I was considerably less than enthusiastic about the last Maggie Teyte reissue to come my way–the Teyte volume in Decca’s The Singers series (type Q4790 in Search Reviews to access that review)–primarily because it was loaded with faded Victorian ephemera sung in less-than-prime vocal condition. However, this Dutton reissue plays to Teyte’s strengths (French repertoire), has far more interesting selections, and boasts fresher sonics. The well-filled (73 minutes) disc can be categorized in three parts: songs with orchestra, operetta selections, and a Debussy mélodie recital. Part 1 opens with Ravel’s Shéhérazade and includes a pair of songs from Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été and a pair of Duparc songs. Before we’re very far into it, the various merits and demerits of the singer are immediately apparent.
The voice is a pleasing light soprano, slim, without quite enough warmth to separate it from similar voices. Teyte’s technique must have been first-class since there’s relatively little change in vocal quality on these recordings, made when the singer was between the ages of 44 and 60. Occasionally a touch of age’s vulnerability is evident, as in the frail thinness of the line in the 1940 “Absence” and the unsteadiness in Debussy’s “De Fleurs” from the same year; but few could guess that Teyte recorded this Shéhérazade at 60.
Interpretively, Teyte’s of the no-nonsense, direct school, without the personal quirks that either can enlighten or madden, depending on your preferences. Her diction is excellent, precise without being mistaken for that of a native French-speaker. She’s got charm to burn, as is amply demonstrated in the operetta group, where her mastery of the frothy style is positively enchanting. Her version of “Je t’adore, brigand” from La Perichole, with its little slides and sly phrasing, is irresistible. Together with the selections by Monsigny, Grêtry, Douelen, and a French-language aria for Zerlina from Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, Part 2 proves to be the runaway highlight of the disc. Not that the final Debussy songs are to be overlooked; three with Gerald Moore at the piano date from 1940, and a fourth, “De Grève”, is from Teyte’s classic 1936 recordings with Alfred Cortot. In all, this is a fine introduction to the art of a fine singer.
