French Baroque Cantatas
ABC Classics 476 5941
Taryn Fiebig, Fiona Campbell, Ensemble Battistin

This CD is one of a series of five from a project at the University of Western Australia, featuring music from the French Baroque. David Tunley, an Emeritus Professor at this university, is one of the leading scholars on the French cantata, and this is a recording of his editions, performed by Perth‑based musicians.

French music from this period is not the easiest to sell, for whilst it is diverting, it lacks the drama of later opera. The scale of these cantatas also makes them difficult to perform, for the arias rarely last more than a few minutes, during which time there might be several changes of character required. There is simply no time for drama to unfold, meaning that every moment must be carefully honed. It is here that my criticism lies, for the voices too frequently project a self‑awareness of the need for precision.

Taryn Fiebig (soprano) and Fiona Campbell (mezzo‑soprano) are both competent singers of considerable experience. I particularly enjoyed their approach to the more dramatic movements. The last movements of each cantata, with their clearer sense of metre and less restrained music, are especially good. In these sections, both vocalists are most at ease, producing more nuanced performances. The slow arias accompanied by flute are also a highlight, with the voices superbly adapting the timbre to blend with that instrument.

Unfortunately, this timbral change is accompanied by a loss of clarity of text. Throughout the CD the words are difficult to hear. Both voices compromise diction for tone, especially in the slow movements. Most frustratingly, Campbell’s recitatives also suffer the same problem. 

There is a general lack of accuracy which infects the whole recording. The liner notes give the place of recording as the Benedictine chapel at New Norcia, though it sounds like each instrument is in a different space. The harpsichord is slightly too present, recorded with none of the chapel’s resonance. The strings are somewhat more diffuse. The voices are strangely dark unless singing at full volume, when the chapel’s reverberance is suddenly clearly audible. This results in a lack of coherence, not aided by slightly unsettled tempi: most are slightly too slow for the vocal lines. There is also an inconsistent approach to intonation from the voices, whose trills are unsuited to this repertoire.

To some extent these are minor niggles rather than major problems. Yet this music has few of the charms of Rammeau or Couperin to serve as a distraction from performance issues. Hopefully the other CDs in the series will be recorded after the ensemble has had more opportunities to perform this repertoire. 

© Michael Hooper