The Faces of Love ~ The Songs of Jake Heggie / Fleming, McNair, Larmore, von Stade, Forand, Cao, Clayton, Vaness, Asawa
Don't be put off by the title, which sounds like the product of a marketing meeting. These are smart, fun, sexy, friendly musical settings of verse by (mostly) living poets by the composer of the forthcomingDead Man Walkingopera. Even better, there's not the slightest hint of these starry singers phoning in their performances en route to the airport. Everyone performs in excellent voice and with maximum commitment (Jennifer Larmore's English diction has never been better), and with good reason. Jake Heggie draws on all manners of compositional techniques--from expansive flights of polytonality to droll references to tango and other dance rhythms--but always at the service of his essentially lyrical musical personality, which can be vaguely described as updated Samuel Barber. Beyond writing well for the voice, Heggie gives the singers an unfettered emotional outlet and a range of theatrical moods, both in his choice of stylish, emotionally present verse and in his broad, clearly etched melodies that so easily accommodate coloring and nuance. As if that's not enough to inspire commitment from singers, Frederica von Stade doubles as poet in the cyclePaper Wings. Not all of this is great--Heggie sometimes resorts to generalized prettiness--but there hasn't been a more engaging vocal recital album all year.--David Patrick Stearns