In spite of the title of this recital of late- and post-Romantic songs by
Christiane Oelze, about half of the songs are related to Spain only tangentially, if at all. As the program notes point out, they are thematically related because all are settings of poems essentially about love. The album includes seven
Debussy songs, four from very early in his career, and his mature Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé. The three poems of Combat del Somni, by French-Catalan composer
Federico Mompou, are in Catalan and have the naturalness and grace of a Spanish folk song. Hugo Wolf is represented by seven songs from his Spanishen Liederbuch, settings of translations of Spanish poetry, which thematically have their roots in Spanish culture, but are musically distant from it. The cycles by Spanish composers,
Enrique Granados' Canciones amatorias and Joaquín Turina's Poema en forma de canciones, show the impact of the international influences to which both composers were exposed, but their roots in Iberian culture are discernible.
Christiane Oelze brings an exceptionally clear, supple, and ringing high soprano to this repertoire. Her voice is pure and unforced, and she sings with warmth and plangent expressiveness. As a native German speaker, she does seem to have a special affinity for the Wolf lieder and performs them with easy familiarity and deep understanding. Pianist
Rudolf Jansen provides a sensitive and intelligent accompaniment. The sound is clean, with an open ambience and good balance between the voice and piano.