Igor Gorin Volume 1 1938-1942

 Ukranian-American baritone Igor Gorin had an unusual voice: it is flexible and very characterful, with an admirable range of colours from a light suavity to a rich smokiness. You would not mistake him for anyone else but there is a recognisably Slavonic quality in his tone which is sometimes reminiscent of baritones such as Pavel Lisitsian. His diction is excellent, whether he is singing in slightly accented English or Russian and he has a remarkable ability to encompass a range of moods from the broad humour of the Hopak from "Khovanschina", to the devotional intensity of "Lift thine eyes", to the Romantic yearning of the gorgeously schmaltzy aria by Korngold. His singing often evokes a curiously intimate quality suggestive of the radio-crooner yet the voice has surprising reserves of power - witness his virile delivery of the Prologue from "Pagliacci", capped with a ringing top A flat (not an A, despite what the notes say). To complement this power, he also has command over a delicate and plangent mezza-voce, heard to great advantage in the haunting aria from "Sorochinsty Fair". He even briefly displays some impressive coloratura technique in the cadenza of the aria from "Attila". His Italian isn't very idiomatic and he occasionally indulges in some wilful and possibly ill-advised parlando emphases such in the "Pagliacci" aria, but that performance nonetheless makes me wish an excerpt or two of his celebrated Rigoletto (broadcast on television) could have been included here. Perhaps the most typical and striking items here are his highly personal accounts of Mussorgsky's songs and arias and it is both welcome and fitting that they make up half of this recital.. A highlight must be his extraordinarily expressive version of "Where art thou little star?" with its exotic melismata and Gorin employing every colour and gradation in his voice from full voice to the sweetest falsetto. Certainly both his repertoire and his delivery of it are both refreshingly unusual; it makes a refreshing change to listen to a compilation made up of so many recherché items. This is an artist who deserves to be better remembered, especially given how popular he was in his lifetime and how relatively recently he died. - Ralph Moore 

This is another great CD from the fabulous 'Prima Voce' series. This begins with a Song sung in English 'All Is Quite In The Camp' which is always nice and makes a refreshing change in this kind of music. There are some very beautiful Pieces on this Album. I love Baritones - they are the most 'seductive' voices; they're so rich without being too low like that of a Bass (which is nice in its place too of course) yet not too high like some Tenors. (which can also be quite lovely) Igor Gorin sings in crystal clear English, and here are quite a few Songs sung on this that are in English - my favourite without a doubt being: 'None But The Lonely Heart.' which is sung so 'gently'. Igor has what I call a 'metallic' voice and has tremendous control. 'Songs And Dances Of Death' - the last four on the CD are probably some of the biggest highlights - 'Lullaby' being among the very best of them. - Anonymous