Search - Degaetani & Mezzo :: Cole

My favorite guilty pleasure

B. Morris | Richmond, Virginia USA | 12/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Imagine that your brother plays the piano and your sister has a beautiful, trained mezzo-soprano voice. It's sometime in the 1930s, and they are letting their hair down enough to play a few tunes by this upstart Cole Porter, just for you. He doesn't jazz up the piano parts, and she sings the notes straight, but you appreciate the operatic climax of "In the Still of the Night". She's fairly embarrassing when she sings "cute", but you think of Tchaikovsky as she sculpts the beautiful leaping intervals of "Easy to Love" with flawless intonation. In short, this program is easily dismissed, but it has its own unique virtues. The notes by the pianist make explicit the connection to the classics and remind us that Porter considered himself a serious musician. I managed to buy this CD before wearing out the LP. If this type of presentation appeals to you, grab this disc now, since it is unlikely to be available much longer."