MELODIES FRANCAISES: Songs of Faure, Duparc, Ravel....

MELODIES FRANCAISES: Songs of Faure, Duparc, Ravel. Gerard Souzay, baritone; Dalton Baldwin, piano. Denon CD, CO-2252-EX (compact disc). These pieces, the Faure “La Bonne Chanson” and Ravel “Don Quichotte a Dulcinee” cycles, as well as six songs of Duparc, have been an integral part of the esteemed French baritone’s repertory since he made his American recital debut 39 years ago. The present disc was made in the summer of 1987 when he was 69 years old. When it was young, the Souzay voice was a slender but serviceable instrument. Its owner compensated for the lack of opulence with style, elegance, color variety and a dazling projection of the text. There is, sad to say, scarcely a song on this record that does not show vocal deficiencies that outweigh any remaining virtues. Even with superclose miking, the strained, dry quality and sagging pitch make listening painful. Why a fine artist would want to do this to his reputation or a company release the results is a question only they can answer.