4.0 out of 5 stars
Fine performance of unjustly neglected songs, May 30, 2000
This review is from: Selected Songs (Audio CD)
Pauline Viardot (1821-1910) was a member of the important musical Garcia family, a close friend of George Sand and Frederic Chopin(the four vocal arrangments of his mazurkas on this CD were originally performed by Viardot with Chopin himself accompanying), an intimate of Ivan Turgenev, and a musical influence on such composers as Saint-Saens and Gounod. As the sister of Maria Malibran, she was a highly accomplished singer, and her songs, while often vocally demanding, allow the singer to express the words with melodic lines that are friendly to the voice (and to the ear). Karin Ott, who has performed the Queen of the Night under Karajan, has the coloratura technique required to make the music sparkle and sizzle where it needs to, as well as a good sense of phrasing and of the French language (she is Swiss). The only fault I can find is that once in a while I would like to hear a warmer bel canto sound in the higher registers. Still, she has admirably achieved her goal of introducing this underappreciated composer to today's audiences. If you are interested in bel canto era music, or in hearing the music that George Sand would have listened to in her home, you should listen to this CD.
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