That’s where the audience automatically remembers the younger singer and his
recordings and that’s when one grudgingly has to admit the star has aged after all. I remember
Nicolai Gedda at De Munt sounding very fresh in a lot of songs and then all at once labouring his
way through a Mignon aria he didn’t dare to transpose. That’s where the many older Bergonzi
recitals catch the tenor flattening. And that’s where Jaume (his Catalan name) Aragall has to
throw in the towel as well in this recital. Suddenly one hears he is somewhat short of breath and
he doesn’t phrase adequately. Not so surprising as by the time he gave this recital he already sang
37 years professionally; so think of Beniamino Gigli in 1951.
The middle voice is still audibly Aragall though some harshness has crept into it but it is a fine
lyric sound. Do not forget that in the early sixties he was hailed as the greatest promise in opera
and it was no co-incidence that in Bologna and at La Scala he got the title role in I Capuleti ed I
Montecchi with Luciano Pavarotti taking the second tenor role. What disturbs me more is the
unremitting forte without the relief of a piano or a pianissimo. A song like ‘Ay, ay, ay’ so well
spun out by Miguel Fleta, loses all its charm and the same goes for ‘A vuchella’. The arie antiche
sung in this way serve only to warm up the voice. Aragall is at his best in some canzone
napoletane like ‘Pecché’ and ‘Tu ca nun chiagne’ where a full voice is apt. And I offer a reward
to the first Spanish company that succeeds in spelling correctly titles in a foreign language on the
sleeve. This time we get ‘e lucevan l’estelle’ and ‘tu can nun chiagne’. Aragall-fans will be glad
with the issue though lovers of fine tenor singing won’t need the record in their collection.
Jan Neckers
image=http://www.operatoday.com/Aragall.png
image_description=Jaume Aragall en Vivo
product=yes
product_title=Jaume Aragall en Vivo: Songs and arias by Bassani, Durante, Tosti,Cardillo, Bellini, Puccini, De Curtis,Sorozabal, Pérez Freire, Di Capua, Pennino.
product_by=Jaume Aragall, tenor, Amparo Garcia Cruells, piano.
product_id=Columna Musica 1CM0084 [CD]
price=$15.99
product_url=http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=147697