Now Playing: Stephanie Blythe
Topic: Stephanie Blythe
REVIEWS Barnes & Noble This disc might have been subtitled "An Alto's Late Romantic Hits." Stephanie Blythe's voice may not be quite as dark nor as creamily rich as some who have made this repertory their own (Janet Baker, Kathleen Ferrier, and Christa Ludwig are a few notable examples), but the American alto's tone is attractively firm and evenly produced, and she is both musically and temperamentally well suited to the melancholy nobility of these songs. She certainly seems to have the vocal muscle for the music, which requires a singer who can soar over dense orchestration -- although here the music is played mainly in chamber arrangements. Brahms's Alto Rhapsody is not presented this way, but it's given an unusually intimate interpretation, with a small, sweet-voiced choral ensemble instead of the usual horde. Wagner's Wesendonck-Lieder, performed in a small-scale version by Hans Werner Henze, works well as chamber music, relating the songs more strongly to the German lied tradition than to Wagner's own operas. And the big moments, like the end of "Stehe still," are certainly rousing enough. The real surprise here, though, is Schoenberg's arrangement of Mahler's "Der Abschied," the final song in the cycle Das Lied von der Erde and rarely heard outside that context. This is among Mahler's most profound utterances: a 30-minute-long journey from darkness and despair to a delicately luminous, redemptive conclusion. Blythe is heartfelt, growing more involved as the song progresses, and though one may miss the original orchestration, the effect here is still magical, thanks to John Nelson's sure pacing and careful attention to instrumental balance. All in all, then, this is a thought-provoking and satisfying recital. Andrew Farach-Colton
Updated: Monday, 13 June 2005 3:03 PM EDT