‘Precision’ was the word that sprang to mind on first hearing soprano Karina Gauvin in her compilation Divine Karina. In the opening ‘Strike the viol’, Gauvin’s consonants–particularly the plosives–are crisp, and the intonation of her runs is painstakingly accurate. Handel’s ‘O Sleep’ shows to great effect Gauvin’s meticulous messa di voce, and her capacity for soft, sustained singing. All this appeals to the classical singing nerd in me. But why should the average punter care about fricatives and coloratura? Surely we should judge a singer on her feeling and interpretation–without which the music is no more than black dots on paper.

Thankfully, Divine Karina showcases Gauvin’s dramatic skills along with her technical ones. In fact, I enjoyed the CD so much that I listened to it on repeat whilst cooking, studying, and walking to work. Gauvin is most at home singing baroque repertoire, which makes up the majority of the CD, apart from appearances by Mahler and Britten, and the final jazzy ‘You, my sister’ by Tyler Williams. ‘You, my sister’ was the only real hiccup of the recording, and had me quickly reaching for the skip button on each rotation.

The glory of Gauvin’s soprano is a little out of place in jazz, sounding more twee and contrived than fun, but don’t let this put you off. Her sublime interpretation of Das himmlische leben (‘The heavenly life’) from the final movement of Mahler’s fourth symphony is enough to forgive Gauvin her sins. Here, Gauvin shows off the full bloom of her voice, while maintaining the requisite ethereal quality in her delivery of the poetry. But the highlight for me is Mozart’s Deh vieni non tardar (‘Come, don’t delay’). This is among the best-known arias in the repertoire, and Gauvin’s delicious reading affirms her ‘divine’ label.

Alexandra Mathew