Mahler - Song Cycles

The Guardian 80

Coote/Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra/Albrecht
(Pentatone)

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this disc so much. In Alice Coote’s recent recitals I’ve found it hard to get past her emotion-heavy delivery – the very thing many of this divisive mezzo’s fans love her for. Yet here, in studio conditions and with conductor Marc Albrecht drawing eloquent playing by the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, her performance has a focus that’s compelling, as well as all the individuality you’d expect. Higher up, she sounds full of light and warmth; it’s in the mid-range that she sometimes comes across as less comfortable, even edgy, but all her voice’s many facets are harnessed to convey meaning. The third song of Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen and the last of Kindertotenlieder bristle with drama; Um Mitternacht, the penultimate song of the Rückert-Lieder, is a study in darkness, the NPO’s solo winds intertwining with Coote’s voice in a lonely dance that’s blown away by the triumphant closing verse.