Dutch baritone
Jan Van der Crabben has a light, modest-sized voice that might not carry well in opera, but that's beautifully suited to the intimacy of art song. This disc of mélodies and cycles by
Debussy demonstrates the performers' real affinity for the composer's style. The mellow, unassuming quality of
Van der Crabben's voice is shown off to beautiful effect in
Debussy's understated but warmly lyrical, transparent vocal writing; it's a magical match of vocal timbre with musical idiom.
Van der Crabben sings with unmannered directness and with a sure grasp of the contours of
Debussy's nuanced text setting that heightens the emotional impact each song. He is consistent in his mastery of this repertoire, but in songs like Beau soir, Les ingénus, and the first of Trois ballades de Villon, his expressiveness and the shapeliness of his phrasing are especially evident. His use of vibrato is judicious, so when he deploys it, it is highly effective, and his use of head voice, as in "Romance," is lovely.
Van der Crabben is well-matched with pianist
Inge Spinette, whose supple playing is a model of sensitivity to the technical demands and expressive subtlety of
Debussy's gorgeous piano writing. Fuga Libera's sound is clean, well-balanced, and natural. Highly recommended for fans of the composer and of fin de siècle French mélodies.