Annette Celine – soprano; Christopher Gould – piano
Cantigas is one of several recordings by Brazilian soprano Annette Celine and British pianist Christopher Gould recently released on Brana Records. Annette Celine is the daughter of the pianist Felicja Blumental, whose recording of Spanish and Portuguese Keyboard Music on the same label was reviewed on this site earlier this year. Like that recording, this CD features the distinctive colourful expressionist painting of Markus Mizne, Blumental’s husband and Annette Celine’s father. (Annette Celine has obviously inherited talent from both sides of the family, as she combines singing with a parallel career as an artist.)
The recording comprises works by Brazilian composers – 13 songs by Waldemar Henrique (de Costa Pereira to give him his full name!), three by his mentor Villa-Lobos and one each by five other composers. With 17 tracks in under an hour, this is a programme of short songs with a range of contrasting moods. The repertoire is unfamiliar in the UK – although Waldemar Henrique is one of Brazil’s most famous composers, his work is not well known here, the Villa-Lobos pieces are not often heard, and only Consuelo Velazquez’ Besame Mucho is what you could call a familiar tune.
The material is a cohesive selection of short, tuneful songs, often featuring Brazilian dance rhythms in the accompaniment, either strong or more gentle. The tone ranges from passionate to gentle, tragic to joyful, jaunty to wistful and exploratory to exuberant. I particularly enjoyed the beautiful Villa-Lobos songs, which I hadn’t heard previously, with their long expressive lines and pianistic accompaniment. The songs are delivered with a story telling approach, full of dramatic expression and in a style that seems appropriate for the music. Christopher Gould provides sympathetic and supportive accompaniment, never overshadowing the vocal line.
I did find it rather frustrating that the words of the songs were not included in the liner notes, either in translation or otherwise, and unusually my Googling efforts were largely unrewarded. With expressive performance such as this, the listener would benefit from knowing the subject matter in order to fully appreciate the performance. It would therefore be helpful if the lyrics and their English translations could be added to the Brana website in due course.
Annette-Celine is apparently one of the leading exponents of 20th century Brazilian song, so is ideally placed to record this material. While she is an acclaimed singer, I feel I should mention that the style of singing with its wide vibrato may feel rather uneasy to the contemporary ear, and I personally found this to be rather distracting. This notwithstanding, Cantigas offers a good introduction to Brazilian song, and would be of particular appeal to anyone with an interest in the music of South America.
Alison Owen-Morley
studioflamingo 