Les nuits d'été

"Les nuits d'été usually requires two different singers unless transpositions are made to suit just one but Michael Spyres here chooses to sing the orchestrated, 1856 versions of in their original, untransposed keys, meaning that the second and third songs require a lower voice than the other four. He evidently considers himself suited to the challenge of singing all six songs ... To my ears his tenor has of late acquired an increasingly constricted rather plaintive, tone which is instantly confirmed by his singing of the first song here in an account not enhanced by conductor John Nelson's inaptly lugubrious choice of tempo ... To sum up, neither of these two new versions of Berlioz masterworks matches up to previous recordings; the song cycle in particular is deeply disappointing".

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"Recording of the week: There's something about Nelson's affectionate but refreshingly clear-eyed approach to this music that often wins over those who generally find it febrile, overheated and overstuffed ... In the opening 'Villanelle', Spyres sounds every inch the classic French lyric tenor, but the transition into baritone mode for the radiant 'Spectre de la Rose' is so convincing that you'd be forgiven for thinking a second singer had taken the reins ... and in Harold Ridout always feels fully integrated into the bigger picture".

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"Bernarda Fink's strong, flexible voice is well matched to all that Ravel asks of her ... There are too many other outstanding recordings of the cycle for this to be first choice".

"Berlioz's Harold en Italie lends itself well to the period-instrument treatment offered to it by Les Musiciens du Louvre ... The coupling of Les nuits d'été is similarly well judged, Anne Sofie von Otter's mature insight into the music'd spectrum of feeling matched by the orchestra's eloquent, atmospheric, limpid support".

"The winning subtlety of the vocal items readily transports the disc into the must-hear category".

"[Cargill's] ravishing account of Les nuits d'ete ranks up there with the best of them ... Cargill's French diction is superb ... [In the second song] she is aided by Ticciati's fleet tempos and the almost period-instrument clarity he draws from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra ... This is a disc to which I'll be returning soon and often".

"Vurdering: Gramophone choice - Vurdering: Recording of the month" - "One of the striking facets of Ticciati's conducting and the SCO's playing in Les nuits d'ete is the clarity and details that spring from the score ... The SCO's collaboration with the mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill is also an entirely felicitous one ... This is a performance of Les nuits d'ete that is all of a piece".

"It's rare for male singers to record 'Les nuits d'été' ... Spyres's baritone can withstand the competition. His deft phrasing and attention to text is outstanding ... [He] is mellifluous in both registers and this is an excellent rendition ... The soloist [in Harold en Italie] is Timothy Ridout, whose warm, silky chestnut tone is beautifully polished ... Indeed, the Strasbourg woodwinds are a delight throughout".