Dvorak: Lieder
Argentina-born mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink's many acclaimed early music recordings (including an outstanding GluckOrfeo ed Eurydice) tend to overshadow the width of her repertory, which includes fine discs of Spanish moderns, Schumann, and now, Dvorak. She sings these songs as if to the manner born, giving idiomatic renderings of 33 songs from various stages of Dvorak's career. Some are well-known, such as the ever-popular "Songs My Mother Taught Me," done here splendidly, Fink in fine voice, gently caressing the melody and resisting its ample temptations to overstatement. She brings appropriate zest to the seven songs of Gypsy Melodies, and folk influences in other songs, such as "Good Night," from the Op.73 In Folk Style, are irresistible. In songs like "The Forsaken Maiden," Fink colors her voice to bring out the narrator's deep emotions. Pianist Roger Vignoles, brings out the Schubertian rippling accompaniment in "At the Brook," and partners her elsewhere with expertise. The disc abounds in glorious melodies and Fink's expressive singing is a fine way to know a neglected part of the composer's output.--Dan Davis