Atlantic Crossings
Amel Brahim-Djelloul (soprano)
Danile Schmutzhard (baritone)
Orchestra Jazz Franck Tortellier
Orchestre Pasdeloup/Wolfgang Doerner
rec. 2020, Philharmonie de Paris, Conservatoire J.B.Lully, Puteaux, France
Gramola 99278 [65]
The fact that Gustav Mahler, Sigmund Romberg, and Kurt Weill made transatlantic voyages at different times, and for very different reasons, seems to be the flimsiest of pretences for bringing the three composers together on one CD. Fortunately the musical value of the entire enterprise more than justifies the offbeat concept.
Mahler embarked on the first of his five journeys to North America in December of 1907 for a series of concerts across the continent. He made his debut conducting in Carnegie Hall in January 1908. Initially at least, his concerts were a great success and provided him with an important source of income. His final visit was in 1911 where he became ill and then traveled back to Europe in extremely poor health. He passed away barely a month after his return. On this disc, Mahler’s compositions make up the largest share of the music, beginning with Blumine, the discarded movement of his First Symphony. Wolfgang Doerner and the excellent Orchestre Pasdeloup take a more direct, less romantically indulgent approach to Mahler’s beautiful music which also benefits from the warm, atmospheric sound provided by the sound engineers.
The vocal selections include the song cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen which is given a weighty performance by Daniel Schmutzhard; hHe seems happiest in the songs that keep him singing in his lower range. Occasionally, when he has to stretch into the upper third of his voice, the songs seem to be just slightly out of reach for him. Interpretively he is shown to his best advantage in the drama of Ich hab’ ein glühend’ Messer rather than the bleak torment of Die zwei blauen Augen. Vocally he lies closer to the drier sound of Dietrich Fischer Dieskau than the plush, rounded sound of Thomas Hampson. The final song in the cycle is taken by Amel Brahim-Djelloul who also sings the vocal finale of the Fourth Symphony. This fine glowing lyric soprano possesses a sound that is slightly reminiscent of the young Lucia Popp. “Ermutten die sinnen” indeed!
The final track that represents Mahler comes from his arrangement of Carl Maria von Weber’s unfinished comic opera Die Drei Pintos. Mahler’s arrangement and scoring of the deceased composer’s sketches permitted this opera to finally receive its premiere in Leipzig in 1888. The Entr’acte given here is a charming piece which Mahler composed using themes by Weber, yet it blends in completely with the earlier composer’s style and sound.
Sigmund Romberg crossed the Atlantic in 1909 at the age of 22, after years of living in Hungary and eventually, Vienna. Initially he scraped by in New York by playing piano in restaurants before founding his own orchestra. In 1914 he became involved in composing songs for the theatrical impresarios, the Schubert Brothers, after which his start swiftly rose as one of the most popular composers of musicals during the 1920s. His most famous scores were for the operettas Maytime, The Student Prince, Blossom Time, and New Moon. This last show provided the single song by Romberg on this album, possibly the most well-known of all of his songs: Lover Come Back To Me. Ms Brahim-Djelloul sings this song with a sure sense of style and charmingly accented English. Midway through the song, the Orchestra Jazz Franck Tortiller sails off in an entirely different direction by going into a jazz improvisation with its leader doing double duty as a marimba soloist. They eventually return to close with the more traditional arrangement and the shimmering voice of thie soprano.
Kurt Weill sailed across the Atlantic under very different circumstances in 1935. He had become a high profile target of the Nazi party, who wanted to make a very public example of humiliating him to Germany and the rest of Europe. When Weill arrived in New York he embraced his new home and the Broadway style of theatrical music, which would occupy him for the rest of his life. On this CD he is represented by songs from the three countries he lived in: Germany, France and the USA. Again Ms Brahim-Djelloul is the soloist and she adjusts easily to the chanteuse style of performing that these songs require. She really gets into the swing of Berlin im Licht and while her performance feels thoroughly at home each of the songs one cannot help hearing the distinctively rasping sound of Lotte Lenya in the back of one’s mind while listening to them. The sensitive ballad That’s Him receives another mid-section improvisational treatment, but here it has lost the element of surprise and feels rather intrusive because it destroys the mood that the soprano has carefully woven.
The engineering on the CD is of demonstration quality. The engineers have achieved a perfect balance of clarity without sacrificing the ambience of the hall particularly in the case of the orchestra.
Mike Parr
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Contents
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Blumine from Symphony No. 1 – first version
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
Das himmlische Leben (Das Knaben Wunderhorn/Symphony No. 4)
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Die drei Pintos – Entracte (arr. Gustav Mahler)
Sigmund Romberg (1887-1951)
Lover Come Back to Me
Kurt Weill (1900-1950)
Berlin im Licht
Je ne t’aime pas
That’s Him
