Karen Cargill - Fleur de mon âme - All Music

4.5*

Mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill is known mostly for opera, including Wagner; she has performed the role of Waltraute in Die Götterdämmerung many times. One would never guess from this lovely album, however, that she was anything but a French song specialist, so thoroughly and naturally does she contract the dimensions of her voice. The French mélodie may be something of an acquired taste, for there is one tempo here, moderate and deliberate, and one mood, dreamily romantic. Though in Cargill's treatments, the songs are nicely differentiated, with the limpid yet inward pieces by Reynaldo Hahn (listen to the first one, the familiar À Chloris), the slightly mystical and classical Chansons de Bilitis of Debussy, the luxurious pieces by Chausson, and the subtle essays of Henri Duparc each allowed to flower fully. Her voice is a treasure in itself, perfectly on pitch, floating above Simon Lepper's sensitive accompaniment. There's also one rarity, Calmes, au quais déserts, Op. 54, by composer and organist Joseph Jongen; the small-group accompaniment of this song has a delightful organ-like quality. There are plenty of French singers to choose from in this repertory, but Cargill brings to it a freshness and a sense of total commitment.