DESPREZ: MISSA LA SOL FA RE MI

This selection contains both ADD and DDD recordings.

Regina Resnik's recital disc reissued here was recorded in 1967 and 1968. It illuminates her consummate musicianship and dedication to her art. With conductor Richard Woitach at the piano, she creates track after track of immense beauty and interest. Resnik has always been a dramatic and thoughtful performer on the operatic stage; it is most refreshing to hear her sing small-scale works for voice and piano. Her command of language is particularly astute in the Russian selections of Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, and in her Spanish set by Turina.
She also sings her heart out in five Mahler songs, four of which are from 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn.' The fifth, "Hans und Grete," has a text by Mahler himself which contains a humorous allusion to the famous fairytale duo. Resnik's handling of this material is both touching and colorful, further emphasizing her vast artistic ability. The inclusion of an excerpt from Menotti's 'The Medium' with Resnik singing one of Madame Flora's arias about the old, scheming, now-repentant woman is a nice programmatic end to the disc. Resnik is able to conjure both scorn and compassion from the listener--not an easy feat.

This live recording of Puccini's 'La Bohème' made by Austrian Radio in 1963 has almost as interesting an off-stage story as went on onstage. Performed at Vienna's legendary Wiener Staatsoper under the artistic direction of conductor Herbert von Karajan, the performance was the subject of international labor disputes, union troubles and such pronounced disharmony that the premiere was actually canceled.
That this performance was captured for posterity is a blessing for music lovers everywhere. Extraordinary performances, highlighted by that of previously unknown Mirella Freni (as Mimì) are a joy to behold. A reading vastly different than any that had come before, this 'La Bohème' pursued the inner-life of the characters with a success that may be the driving factor in subsequent reinterpretations of classic pieces.
The recording quality of this album evokes the sound of Vienna's classic opera house. Digital remastering has cleaned up any irregularities caused by the era's recording techniques, making this classic performance a collector's piece.

Here's a Howdy Do! (A Gilbert & Sullivan Festival)

Classical Music

CANONS

This CD is a testimony of the extraordinary meeting between two strong artistic personalities. Danish mezzo-soprano Helene Gjerris explores six decades of vocal music by Per Nørgård (b. 1932) in new instrumentations; music which reaches the darkest corners of the human mind, loaded with intense poetry by Allen Ginsberg, Arthur Rimbaud and Pär Lagerkvist.

This second volume in the Naxos series of Buxtehude’s vocal music was previously issued on Dacapo (Dacapo 8.224160). It is made up of four sacred cantatas – and one ‘interloper’, a setting of the Magnificat mistakenly identified as Buxtehude’s back in 1931 by Bruno Grusnick, but pretty certainly not his.

The four cantatas give us the chance to hear Buxtehude employing a variety of strategies.

Das neugeborne Kindelein sets the four verses of a Christmas hymn first published in 1588 by Cyriacus Schneegass (1546-1597), German hymn-writer, composer and music theorist. The words have a simple radiance, each of the four stanzas made up of four lines rhymed aabb. Buxtehude treats them interestingly; he adopts different approaches for each of the four stanzas. In the first he sets the opening three lines, the initial announcement of the recurrent ‘new’ birth of Christ and its significance, relatively plainly, allowing the words to dominate and hold the attention. Then, as if to celebrate the significance of the words of proclamation, the final line of Schneegass’s first stanza is richly elaborated through repetition and contrapuntal echo. Between each stanza we get an instrumental ritornello and after its first return, the second stanza offers yet more vocal elaboration and responds beautifully to the text’s assertion that the angels are singing in the sky, a response heightened by a greater use of instrumental accompaniment interwoven with the vocal phrases than was allowed to happen in the first stanza. The third stanza speaks of the battle against “Teufel, Welt und Höllenpfort” and the sense of conflict is heightened by much greater use of instrumental interjections which break up the vocal phrases and the lines of the verse. In the fourth stanza, as the text grows to a full realisation that the birth of “das Jesuslein” guarantees the possibility of human salvation, the musical metre changes and the instruments and voices work more obviously together, so that verse, voice and instruments embody, in their new relationship, the transformation into coherent meaning of which the hymn speaks. Buxtehude, in short, has integrated text, singers and instrumental ensemble with a completeness of achieved purpose that makes Das neugeborne Kindelein a minor masterpiece.

In Der Herr ist mit mir the text is taken from the Psalms (Psalm 118 verses 6-7). In the Authorized Version it reads thus: “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me. The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me”. To the German translation of these verses is added a concluding ‘Hallelujah’. Buxtehude sets the Psalm text in predominantly homophonic fashion, the text remaining clearly and emphatically audible, its meaning emphasised by some patterned rhythmic and harmonic touches. With the ‘Hallelujah’ Buxtehude launches into a virtuoso ciacona made up of nineteen variations over two-bar ostinato bass. The contrast with what has gone before is startling and exciting.

The most dramatically expressive work here is Fürwahr, er trug unsere Krankheit, setting verses from Isaiah prophetic of the crucifixion. There is some powerful instrumental writing and Buxtehude’s music articulates a powerful response to the idea of the Passion; the writing, both for the bass soloist and for the chorus, as well as for the sections of the chorus, is consistently intense and moving. The response to the imagery of Christ’s wounds and “stripes” is especially poignant. Fürwahr, er trug unsere Krankheit is a fine piece, full of sustained melodies and aching harmonies, and it comes off particularly well in this recording.

Alles, was ihr tut is perhaps the most familiar of these four cantatas. It is an exhortation to ensure that (in the words of the Epistle to the Colossians) “whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [ye] do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the father by him”, as well as a petition that God might assist both individual and community. Buxtehude fruitfully juxtaposes elements of the sacred concerto and the aria, as well as the setting of a chorale text to an already existing melody; homophonic passages and contrapuntal writing are employed by turns; the interplay of instruments and voices is always effective and interesting. In passing phrases – both textual and musical – between soloist and chorus, Buxtehude seems to offer an artistic statement as to the proper relationship between the individual and the community in a Christian society. The whole work breathes an untroubled faith and the continuo work from the Dufay Ensemble is particularly striking here.

The external evidence makes it unlikely that the Magnificat is Buxtehude’s; although one copy of the work was found in the collection of Buxtehude’s friend Gustav Düben, who certainly owned copies of works by Buxtehude, it has to be said that he also owned works by other composers too; other surviving copies of this setting come from areas of Europe where Buxtehude is not known to have had any connections. Nor, indeed, does it really sound like Buxtehude; it lacks the subtlety and inventiveness of Buxtehude at anything like his best. It is pleasant but undistinguished and is perhaps best attributed to that old favourite ‘Anon’.

These are not perfect performances. The closing ‘Hallelujah’ of Der Herr ist mit mir hasn’t quite the brilliance and lightness of touch that the music deserves; Johan Reuter’s bass, though tonally very apt and attractive, isn’t quite as expressive as one might wish; just now and then, by the highest standards, the voices of one or two of the choir’s soloists sound overtaxed. On the other hand, the Choir as a whole sings beautifully, their work tonally lovely, their diction exemplary. The performances are certainly plenty good enough to give the hearer a pretty good idea of just how fine this music is.

-- Glyn Pursglove, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

Michalis Kontaxakis, First Prize Winner in the 2005 International Francisco T'rrega Guitar Competition, is considered today to be one of the leading young Greek guitarists. He studied the guitar with Vassilis Mastorakis and Costas Cotsiolis.

A native of Leipzig and steeped in the musical tradition of J. S. Bach, Helmut Walcha was one of the most influential organists of the 20th century. Building on Baroque examples, Walcha started composing the Chorale Preludes during the war years and they became popular teaching pieces as well as ideal vehicles for expressing the clarity and colour of organs both historic and new. As one of Walcha’s most renowned students, Wolfgang Rübsam’s interpretations are uniquely authoritative. This is the first of four volumes of Walcha’s complete Chorale Preludes.

the sheer joy of hearing Italian singers in this repertoire where so much rests on the text, especially since these are singers whose accuracy of pitch and sureness of focus means that they can sing together with instrumental clarity -- Early Music Review

SCHUMANN: Romances and Ballads

Although the late piano trios by Haydn are no less important than the quartets or the symphonies, they still tend to be overlooked; which makes this recording so important, particularly as the Abegg Trio phrases the music so intelligently, presents the compositional factor so meaningfully, and at the same time underlines the remarkable colorfulness of this work, which is reflected in extraordinary switches of key. (nmz) 4009850008903 TCET89.2 19542485 .00 23.99 .22 TACET RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/01/1999 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/2/2/7/1997220.jpg 5 1 N WOLF / WINGER / HARTMANN HUGO WOLF: LIEDER NACH TEXTEN VON KELLER Marret Winger recently graduated in Hamburg with honours. She and her accompanist Steffen Hartmann have outstanding references to show from artists such as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and others. However, what recommended them for a TACET recording was the standard of the chamber music which they perform together. To demonstrate this they have recorded the Keller Lieder" (Six Poems by Gottfried Keller) by Hugo Wolf, which many artists wisely steer clear of because of their difficulties and dangerous pitfalls.

VARIOUS The King's Singers. LIVE AT THE BBC PROMSTracks: Chansons Francaises; Scenes in America Deserta; Dessus le marched'Aeeas; Il est bel et bon; Toutes les nuitz; La Guerre; Hears not my Phyllis; Phillis is my only joy; The Little Green Lane; The Goslings; Greensleeves; Blow Away the Morning Dew; The Turtle Dove; Widdicombe Fair; The Long Day Closes.

Classical Music

PORTRAIT OF VON STADE

I usually find such choral works low on my interest scale, but in this case I situated myself and listened really closely, enjoying the intricate play of voices and instruments that were so cleanly placed in space around me. (Audiophile Audition)

Classical Music

Soprano Georgine Resick's Visions Intérieures, is a survey of the development of the song cycle. Ms. Resick sings in German, Polish, French, Swedish, and Italian, in this two-CD tour-de-force which presents a superb selection of works and composers rarely heard today. The great flowering of the song cycle occurred in early nineteenth century Germany, with its greatest representations being the well-known cycles by Schubert and Schumann. These cycles inspired numerous imitations, many of which, while not attaining the depth and breadth of their models, are charming and integrated works. On Disc One, entitled The Early German Song Cycle, Ms. Resick is accompanied by Andrew Willis, performing cycles of Weber and Kreutzer on a copy of a Louis Dulcken fortepiano (Munich 1815-20). The duo then performs cycles of Cornelius, Thalberg, and Jensen on an original 1841 Bösendorfer. On Disc Two, entitled The Wanderer: The Song Cycle in Migration, Ms. Resick is joined by Warren Jones, performing late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century cycles on a Steinway D. In an interesting cultural crossover, The Wanderer presents songs by a Russian composer of French-Lithuanian descent setting Polish poems; a German-influenced Polish composer setting German poetry; a French influenced Italian, and French composers setting translations of texts from Persia and Denmark.Georgine Resick is an internationally recognized soprano in both the operatic and concert fields. Renowned for her Mozart and Strauss interpretations, she has sung a wide variety of leading roles with the Vienna State Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Paris Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and numerous others.

Classical Music

If Wagner's Tristan had lived in the 1940s instead of Medieval times, perhaps he would have crooned Ivor Novello's "Love is my reason for living" or serenaded his Isolde with Rudolf Friml's "Love me tonight." If these popular songs don't aspire to the transcendent rapture of Wagnerian opera, they do share a sense of absorption in sheer passion. Perhaps sensing this, Ben Heppner, acclaimed as the finest Wagnerian tenor of his generation, offers here a selection of the sentimental and nostalgic love songs sung on radio, stage and screen by earlier "crossover" stars such as Mario Lanza and Nelson Eddy.
Heppner, who sings even a demanding role such as Tristan emphasizing lyrical warmth, brings an appealingly direct quality to these songs, varying from the emphatic to the intimate in approach. If he misses the fun in some of the music (although he finds it in Mana-Zucca's swaggering "I love life") there is no doubting his affection for it, and the orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick are romantically enveloping without being schmaltzy. Familiar tunes like "I'll be seeing you" and Lanza's theme song "Be my love" are supplemented by appealing obscurities by Noel Coward and Eric Coates, among others, and Heppner's operatically supported high notes ring out in stirring celebration of these charming songs.
REVIEWS:
Opera News (2/2000) - "...Heppner's heroic good cheer and ebullient singing give a gilded edge to this album of old-fashioned favorites... reveling in their deep-purple lyrics and gloriously sentimental melodies ...he sounds as if he's having a wonderful time..."

Listen to only the first track of this recording, a heart-wrenching setting of Emily Dickinson's poem "I shall not live in vain" sung by Renée Fleming, and be immediately convinced that this compilation by Jake Heggie is a must for any lover of song. THE FACES OF LOVE testifies to Heggie's nimble sensitivity in setting words to music, as he draws from a wide range of poetry, while always seeming to find the most unforced and compelling means to make these lyrics sing.
As the San Francisco Opera's first CHASE Composer-in-Residence, Heggie has had the benefit of forming professional relationships with some of the world's greatest singers, a number of whom appear on this disk in songs written expressly for them. This intimate knowledge of individual voices and personalities has enabled Heggie to write unusually idiomatic vocal music for such distinctive singers as Fleming, Carol Vaness, Frederica von Stade, and Jennifer Larmore--the four most thoughtful collaborators on this disk.
REVIEWS:
Newsday (4/30/00, p.26) - "...The disc, which is an impressive calling card, makes it clear what these singers respond to...[Heggie's] melodies play out in floating, sometimes startling movements, like a breeze-tossed kite...Heggie can also be a delightful colorist, possessed of a natural, elegant eloquence..."

RAVEL: TRIO DEBUSSY, RESPIGH