Swiss
soprano Barbara Ulricca Theler here essays a canonic all-Czech
recital, which she spices with all of the songs from In Folk
Tone and the relatively infrequently heard Smetana Five Evening
Songs. The Biblical and Gypsy Songs are very much more popular
repertoire of course, with the former generally more associated
with male singers and mezzos; Dagmar Pecková, with Irwin Gage,
for example has recorded all four of the Dvořák cycles
for Supraphon. Bright, forward and ringing, Theler’s voice is
not one ideally suited to the greater gravities of the Biblical
settings. Her interpretative stance is generally more bracing
than native Czech or Slovak singers, more forward, less intense.
Certainly this is a question of colour and depth across the
range; less so perhaps tempo. Whilst she tends to be faster,
in all ten settings, than, say, Soukupová and Moravec (not currently
in the catalogues) she’s not necessarily that much quicker than
Vilém Přibyl and Milan Máša or the admirable pairing of
Jindřich Jindrák and Alfred Holeček.
If
we compare her with the mezzo of Soukupová however we do find
that what Theler makes explicit is much more occluded and expressive
in the Czech performance. The Swiss soprano is really too fresh
and open air for the songs; too superficial in Slyš ó Bože,
tending to lack gravity in Hospodin jest můj pastyř
and rather undifferentiated expressively elsewhere. I do like
the rollicking of Bože, Píseňnovou zpívati budu and
much is sensitively done throughout, though I can’t conceive
what inspired Bruno Canino to play so oddly in the introduction
to the seventh song; expressionist to the point of incoherence
he and Theler turn one of the composer’s most lucid and characteristic
songs to sheer mush. I felt throughout that Canino was chomping
at the bit for some quasi-soloist action; he should really listen
to Moravec in this repertoire to see how subtle rhythmic inflections
work here. Which is odd as Canino is otherwise a fine collaborative
musician with people like Perlman. Perhaps he’s impatient with
the music.
In
Folk Tone is in many ways an easier sing. Kožená and Graham
Johnson have recorded the first song for DG and it’s instructive
to compare the two. Once more Theler is much quicker and more
one-dimensional. Here it’s Graham Johnson who should take some
lessons from a Czech pianist – he preens too much - but Alfred
Holeček for Jindrák shows how it should be done; simply,
unselfconsciously and with genuine feeling. And in the second
of these four settings we again find Canino not supporting his
soprano, his accents drawing attention to themselves and away
from the vocal line, something Holeček never does.
The
Gypsy Songs are sung here in German. One doesn’t want to be
prescriptive about this as native German singers often take
this linguistic route; Peter Schreier is a particular case in
point. Given the bulk of the programme I think Theler should
have sung them in Czech; she certainly sings in the language
well enough. Attractive in many ways she and Canino are never
really incisive enough rhythmically and her tone can thin at
the top of its compass. Certainly when compared to Bernarda
Fink and Roger Vignoles on Harmonia Mundi (sung in Czech) one
notices how the mezzo, at generally faster speeds even than
Theler, inflects more. The Swiss recording sounds brasher and
Canino’s leaden plod during the third setting hardly helps.
The Smetana songs are good to hear again though there are a
few intonational buckles in this performance of the five-song
eight-minute cycle. Again this is something that Vilém Přibyl
and Milan Máša have sung with greater authority but one shouldn’t
underestimate the Claves’ pairing in taking it on.
The
recording is very slightly over-resonant though not debilitatingly
so. The songs are printed in the booklet and translated into
French, English and German though there aren’t notes as such
about these cycles. Personally I can live without that and I’m
glad Theler has given us her recording but it’s best to stick
with the established recommendations above.
Jonathan Woolf
Barbara Ulricca Theler (soprano)
