become one of your favorites of all time.

This is a disc that I recommend to my graduating seniors/graduate students who are pursuing a graduate degree or career options in Vocal Performance.
From the standpoint of technique, Auger is practically flawless---"harsh" is not a word I equate with Ms. Auger's singing. She and Dalton Baldwin are impeccable performers on this disc. All the material was wisely chosen and presented, including one of the slowest "O del mio amato ben's" and one of the slowest "Salley Gardens", indicative of the beautiful breath control this artist had. I have to take exception to one of the comments made by one reviewer, of the "lack of sesitivity to the music that most classical singers possess". This is plain ignorant. This reviewer clearly does not understand the great artistic endeavor that classical singers have to have with Song literature---only a non-singer could have said this. Our finest classical singers of memory have all been outstanding musicians. They also have texts to interpret in many languages. I, as a singer-performer-teacher take great umbrage at comments like this which serve only to degrade the richness of so much repertoire.
I too hated the untimely passing of this fabulous singer. She is one of four famous women singers who all died at the age of 53. I think this disc was recorded not to long before she passed away and does reflect her "goodbye" to her audience. However the disc will remain as timely as the repertoire in it.
Marcia M.Baldwin, Gig Harbor, WA.
Professor Emeritus, Eastman School of Music, Rochester,NY

This is an exquisite collection containing some wonderful basic songs for intermediate singers (Schumann, Quilter, Schubert) and challenging ones for more advanced voices (Copland, Poulenc). Auger is, as always, as close to perfection as a human can be: the line in her voice soars, connects, inspires. This is a fabulous collection!

A lovely collection -very varied. Arleen Auger has a beautiful voice and Baldwin's accompaniment is wonderful. The 3rd track, by Jayme Ovalle, is, as it says in the accompanying notes, bewitching, and is actually the reason I bought the CD.

There isn't much I can add to the praise bestowed on this album by earlier reviewers. I do think though that a special poignancy is undeniable since Auger's voice, while still beautiful, clearly is not that of a young singer. Her maturity makes her interpretations of these love songs all the more touching. I've probably played this CD a dozen times through the years, far more than any other in my collection. It remains consistently and deeply satisfying.