Instant ugh.
A change in performers today results in a CD that’s far less enjoyable.
The Performers:
Stephanie Iranyi mezzo-soprano
Michael Volle baritone
Helmut Deutsch piano
Any time I encounter a mezzo-soprano and a baritone together I know I’m in for a fingernails-on-the-chalkboard experience.
Sure enough.
The fun that I discovered on yesterday’s CD has been replaced with songs that sound, on balance, heavy, serious, weighty, important, and lugubrious. (With few exceptions, of course, such as Track 4: “Der Jager und sein Liebchen,” which tries hard to be upbeat but that mezzo-soprano vocal range just gives me a headache.)
I just can’t get into this music.
