In many ways, Valerie Masterson is the closest thing we have to Galli-Curci. Her training is Italianate, she is almost as accomplished as that notable singer in her coloratura, and behind the show, as with Galli-Curci, lies an artist with feeling for what she sings. Having said that, I rather wish this record had been made a little earlier as there are a few places where the lovely voice now sounds a shade thin, at any rate as recorded. I also wish she had given us a better representation of her repertory, preferably with orchestra in support. But we must be grateful for what we do have. Throughout the first side, Masterson's technique is well nigh faultless. O ravishing delight demonstrates her control of line and her delicacy of phrasing, The soldier tir'd her mettlesome attack, Lo, here the gentle lark her deft, easy delivery, and the Handel cantata is a reminder of her successes in his operas and oratorios.
The French side has a shade too much sameness in both repertory and its interpretation. Gounod's Serenade calls for a slightly more seductive treatment and more variety between the verses, but Vieille chanson and Pastel, an elegiac song about a 100 - year - old portrait of a girl and its effect on the viewer, are both done with Masterson's known gift for gentle characterization. La Diva de ''L'Empire'', that Satie jeu d'esprit, finds a smile in the soprano's pure tone. Roger Vignoles is a keen partner; so is Richard Adeney in the showpieces on Side 1.'