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The release of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's final recording before she died last July at the age of 52 is a timely reminder of her artistry as well as a poignant tribute to her as a person. Composed by her husband, Peter Lieberson, the five Neruda songs were first performed by the American mezzo last November and recorded by the Boston Symphony under the baton of James Levine. The texts are from poems by the Chilean Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda and are all appropriately on the theme of love in its many guises.
This is a work that will probably be compared to Strauss' Four Last Songs for its emotional intensity. Musically it harks back to the early twentieth century, the songs combining lushness with an almost Bergian sound, at once beautiful and dissonant. If at times they wander into atonality, they are highly accessible and should have a continued life, although they will always be associated with the singer who inspired them, making it difficult for future interpreters.
An artist at the height of her powers, Hunt Lieberson carved a reputation for herself as one of the leading mezzos of recent times, with a special feel for baroque music. She also excelled in twentieth century works including Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex and works by John Harbison and Peter Lieberson (they met during a production of his opera Ashoka's Dream).
But it's in early music that she will be best remembered, not least because of her, albeit small, legacy of recordings of works from the period. In this country, she had a triumph in the Glyndebourne production of Handel's Theodora and I was sorry 18 months ago to miss her in Bach cantatas at the Barbican, which was cancelled at the last minute. A staging by a frequent collaborator of hers, the controversial director Peter Sellars, sadly the performance was never rescheduled.
The composer must have been aware of how pertinent the Neruda texts were, given his wife's failing health over the final years of her life. The fifth song is bound to draw the most attention. Entitled "My love, if I die and you don't", it's almost unbearably poignant. A long-term Buddhist, Lieberson has commented "There is the recognition that no matter how blessed one is with love, there will still be a time when we must part from those whom we cherish so much". You have to admire the bravery of the couple in undertaking this work so close to their own final parting.
Lieberson could hardly have given his wife a finer last gift and she reciprocates with a gorgeous performance. She sings radiantly throughout the work, displaying a range of emotions, from joyfulness in the first couple of songs, through anguish to resolution and acceptance of the inevitable in the final poem. One can't imagine a more fitting farewell to a great and sadly missed performer.
The songs are sung in Spanish and, at just 38 minutes, this disk is short but it's hardly appropriate that there should be a filler. This release will be cherished by admirers of the singer and hopefully will also introduce a new audience to her art and that of her husband.
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