L'extase: Debussy & Messiaen

From the start, mezzo Magdalena Kožená and pianist Mitsuko Uchida's rendition of Debussy's 3 Chansons de Bilitis, the first of four gorgeous song cycles by Debussy and Messaien on this recording, stopped me in my tracks. By taking some of the Bilitis songs more slowly than other artists (including Jane Bathori and Maggie Teyte, who sang with Debussy), Kožená and Uchida infuse them with introspective intimacy. Listen to how tender and private Kožená describes making love in the second song and how perfectly Uchida supports her.

The two women deserve equal credit for the high level of artistry on Pentatone's high-resolution achievement. There is nothing routine about the way Uchida plays; every note and chord is infused with meaning. In most recitals, pianists play accompanist; here Uchida's partnership consistently illumines the feelings behind Kožená's words. I was especially struck by Uchida's impeccable technique as she cleanly releases the final chord of the cycle's second song, "La chevelure," and the absolute finality to her close of the last song, "Le tombeau des Naiades."

Kožená's cool mezzo is perfect for almost everything on this disc. Her midrange sounds gorgeous and smooth, her soprano-like top remarkably free and easy. Her only shortcomings are an inability to maintain beauty of tone when singing fast in Debussy's famous "Chevaux de bois" (Wooden Horses) from Ariettes oubliées (Forgotten Melodies), poor enunciation on high, and a casual at best approach to French pronunciation.

Nonetheless, for her total embrace of sadness in that cycle's famous "Spleen" and her absolute conviction in the other two cycles—Debussy's Cinq poèmes de Charles Baudelaire and Messiaen's Poèmes pour Mi (Deuxième Livre)—L'extase merits ecstatic praise.