Word: mezzo-soprano
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Offenbach: Le Vie Parisienne (Jennie Tourel; Columbia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jean Morel; Columbia). A saucy score culled from several operas, with Tourel's fine mezzo-soprano, gaily modernized scoring and fine acoustics...
...songs I thought Mr. Mandelbaum's settings of Psalms Nos. 139 and 140 for mezzo-soprano and cello showed the greatest freedom in the handling of a vocal line. He took excellent advantage of these highly dramatic texts and displayed an appropriate variety of moods while maintaining a stylistic unity with in the pair. Mr. Feder's settings showed a greater simplicity, more of a desire to render the texts than to interpret them. Yet his songs were to from colorless, I especially enjoyed the mock heroic piano recite after the Found liner. "And I would rather have my sweet...
...Mind Music." Stravinsky used only five instruments-two flutes, an oboe, English horn and cello. A chorus of eight women and two soloists. Mezzo-Soprano Marni Nixon and Tenor Hughes Cuenod, were the only voices. Stravinsky conducted in his usual jerky, graceless style, looking, with his prominent eyes and waving tailcoat, rather like a dapper little Beatrix Potter frog...
Haydn: Arianna a Naxos (Jennie Tourel; Haydn Society). The Greek legend of Ariadne appealed strongly to Haydn. When he was 58 he wrote a short, melodious and seldom-heard solo cantata in which the abandoned princess bemoans her fate. Mezzo-Soprano Tourel sings it in warm Italian. The accompaniment is played by Ralph Kirkpatrick on a recreated 18th century piano...
Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer (Blanche Thebom, mezzo-soprano, with orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult; Victor, I side LP). Mahler's hauntingly lovely song cycle here gets a pure and richly expressive performance. Recording: excellent...