Search - Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms :: Stephanie Blythe - Brahms 'Alt-Rhapsody' · Wagner 'Wesendonck-Lieder' · Mahler 'Der Abschied'

Promises kept and more

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 10/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Stephanie Blythe further secures her position as the most exciting contralto singing today. In her previous recital album she proved that the hurdles of Bach and Handel were mere stepping-stones. Here she blossoms with extravagantly rich tone and intelligent musicianship in the Romantic repertoire of Brahms ('Alto Rhapsody'), Wagner ('Wesendonck Lieder') and Mahler (the final song 'Der Abscheid' from 'Das Lied von der Erde'). And not only does she prove that these deeply involving works lie perfectly in her control and range, she also imbues them with a rich warmth of timbre that is as fine as any recorded.



Collaborating with her again is John Nelson and Ensemble Orchestre de Paris (and the Ensemble A Sei Voci in the Brahms) and whether or not it was a joint decision between these two capable artists to use the Hans Werner Henze setting of the Wagner lieder and the Schoenberg orchestral reduction for the Mahler, the result is a freshness to the sonic approach that adds yet another dimension to this treasure of a CD. The transparency of orchestral colors coupled with the depth of Blythe's voice and interpretation are impeccable. This is a recording of tremendous importance - and beauty."

For the Brahms Alone ...

Debra Buggie | Charlotte, NC USA | 05/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Stephanie Blythe's voice is exquisite, and if you have never heard her, I can't imagine a better place to start than with Brahms' Alto Rhapsody. Gorgeous tone, such sensitivity ... if this were the only piece on the CD, it would worth the price and more. But we also have an intelligent rendering of the Wesendonck Lieder and enough of Das Lied von der Erde to have us baying for a recording of the whole. What a stunning recording -- may there be may many, many more from this wonderful person!

"

A beautiful voice used with intelligence

Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 04/08/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard Stephanie Blythe on CD in the US in the summer of 2008 when a friend played the disc "blind". I did not recognise her voice, so compared with everyone else I was a little slow on the uptake, but I knew immediately that here was an artist of rare quality. True contraltos are always a scarce commodity and she is the real thing - although I see that she is sometimes categorised elsewhere as a mezzo. Anyhow, I have now only just got around to acquiring this album which is now already seven years old - but here goes anyway.



I also recently watched the TV broadcast of her Met "Orfeo ed Euridice" and was less impressed, not so much by the voice but how the intervening years have rendered her - how can I put this delicately? - visually less than ideal as the bereft husband. Ms Blythe is now hardly waif-like, and much willing suspension of disbelief - or closed eyes - may be required. But her voice is a rich, flexible instrument, even if she tends to push that trenchant lower register in a manner which sometimes borders on the vulgar - or at least unmusical. There is far less of that in this earlier recording and she has chosen an all-German programme which suits it admirably.



I part company with another reviewer who opines that she sounds similar to Jessye Norman; to me the nearest and most obvious comparison is with Marylin Horne. They are similar in timbre, vocal lay-out and temperament, and use their voices similarly - though, if anything, Horne is, surprisingly, more likely to rein it in than Blythe and sing softly. Nor do I find anything to complain about in Blythe's German diction and delivery; the clarity of the recording and the sparse orchestration (more of that anon) would quickly reveal deficiencies and I hear none. I find her word-painting to be very sensitive and effective: listen to the way she drains her voice of vibrato and tone in the line in "Der Abschied": "Er sprach,seine Stimme war unflort" - "veiled", indeed. Finally, to address another complaint, I positively like John Nelson's conducting, which employs plenty of rubato and allows the melodic and harmonic lines to emerge cleanly - but I readily accept that Klemperer, for example, brings more affection and freedom to his treatment of the bar lines; he draws back and leans into phrases more seductively than Nelson.



While great altos might be rare, great recordings of both the "Alto Rhapsody" and the "Wesendonck Lieder" are not; they are a favourite pairing and there are superb versions of both from Janet Baker and Christa Ludwig, and numerous fine accounts of the Wagner cycle by such as Jessye Norman and Kirsten Flagstad. The gimmick and selling-point here, however, is that Nelson and Blythe have used Schoenberg's re-orchestration of "Der Abschied" and Hans-Werner Henze's re-working of the "Wesendonck Lieder"; thus we have a much lighter, more transparent, chamber sound with the emphasis upon seductive woodwind colours provided by a bassoon and a bass clarinet and interesting textures from the inclusion of a piano part. This was clever marketing, as although some will want Blythe's account on the strength of her artistry alone, this disc is also appealing to the Wagnerian and Mahlerian enthusiast-completist. Despite the lack of the cushion of sound provided by a full orchestra, the experience is valid - although there is no way in this version, with its forensic acoustic and close ambience, that Blythe's voice can float off into eternity at the end of the Mahler the way Baker and Ludwig can.



I certainly enjoy the disc very much; it provides a new way to hear some superb music and gives us a souvenir of a wonderful voice."