Tonight, a collection of Kurt Weill songs by
Elisabeth von Magnus and Jacob Bogaart, contains some favorites plus a few more rarely heard ones. Most come from stage shows, but there are also individual works Weill wrote for particular singers, including Nannas Lied (for
Lotte Lenya), Abschiedsbrief (for
Marlene Dietrich), and Je ne t'aime pas (for
Lys Gauty).
Magnus and Bogaart work well together, but they take an almost art song approach to the music, which doesn't always work. Lonely House, for example, is a challenging work both because of its oddly shaped melody and because it takes a consistent attitude held throughout to make it work right.
Magnus gives it more arched phrasing, which counteracts the languid nature of the song. She is most comfortable with the songs in German, with Schickelgruber and Abschiedsbrief being particularly good, bitter, and resigned, but not without some pride. The Sprechstimme in the latter is very effective. Otherwise, understandable pronunciation (and therefore some understanding of the songs for anyone unfamiliar with them) is sacrificed to her attention to well-designed phrasing and shaping of notes. The songs from Lost in the Stars would be more successful if
Magnus were more comfortable with the English. Although also in English, the selections from One Touch of Venus are delivered a little more clearly and with characterization that matches the music well. That's the other uneven aspect of this disc.
Magnus seems to give characterizations a backseat to her vocal technique, and it doesn't quite present the music in the best possible way. Tonight is listenable, but there are other performers who capture the essence of the same music with more complete and adept perception.