Dawn Upshaw Sings Vernon Duke  (Audio CD) 
by Dawn Upshaw

Dawn Upshaw's vocals have graced a heap of recordings, none of them quite like this collection of Vernon Duke's songs. Duke, composer of such musicals as Cabin in the Sky, which has a rousing full soundtrack from the 1943 film production, wrote variously sugary and Gershwin-esque pop songs along with some "serious" music. Upshaw breezes through the pop and Gershwin-colored items, offering them a level of vocal clarity that's rarely matched. The arrangements are lovely, and with lyrics by Ogden Nash, Ira Gershwin, and Howard Dietz, the songs are apt for Upshaw's sly spin on pop vocals. Sure, Upshaw's sung Rodgers and Hart and some Gershwin, but she's also done great classical recitals, like those around Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915. So the playful rundowns of Duke's poppier material might only hint at Upshaw's full range (as evidenced by Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 and her collection of Debussy songs), but they're fun and colorful. Indeed the excerpt from Duke's 1942 "Five Victorian Songs" is nicely more complex. And if you're wondering where to hear Upshaw singing in a decidedly more adventurous context, dig into the Arditti String Quartet's second Schoenberg collection and the Kronos Quartet's Night Prayers. --Andrew Bartlett