As with Volume
I of this series, to which I would
refer readers, this set demonstrates
the consistently superior talents of
Rumanian soprano Yolanda Marcoulescou-Stern.
As before we open with some examples
of the Bucharest-recorded operatic selections
and as before we hear a voice that is
small, clear, pure and intensely flexible.
No heaviness or excessive vibrato attends
to it, though it loses little in fervour
or power. In this kind of repertoire
– unlike the essentially Francophile
repertoire of Volume I – we are deep
into coloratura territory, to which
demands she responds with technical
excellence – light, agile in Linda’s
Aria, no forcing of her tone in the
Rossini and real flexibility and strength
at the top of her compass in Maria’s
Deciso è dunque and with
some flourish at the end as well.
As before the bulk
of the set is devoted to art song; whereas
before French now the emphasis is very
much on the Italian and American schools
and Brahms. There is no diminution of
tonal or musical value in this set and
no lesser identification with or exploration
of the repertoire either. Her Respighi
is commendably glinting and allusive
– slight strain in Par l’étreinte
from the Five Liriche maybe –
and her Tocchi full of nuance and romantic
melismas. The pleading lines of Stornello
and the perky ebullience of In
riva al fiume are captivating. Amongst
the Italian settings the most consistently
surprising and thoughtful are those
by Malipiero and she responds acutely
to the more elliptical element enshrined
within for example Les yeux couleur
du temps. Which is not to say that
the forceful or almost impudent settings
are beyond her because, as L’archet
clearly shows, this is not so, nor when
it comes to the harmonically much simpler
Cimara settings is she anything other
than lyrically generous.
When Yolanda Marcoulescou-Stern
escaped from Rumania she went to Wisconsin
to take a tenured position at the University
and teach a generation of students there.
Her tribute to her adopted homeland
in the form of these American settings
reveals another facet of her musical
armoury. Not all these settings are
especially challenging or memorable
and many still show undue subservience
to European models but all are worth
considering. MacDowell’s are fresh air
German settings and the Ives early works,
Brahmsian (Ich grolle nicht is
very Brahmsian) and ripely romantic.
Carpenter is rather more involving and
interesting in his settings; elliptical
with subtle word setting, sparse and
sometimes of an impressionist cast these
are settings singers should cultivate.
The other settings range from the contemporary
Downey – tough and exploratory – through
Virgil Thomson’s accustomed whimsicalities
to Paul Bowles’ splendidly inventive,
rhythmically acute, colourful settings
of Italian poetry. Draganski’s settings
are teasing and playful, Berlinski’s
single one solemn and Rodrigo properly
jocular.
She is accompanied
by Jeffrey Peterson in her Brahms recordings.
The selection is well chosen to reflect
her many strengths of expression and
vocal clarity. Highlights include an
especially vibrant Vergebliches Ständchen,
a confident O liebliche Wangren
and a thoroughly convincing Von
ewiger Liebe. All her accompanists
prove powerfully supportive – Dalton
Baldwin noticeably so in this respect
– and as before full texts and biographical
details are provided. If my preference
is for the earlier volume it’s because
the repertoire is more consistently
elevated – but Volume 2 has things that
are as rare if not more so. She sings
splendidly, whichever volume you consider
(why not consider both?).
Jonathan Woolf
The
entire Gasparo Catalogue may now be
purchased through MusicWeb
Yolanda Marcoulescou-Stern (soprano) 
