This recital reveals Leontyne Price as a natural interpreter of both Lieder and melodies - her refusal to indulge herself through slow speeds and self-regarding...

This recital reveals Leontyne Price as a natural interpreter of both Lieder and melodies - her refusal to indulge herself through slow speeds and self-regarding gestures consistently takes her to the heart of the matter.

This disc provides a treasurable pendant to RCA's comprehensive reissue of Price's opera recitals (12/92). The singer's debut recording, made in the Town Hall, New York in January 1959, reveals her as a natural interpreter of both Lieder and melodies so much so that one must regret that she didn't devote more time to pursuing a career in this field. Where she scores so easily over many of her American successors is in her refusal to indulge herself through slow speeds and self-regarding gestures: she sings the songs for what they are and with scrupulous attention to text and (mostly) dynamics, no more, no less, and thereby usually goes to the heart of the matter. Nowhere is that truer than in her Faure: each of the five performances here is a delight, not only for the full tone, though lighter than it was to become, but also for the sensuously moulded line and the patent sincerity of the readings, entirely free of artifice. Perhaps Au cimetiere is the finest of the set, with the resignation sadly expressed and the single climax achieved—of course—with a thrilling ease. Price's Poulenc is equally welcome with special praise for ''Tu vois le feu du soir'' (the second of the Miroirs brulants). Few non-French singers have in my experience come so close to the soul of this plangent piece. Not all the French vowels are correctly sounded but for once that seems hardly to matter.

Similarly, her German accent sometimes slips but that can be overlooked when, for instance, the mood of Strauss's Allerseelen is so unerringly caught, the phrasing expansive yet never cloying. That makes a somewhat cool account of Freund-liche Vision a surprising disappointment made up for by the uninhibited passion and generous tone accorded Wolf's Lebe wohl, which usually has to manage with less gorgeous voices. The same goes for Geh', Geliebter, geh' jetz. It's no exaggeration to say that this matches the eagerness and generosity of Rethberg's famous version in HMV's old Hugo Wolf Society recording (2/35—nla). Here, too, David Garvey confirms earlier impressions that he is worthy partner for his distinguished singer.

The recording is a shade confined but honest. The disc is enhanced by Irving Kolodin's perceptive notes and the inclusion of texts and translations. The short measure is hardly of consequence when the content is so desirable. The many addicts of Price's voice will surely want this addition to her British discography, but so will many who love this repertory.

-- Alan Blyth, Gramophone [5/1993]