Where Is Amy?

"In a quarter century of accompanying in voice studios and coaching classical singers, I have not performed even one of Franck’s mélodies...Pfrimmer has a rich, full, warm voice capable of both dramatic agitation and tender exhortation. She has a keen sense of text-guided phrasing; while remaining true to the score, she employs a conversational freedom in her rubato...Pfrimmer’s performance as a whole is entirely convincing and demonstrates both tremendous affection and tremendous affinity for Franck’s mélodies."

Fanfare by Myron Silberstein

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"Banality banished, Pfrimmer’s resonant and wide-ranging vocal timbre - sometimes bright, at other moments rich and dark depending on the needs of the texts - brings balanced, considerate and empathic intellectual heft to phrases like French poet Marceline Desbordes-Valmore’s“When the evening bells, in their slow flight bring down the hours at the bottom of the valley/If you have no friends or loved ones close to you, think of me!”from Les Cloches du soir (Evening Bells)."

PerformingArtsReview.net by Daniel Kepl

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"It is clear in listening to these songs that Reichardt prized such qualities as a lovely vocal quality, pristine legato, and the ability to use the text to launch and sustain the vocal line.  Reichardt certainly possessed an admirable gift for composing melodies that are both lovely and that linger in one’s memory. The settings of Italian texts (here, all by Metastasio) remind me of similar works by Reichardt’s younger contemporary, Vincenzo Bellini.  And if someone told me that Reichardt’s German lieder were previously unknown works by Franz Schubert, I would not be skeptical, at least in terms of the writing for the singer…I’ve listened to the disc several times, and have continued to be engaged by it a great deal.  That is a testament to Reichardt’s music but also, of course, to its champions on this recording.  Soprano Amy Pfrimmer (a member of Tulane University’s faculty) sings Reichardt’s songs with an attractive, rich, and secure tone, sensitive phrasing, and a fine legato...It’s much more of a compliment than a criticism to say that, given the quality of the performances, far more than 44 minutes of music would have been most welcome. But those 44 minutes are of a very high quality, indeed...A worthy project given the benefit first-rate execution, and one that earns a very high recommendation."

Fanfare by Ken Meltzer

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"Amy Pfrimmer's singing is supremely warm and refreshing, and the innocent beauty of these songs is brought out in bright, luminous textures. Dreux Montegut plays sympathetically throughout.An invaluable disc, focusing on one of Germany's hidden romantic names so unjustly neglected. A revelatory discovery in clean sound and attractive presentation, albeit short on playing time."

ClassicalMusicDaily.com by Gerald Fenech

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