Bryn Terfel’s new collection of musical theatre songs comes closer to the heart of the matter than his earlier one (DG, 12/96). These settings of Alan Jay Lerner lyrics may not be his native song but this archetypal romantic lyricism seems to have found a place in the Welshman’s heart. No doubt the terrain of three of these musicals close to home, and another, Paint your Wagon, set in a mining community, may well have added their own frisson.
Those who have the earlier Rodgers and Hammerstein CD will thrill once again at hearing songs sung in a way that is seldom heard in the theatre – the sustaining of the melodic line, the word-painting, sometimes a touch overdone, the dynamic range, sensibly modified now, and an often unexpected lightness of touch. Mid-Atlantic vowels can enhance or detract from the credibility of the characterization, as in Lancelot’s “If ever I would leave you”; more difficult to accept are Doolittle’s songs in My Fair Lady, with only a hint of cockney.
As on his earlier disc Paul Daniel has such a natural affinity when accompanying Terfel with the English Northern Philharmonia that he might well have been conducting such music all his life; whether making the awkward transition from verse to refrain in many of these songs or letting their hair down in the final bars of Robert Russell Bennett’s orchestration of “Hurry! It’s lovely up here!” (Terfel’s single but absolutely delightful diversion into the female repertoire), his orchestra have the requisite style at their fingertips. Then there’s the programme: Terfel on stage as Arthur in Camelot seems a distinct possibility; Paint your Wagon, though seldom revived, would be another, with songs like “They call the wind Maria” and “Wand’rin’ star”, where the original lyric and arrangement are offered as an alternative to Lee Marvin’s version. I can’t imagine a more heartfelt rendition of “There but for you I go”, from Brigadoon, or ever enjoying the much recorded “On a clear day” so much. If there’s one possible musical disappointment amongst the less familiar songs it is “This is the life”, where Lerner’s lively lyric is let down by Weill’s plodding rondo tune; the others though are gems and include two from The Little Prince, the last collaboration between Lerner and Loewe. The title-song and “I never met a rose” are sung with such tender affection by Terfel that they would make an attractive ‘single’ for this festive season. An exemplary recording and booklet-notes are further assets.'