Julius Patzak (1898-1974) is probably best known these days for his participation, with Kathleen Ferrier, in Bruno Walter’s 1952 London/Decca recording of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. Although past his prime, his contribution to that recording was marked by his superb diction and phrasing, attributes even more in evidence in the early pre-war recordings made between 1929 and 1938 included on this generously timed (78 minutes) Pearl collection. Not that the voice is drastically different two decades earlier, but it is slightly more mellifluous and without the strain that occasionally marred his later work. It never was the sweetest or most powerful tenor on the scene in those days, and there was evidence of the throaty production common to German tenors of the time, along with a touch of nasality that may bother some. It shouldn’t, for this disc displays a singer of the utmost refinement and stylistic sensitivity.
Patzak’s virtues are even evident in the single post-war selection on the disc, Florestan’s big recitative and aria from Fidelio where, with Karl Böhm conducting, he creates a memorable character, full of nobility and passion. His Mozart too, was compelling. The Magic Flute’s “Dies Bildnes” and Don Giovanni’s “Dalla sua pace” (here, “Bande der Freundschaft” since, like everything else on the disc, it’s sung in German) may have lacked the sensuousness exhibited by the greatest lyric tenors, but it’s hard to resist singing of such conviction and sensitive phrasing, and Patzak brings more color into the mix in the arias from Così fan tutte and Die Entführung aus dem Serail. A highlight is Lensky’s aria from Tchaikovsky’s Eugen Onegin, done with impeccable diction, pointed phrasing, and the touch of melancholy in the voice that was typical of the best tenors of the first half of the last century.
Patzak’s is not a voice you’d associate with Verdi, but if you make allowances for that, the arias from Un Ballo in Maschera–an aristocratic “Di’tu se fedele” and a stylish “Ma se m’è forza perderti”–are especially attractive. And while it’s hard, very hard, to imagine Patzak singing high Cs in “Di quella pira”, we do get a pair of fine duets from Il Trovatore with Gertrud Runger’s Azucena. Best of all may be the arias from Thomas’ Mignon and Massenet’s Manon, where that melancholy tinge in the voice serves the tenor well. You marvel at the way Patzak overcomes the considerable barriers of the German language in echt-French music to make it sound fully idiomatic. He performs similar feats with the final item on the disc, Rossini’s snappy “La Danza” where he comes up with a bouncily Italianate performance. There’s a lot more too, but there isn’t a single track here that doesn’t have at least something to admire–and that’s more than you can say about most such recital discs.
