The Faces of Love ~ The Songs of Jake Heggie / Fleming, McNair, Larmore, von Stade, Forand, Cao, Clayton, Vaness, Asawa

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Music reviews of The Faces of Love ~ The Songs of Jake Heggie / Fleming, McNair, Larmore, von Stade, Forand, Cao, Clayton, Vaness, Asawa

Music Review: Here's a good CD to listen to while you're eating dinner
Rating: 4 Stars

Most of the singers on this compilation of Jake Heggie's art songs are known for their work in opera. Here they have a chance to show their softer side, mostly with success. The best of Heggie's songs display a flair for reworking jazz-like rhythms and textures into rigorous compositions. In this Heggie resembles William Bolcom, another of those astonishing American composers who should be heard more often.

Unexpected pleasures abound on this recording. Heggie's harmonies are consistently challenging but never unpleasant to the ear. I wish they were more aesthetically daring, though -- beneath those shimmering surfaces, I suspect there's not much to discover. These songs seem like the perfect accompaniment to a pleasant dinner, though I'm not sure if that's high praise in itself.

One disappointment (for me at least) was Renee Fleming's histrionic, hysterical interpretation of "I Shall Not Live in Vain." (I realize this sentiment probably will not be shared by most listeners.) The song itself is sweet, deceptively simple, and perhaps a trifle schmaltzy -- the stuff of which great art songs are made (or, at least, the stuff by which art songs can make great singers). Yet Fleming ruthlessly barrels through the piece, displaying some disgusting vocal effects in the process. I think they're intentional diva-isms, but they're out of place here. Thankfully, other performances on the CD are more restrained, and effective in that self-restraint.

On the whole, Heggie is not yet a master of the art song; he doesn't consistently bring new, unanticipated dimensions to the texts he sets. Still, Heggie is audience-friendly, easy on the ears and the brain. For sheer likeability, I'll give this CD four stars.

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