The latest release by Opera Rara in their Il Salotto series, little known salon songs from the 19th Century, contains a few gems and works by a range of composers, a couple not so rare.
There are songs by Donizetti and Offenbach, as well as a whole bunch of composers you may never have heard of.
These include Mariani, Lord Burghersh, Campana, Vera, Carlini, Benedict, Mercadante, Rubini and Guiglini, most of whom knew a fair degree of success in their lifetimes, then faded into obscurity.
Salon songs from the Victorian era may summon images of buttoned-up ladies standing round the piano and renditions of "I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls" and "Come into the garden, Maud". In fact, there's a song included by the composer of these two classics but it's not altogether representative of the whole.
Michael Balfe, who wrote the opera The Bohemian Girl, 1835 (from which the former of those two songs comes), is represented on the album by "The blighted flower". It is pretty much in the same vein as the two more famous works, a sentimental ballad about lost love and sullied virtue. To my ears, it's one of the weaker contributions, the sort of fare I'd expect on a collection like this.
Fortunately, there are some surprises; it's not all syrupy sadness. Not surprisingly, the works by the most famous names stand out. The Offenbach song, "L'étoile", which dates from 1851 before his fame as an operetta composer, benefits from a cello obbligato (all of the other works are accompanied just by piano). Donizetti's "La rose" is almost operatic in feel and both of these songs are beautifully sung by Elizabeth Vitral, a singer I haven't heard before but who, for me, is the stand-out artist on the album.
It's the first two tracks that I enjoyed most, though. Bruce Ford, sounding remarkably like Alfredo Kraus at times, sings Angelo Mariani's "Ad un fiume", a melancholy, tuneful contemplation on the fleeting nature of youth. The gentle tinkling accompaniment is sensitively played by David Harper, who is excellent throughout. Mariani, hardly a household name now, had the distinction of composing the Turkish National Anthem and conducting the first Wagner opera to be heard in Italy (Lohengrin in 1871).
The second number that I particularly liked is Lord Burghesh's operatic quartet "Sì, fiero dolore", sung here by Mark Stone, Bruce Ford, Diana Montague and Majella Cullagh. It is written in canonic form and, although a work by an aristocratic dilettante, is delicate and quite beautiful. Burghesh, a son-in-law of the Duke of Wellington, was a soldier, politician and diplomat and is best remembered today for being instrumental in founding the Royal Academy of Music.
"L'addio" is of interest because it was written by Caroline Unger, the soprano who sang at the premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and supposedly took the great composer by the arm and turned him round, to receive the audience's applause. It's not particularly noteworthy musically but a welcome inclusion, given how rare works by women composers are in that, or any, era.
The remainder of the songs vary in quality and don't quite live up to the promise of the first two. They are well-performed by a distinguished line up of singers which includes, in addition to those already named, Barry Banks, Sine Bundgaard, Paul Austin Kelly and Roland Wood.
Given the nature of the works, a variety of voices is very welcome. I think a whole album of these songs by any one or two artists, no matter how much you love them, might be a bit wearing.
Mention should be made of Fabio Campana's "Ora Divina" ("The sublime hour") as it provides the name of the album. If it's not exactly sublime, it is a pleasant hour's listening. As this is Opera Rara's ninth volume of salon songs, there must be a market for this material. I'm not sure I'd want more than one myself but, if it is your thing, then this is a respectable addition to the catalogue.
 |
more 