Customer Reviews

Gérard Souzay Sings Ravel, Debussy, Chausson, Duparc

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At about the same time that recording companies were profitably supporting a "rivalry" between Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, they were stirring up a similarly profitable competition between Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gérard Souzay. Imagine it, once there was a time in which money could be made from singing lieder!

Souzay, was born as Gérard Marcel Tisserand in 1918. He attended the Paris Conservatoire from 1940 to1945. In 1944, while still a student, he made his professional debut and his first two recordings. He did a limited amount of operatic work, even essaying the role of Don Giovanni, but his true field of operation was song. His opera career is represented on CD by memorable performances of "Manon" (with Beverly Sills) and "Pèlleas et Mèlisaunde," but his recorded songs from 1944 to 1987 number about 750 in at least fifteen different languages. He died in 2004.

I first became aware of Souzay more than forty years ago when a singer-friend suggested I try him when I got weary of Fischer-Dieskau. At the time I wondered how anyone could tire of the great German baritone. Not very long after that, of course, I found that I could bear the sound of the excellent but ubiquitous and damnably too-familiar sound of DF-D no longer. Gérard Souzay was an instant curative. To this day, it is Souzay's voice I hear in my mind when I think of the lieder of Schumann and Schubert. In French art song, Souzay was simply without rival.

I find to my dismay that the memory of this great French performer is fading. Amazon still lists 45 of his titles on CD, but only 22 of them are still in print (or whatever the proper term should be for a recording.) As I write this, only 13 of the 45 titles have attracted Amazon reviews and, worse, only seven of his solo CDs have been reviewed. This is more than dismaying; it's downright ominous. The memory of a wonderful talent seems well on its way to oblivion, to the sad diminishment of us all.

In January 2000, an unnamed Amazon reviewer wrote this of Souzay, "In these performances he surpassed Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in a number of respects -- sheer style, beauty and range of tone, naturalness, depth of expression". Yeah.

Five stars!

I was alarmed to see that the average rating for this recording was only three stars. Then I checked the reviews and noted that someone was disappointed with the sound of the recording and gave this reissue a single star. I just had to weigh in here: many of the early Decca recordings are rather boxy and I am sure Testament did what they could to improve the sound. The chance to hear this great French baritone in his prime interpret songs in his native language: this far outweighs any niggling about the quality of the sound, which is more than adequate.

This disc was a great disappointment for me. While it contains some of the most beautiful songs from the French repertoire, lovingly interpreted by Gerard Souzay, the CD transfer was rather 'dry' with significant distortion when the dynamics were put to test. I was surprised, as the Testament label is known for its many fine remasterings of older recordings. However, potential purchasers should look elsewhere for examples of this fine baritone's work.

I really have to do something to redress the balance in favour of this disc and against the person who gave it one star. I have been a Berlioz enthusiast all my adult life so it will readily be understood that I am opposed to all things French and to most of their music. I am particularly allergic to Debussy. Also, it is unfortunate (even allowing for the fact that this is a mono recording) that the piano is so backward aurally. Nevertheless, Souzay simply is *wonderful* in the Duparc songs in every possible way. He pours forth a steady stream of warm and effulgent tone that knocks all competitors into a cocked hat. As for interpretation, I find it best to quote the artist. "For me music is limpid and speaks for itself. I can only offer my emotions when I sing". I'm here to tell you all that he succeeds in spades. Persons wanting all sixteen Duparc songs and the one duet will have to supplement this disc with another, probably the one from Hyperion, but the Souzay will always be the one to grab from the shelf when the ship is going down.

This well-filled disc gives us a selection of Gérard Souzay at his best in the kind of repertoire in which he was strongest (though no Fauré). That means that it was recorded in the 1950s, and the main drawback of the disc is that the recording quality is less than ideal. The voice is very closely recorded, at the expense of the accompaniment which often seems hopelessly far away - a pity since Bonneau's playing seems good (as she is one the better sounding latest Decca re-release of Fauré and Chausson songs with the same artists - one of the greatest recordings of all time); the orchestra in Debussy and Ravel sounds undistinguished and mediocre, but again I think the recording is to blame.

A little more than half the disc is given to Duparc songs, and Souzay is utterly marvelous; the phrasing is flawless and the tenderness and feeling yield more captivating results than any other recording I have heard of these songs (a minor nitpick - some of them could have moved along at a slightly quicker pace). In particular, one should not Souzay's ability to portray deep loss and sadness without ever being in danger of sounding syrupy, and his ability to render passages almost declamation-like while still retaining the melodic line. Similar virtues suffuse the Ravel, though the humor and mood of "Chanson à boire" is superbly captured.

The Chausson songs sound as if they were written for Souzay who brings an impressive range of emotions and colors (but always idiomatically applied) to these heavily romantic, perfumed and alluring works. The Debussy selection is wonderfully sung as well, though his Debussy sounded even more idiomatic in his recordings with Baldwin (perhaps primarily because the sound quality is better). In short, a captivating disc - the downside, and I have to admit that it is a substantial one, is the sound quality (though we get the texts and translation). If you don't mind too much, then this is a gorgeous disc, strongly recommended.