American tenor
Paul Sperry is best known as an advocate of new music, including that of some of the most daunting modernists like
Stockhausen, Druckman, Wuorinen, and Rands, as well as traditionalists like
Bernstein, Argento, Hagen, Paulus, and
Musto. Another thread of his career has been devoted to (mostly unfamiliar) light music, and it's that interest that he takes up in this album,
Songs of Love and Whimsy by
Noël Coward &
Flanders and Swann. It's a delightful collection that showcases
Sperry's gift for comedy. The songs by the mid-20th century British duo Michael Flanders and Donald Swann are unabashedly fun and at least a little silly. Most of the selections by playwright and composer
Noël Coward are similar in their irreverent tone, but are substantially more sophisticated both in musical content and nuanced wit. The best known, such as A Bar on the Piccola Marina and Mrs. Worthington, are riotously funny, full of both sly innuendo and outrageous goofiness, and
Sperry's performances wonderfully bring out their humor.
Coward was also a master of a romantic, gentle melancholy, exemplified in understated songs of longing, like I Travel Alone, If Love Were All, and Someday I'll Find You, which
Sperry delivers with disarming artlessness. He doesn't attempt a British accent, but these examples of quintessentially British sensibilities still come across with their intent and expressiveness intact. He has a terrific partner in pianist
Ian Hobson, who plays with full conviction and subtle attention to detail. The album should appeal to any fans of mid-20th British song. ~ Stephen Eddins