CHAUSSON: MÉLODIES Felicity Lott, Geraldine McGreevy - soprano Ann Murray - mezzo Chris Pedro Trakas - baritone Graham Johnson - piano Chilingirian Quartet Hyperion CDA67321/2 2 CDs £££ Mélodies: Opp. 2, 8, 13, 14, 17, 24, 27, 28, 34, 36; Le rideau de ma voisine; L'albatros; Nous nous aimerons; Chansons: L'âme de bois, Le temps des lilas, Marins dévots à la Vierge Marie; Chanson: op. 37; 2 duos op. 11; TPT 130'12

Sensitive and vocally attractive, but containing some relatively unmoving performances.

Chausson, the composer of mélodies, has been rather overshadowed by his contemporaries Duparc and Fauré. Only a handful of the 43 songs recorded here are at all familiar and its only direct rival is another double-CD set on Timpani (2C2028) performed by Brigitte Balleys, mezzo soprano, Jean-François Gardeil, baritone, accompanied by Billy Eidi and, in Chanson perpétuelle, the Ludwig Quartet. In the present collection, the Lisztian Epithalame of 1886 is replaced by Le rideau de ma voisine, a shorter, lighter and catchy little song from 1879.

The Timpani disc has always struck me as little more than a reference tool; the piano tone is unattractive and most of the performances are lacking in charm. Hyperion give Graham Johnson a better sounding instrument and in Felicity Lott and Ann Murray he has two distinguished singers, whose vocal beauty one can take for granted. The American baritone Chris Pedro Trakas is new to me; he has an attractively warm voice, but some of these songs take him below his range – the low A in La caravane finds him struggling to find enough tone. Johnson has, as always, provided exemplary notes both on Chausson and the poets he set – it is probably the most comprehensive, detailed piece of Chausson literature available in English at present. Johnson writes so vividly and with such enthusiasm, that it is sad to report that the discs themselves come as a disappointment. Too often the performances, beautifully prepared and presented as they are, simply fail to communicate. Hearing Felicity Lott and Graham Johnson in that most sublime of all Chausson's songs, Le temps des lilas, is like watching a faultless gymnastic display – control, line, elegance and beauty are all there, but ultimately, one is left unmoved. Turn to Charles Panzéra, recorded in 1935 with the worst orchestra imaginable and in execrable sound, and suddenly one enters the world of Maurice Bouchor. 'Le temps des lilas et le temps des roses est passé' Panzéra sings, and we believe him; he pulls us up short with 'Et toi, que fais tu?' and his exclamation 'Las!' is heart-rending. Johnson's notes are eloquent in just the way these performances are not.

I refuse to join the 'let's blame it on Chausson' brigade. There really is more variety in these songs than received opinion would have us believe – fluttering, delicate butterfly wings in Le papillon, ecstasy and ardour in Le colibri; there are striking anticipations of Roussel (another underrated song composer) in Dans la forêt du charme et de l'enchantement, and the oppressive heat of the desert in La caravane. Johnson's butterfly whirrs like a miniature helicopter; the mounting excitement at 'où les bambous' in Le colibri is entirely absent, and despite the attractive textures of Dans le forêt, the tempo is just too slow to convey the atmosphere of magic. A previous recording by Johnson with Stephen Varcoe (Hyperion CDA66248) is considerably more successful, taking 2'58, compared to the present 3'31, and catching the almost desperate regret of the conclusion perfectly. Ann Murray is here trance-like throughout, perhaps appropriate at the start, but not for the very human conclusion. There are also some textural anomalies in the accompaniment ofSérénade italienne (another immediately-attractive melody) – where are the D-flats in bars 24-5? And surely the G-sharps in the final upward flourish are misprints and should be corrected to G-naturals?

All of which sounds terribly negative, especially when one compares these performances with those on the Timpani set. Johnson is unfailingly sensitive and each singer is vocally attractive. The emotions are just too generalised, however, especially when one seeks out favourite recordings for comparison. This is a set which deserved to be better, and recommended for more than just its completeness and booklet notes.

David Jones