Neither
Mozart
nor
Strauss
is much known for songs, but their pairing here, nicely framing the golden age of the German lied, succeeds in showing the virtues of both as song composers. Soprano
Sabine Devieilhe
has often taken up
's music. She is new to
, but she catches his Classical, or neo-Classical, side in the selections on this album, wisely avoiding heavier material. The elegant little structures of
's songs seem to bloom into
' more elaborate treatments of similar structures, and when
does open up his range, as in the wildly flowery
Amor
,
Devieilhe
, known for her interpretation of the Queen of the Night's "Der Hölle Rache" in
Die Zauberflöte, K. 620
, is ready.
, in turn, is ennobled by this program, with small melodic details emerging nicely in the work of
and the lively and timbrally varied accompanist
Mathieu Pordoy
. The whole project has the feel of small treasures known to performers who take pleasure in sharing them, an impression reinforced by the photos of the pair in the graphics and also by the acoustic environment of a small hall at the Paris Opera. A delightful song recital that rightly made classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2024. ~ James Manheim