Further Information on Kaprálová:
www.kapralova.org
In one fell and gorgeous
swoop Supraphon double the amount of
Kaprálová in the catalogue.
The other landmark collection is the
admirable disc from Studio Matous (MK
0049-2 011 - reviewed
elsewhere on this site) who can
be said to be the main progenitors of
Kaprálová's exposure on
disc.
This is a winner -
and very hot off the press too. Whenever
you receive a disc like this with one
singer you wonder whether this is to
be another example of vibrato-blurred
and smudged Slavonic 'style'. Not a
bit of it. Burešová is steady
in tonal emission despite the demanding
and exposed writing. Admirable clarity,
freshness and intelligent engagement
with the words are the hallmarks of
her wonderful singing. These qualities
serve the music very well indeed. Burešová’s
voice reminded me of that of Susan Hamilton
on the Delphian CD of the songs of Ronald
Stevenson.
Here
are all but five of the songs written
by Kaprálová. During her short life
(she died of TB in Montpellier at the
age of 25) she had an impressive range
of teachers: Martinů, Chalabala,
Munch, Talich, Novák and Boulanger.
Her April Preludes were written
for Firkusný. She conducted her
Military Sinfonietta in Prague
with the Czech Phil and in London with
the BBC Orchestra.
Songs recur as a constant
throughout her life. They are consonant
with her tendency towards concise musical
expression - intense through its very
concentration. First impressions indicate
a decidedly Gallic-ecstatic style. In
the cycle Sparks from the ashes
the French ‘voice’ is married with the
archaic mysticism of Warlock's Frostbound
Wood. The songs are heavy with the
scents and sense of love, of melancholy,
death and longing. A dreaminess rises
like incense from this music - not as
sensually dense as Szymanowski or Sorabji
but broadly related in mood. In the
years are silent (tr.24) a hooded
tone is foremost. In the first song
of the cycle Apples from the lap
it is Vaughan Williams' Bredon bells
that ring out. The sloe-eyed smile and
lulling pulse returns for Lullaby
reminding me of Poulenc's famous
hotel. A related setting, yet even more
memorable, is the first song from Forever
with its piano trilling and rocking
transverse movement. The first really
playful song is Spring Fair,
the last entry in the Op. 10 collection.
This is paralleled by Hands in
which the piano seems to mimic a delightful
babbling brook. Darker thoughts dominate
the solo piano interlude set amidst
the Op. 18 collection. Orthodox chant
passes cloud-like over the writing in
My dear one.
I have my doubts about
one facet of the packaging. The 75 page
booklet (superbly presented by the way)
and the CD case fit into one of those
slip-through presentation sleeves. At
present the sleeve holds the two items
firmly but in the long term ...?
The insert notes are
by the sensitive and thoughtful pianist
Timothy Cheek. Full texts and side-by-side
translations into English, German and
French are given. Congratulations to
Supraphon for opting for a good size
font.
Let us hope that soon
we will see similar serious treatment
for the music of British women of the
same or adjacent generations: Lilian
Elkingon, Dorothy Howell, Susan Spain-Dunk
and Jane Joseph.
If you have a taste
for the French school of chanson represented
by Duparc, Poulenc and Fauré
in mesmeric, dreamy and expressive mode
this disc needs to be on your Christmas
list. Well done Supraphon and the Kaprálová
Society. I hope that there will be more.
Rob Barnett
Dana Burešová (sop)