Many were the occasions on which Mozart expressed his enthusiastic delight for a singer's achievements. There were three qualities that he looked for in particular: "gusto, metodo, espressione". While a good voice was a sine qua non, a secure and effortless technique and the expres¬sive range required by the work being sung were also essential. These criteria are as important today as they were for Mozart. Rita Streich was one of the singers who maintained the tradition of that ideal in the last century. Born in Barnaul near Novosibirsk in 1920, she studied in Berlin with some of the leading singers of the time: Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, Maria Ivogün and Erna Berger. A two-year engagement at the Städtische Oper in Berlin saw her singing Zerbinetta, the Queen of the Night and Constanze, but in 1953 she joined the Vienna State Opera and there she was to remain until the end of her stage career in 1972. Rita Streich earned an international reputation in the 1950s for the brilliant performances she gave in various European festivals. But as well as her frequent appearances in the opera house and concert-hall, Rita Streich was summoned into the recording studio at an early date in her career. Recording techniques were steadily evolving and making it possible at last to capture substantial operatic excerpts on disc, opening up an increasingly attractive field for singers. A well-schooled and developed voice, technical virtuosity and a wide and varied expressive range earned her critical ac¬claim and the public's applause throughout the three decades of her performing career. The recordings made during those years enable us today to relive the experiences that so delighted the original hearers.

This important meeting of clarinetist Paulo Moura and 'violonista' (acoustic guitar) player Rafael Rabelo occurs in a pan-cultural setting. Paulo, an older musician schooled in the traditional circles of choro, modern classical music, and gafieira orchestras (which received have a great deal of jazz influences); Rabelo, a young musician who unfotunatly died at an early age, a violão virtuose also experienced in rodas de choro, but with a particular approach to guitar that was strongly influenced by flamenco music (which is evident on the very first track, a medley of "Ronda" and "Sampa," two unofficial anthems for the city of São Paulo, an old and a modern one). "Chorando Baixinho," a choro classic by Abel Ferreira, admits no liberties under the artists' vision: is delicately delivered in the truest tradition, including Villa-Lobos' "Bachianas Brasileiras" passages. Moura's original "Domingo No Orfeão Portugal" is also performed with no "alien" influences; just the old, swinging samba with choro baixarias de violão (violão basslines typical of the choro genre), sometimes in pizzicatto. Baden Powell's "Violão vadio," an ad-lib rendition, also is completely free from influences other than the Brazilian tradition. Even the complex harmonies found when the violão backs the clarinet solo are derived from classical tradition incorporated in Brazilian music since the beginning of the century, not from jazz, as is usually believed. Ary Barroso's classic "Morena Boca de Ouro," (recorded with success by João Gilberto) receives a balançante (swinging) samba treatment. Moura's original "Tempos Felizes" is a romantic valse, very faithful to the choro spirit, with touches of modern classic harmonization and jazz clarinet soloing. The immortal Pixinguinha classic "1x0" receives a pure, typical, jumpy, swinging, and fun choro treatment, only with Rabelo's flamenco attacks bringing other influences into the mix. "Tarde de Chuva," another Moura original, is a beautiful choro theme delivered with samba backing, with baixarias only at its ending, a particularly modern introduction and a jazzy ending. Jobim's "Luíza" is very much to-the-letter and restrained in its melancholic rendition. The master of the gafieiras Severino Araújo was the choice for the album's closing with his typical "Um Chorinho em Aldeia." It's a hot, swinging fast-paced choro suited for the duo's virtuosity. This album is an opportunity for catching the true spirit of choro, which, although not in his most typical face (which is with the backing of the regional) shows a modern yet faithful face.