Testament’s series of Gérard Souzay reissues got off to a faltering start with discs focused on his later career, when his warm, supple baritone had become dry and his insightful interpretations were hindered by a deterioration of the vocal means with which to achieve them. Here, all is righted: all of the 24 Schubert songs were recorded by Decca in 1953 and 1954, the singer’s prime. So we get the full impact of his warm, supple baritone and an interpretive approach that recalls such great earlier lieder singers as Gerhard Husch and Herbert Janssen, who placed a premium on beautiful sound, union of text and music, and vocal line.
Souzay always was recognized as a great exponent of French song, but praise for his lieder singing usually was muted in an era dominated by Fischer-Dieskau and his often fussy text-oriented approach. This reissue should convince doubters that Souzay was among the elite singers of lied–the warm shaft of his baritone sheathed in a variety of text-illuminating colors in “Der jüngling und der Tod”, “Liebesbotschaft”, and elsewhere in this recital offer firm evidence. So should the way he takes on a completely different vocal timbre for “Der Schiffer”, and his wonderfully contained ecstatic closing lines of “Ganymed”.
“Nacht und Träume” offers further lessons in legato singing as Souzay holds a seamless line throughout the song, delivered with sincere depth of feeling. It’s followed here by a completely different voice adopted for the bardic opening of “An der Leier”. And Souzay’s gift for lightness is on ample display in “Der Schmetterling”, where we can almost see a smile in the voice that captures, in the words of the song, the sense of “floating over hill and dale.” Such songs contrast strongly with the deep feeling of inwardness with which he makes “Litanei”, “Geheimes”, and others so moving.
There are times when he sings songs more suited to a darker instrument, so although he darkens his voice for them, he ultimately lacks the tonal weight to completely convince in “Der Atlas” and “Gruppe aus dem Tartarus”. Nor is he willing to fully let loose in the closing lines of “Der Wanderer an der Mond”, a song in which he brings full resolve to the Wanderer’s voice but little sense of its “whistling in the dark” irony. But these are minor carpings, inconsequential in the context of songs attractively sung with deep understanding and sensitivity. His accompanists are very good if at times backwardly recorded. The excellent monophonic sound occasionally is compromised by hints of distortion at louder moments, but otherwise it shows few signs of its age. Testament’s booklet includes texts and translations in, believe it or not, readable type!
