White Moon: Songs To Morpheus – Dawn Upshaw

White Moon: Songs To Morpheus – Dawn UpshawDawn Upshaw graces us with a template of nocturnal delights. The various musical styles range from Monteverdi to Crumb, keeping the listener from ever getting too comfortable. Her interprations of Warlock’s haunting “Sleep” and Schwartner’s “Black Anemones” are well- crafted and bewitching, but her usually-stellar musical sense is misguided in a disappointing “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5” by Villa- Lobos. She sings youthfully and without vocal abandon, and the middle section is void of passion. Her lovely light voice sometimes treads dangerously on girlishness; it’s most satisfying when exhibiting its full meaty radiance. Upshaw’s pleasurable artistry creates a dreamy recording. –Barbara Eisner Bayer

• Nonesuch