The Naxos Deutsche Schubert-Lied-Edition presents all of Schubert' Lieder, over 700 songs, grouped according to the poets who inspired him.

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Includes song(s) by Roger Quilter.

SPONTINI: Chamber Songs

One of the most recognized wind bands in the United States, the Ohio State University Wind Symphony, conducted by Russel C. Mikkelson, has been a strong advocate for the composition of new works for wind band. This album by the ensemble features the title track, Network, as the explosive album opener. Following are works by Benjamin Britten, Gustav Mahler, and Steven Bryant. Soprano Katherine Rohrer is featured for Mahler’s Um Mitternacht.

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DOWLAND Songs and Lute Solos. PURCELL Songs and Lute Solos • Emma Kirkby (sop); Jakob Lindberg (lt) • BIS CD 1725 (75:19 Text and Translation)


It is almost superfluous to add a review to the header, for this disc provides exactly what the listing promises. There are nine songs and five solo lute pieces by Dowland, and seven songs and seven solo lute pieces by Purcell, culled from various sources, in performances by two of the greatest artists of our time that simply are beyond exquisite in every way. All is subtlety, refinement, delicacy, intimacy, and deeply penetrating expressiveness, in which every word, every inflection, and every chord takes its share and lightly carries its burden. Above all, it is art that is utterly natural and free from self-conscious artifice. If somehow you have never broached this repertoire or these performers before now, look no further for a starting point and take the plunge immediately. Those with prior acquaintance will need no further urging from me to regard this as an essential acquisition. The recorded sound is fairly close, with a pleasant and not excessive degree of warmth and reverberation. Intelligent program notes and full texts are provided. Highest possible recommendation, and an immediate nominee for the Classical Hall of Fame.


FANFARE: James A. Altena

Telemann, G.P.: Concerto in D Major, Twv 53:D5 / Vivaldi, A.

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Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo and Russian pianist Anton Batagov first met through their mutual friendship with famed choreographer Bill T. Jones, so it's only natural that their first musical collaboration is based on movement and improvisation. Tayatha traces a journey of spiritual transformation, invoking the universal themes of love, family, faith and renewal.

Originally released by Collins Classics as part of it's English Songs Series, this recording offers a fascinating selection of the 72 solo songs Holst wrote across his entire compositional career.

Includes work(s) by various composers. Soloists: Nina Koshetz, Odarka Trifonieva Sprishevskaya.

Includes aria(s) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George Frideric Handel, Ludwig van Beethoven, Vincenzo Bellini, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner (Composer). Soloist: Lilli Lehmann.

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A vibrant sense of identification and technical control at its most impressive.

If you’ve been following the Nimbus Milanov releases you’ll know that their earlier foray into her recorded legacy was a Milanov sings Verdi disc (see review). There, in all her opulent and passionate splendour, she proved herself a legendary heroine, a Verdian of unimpeachable, sometimes torrential expressive qualities. But it was the more thoughtful and delicately deployed moments in her singing that also linger in the mind – her absolute control of pianissimi, the sheer refinement of much of what she did. And that leads one to this latest Milanov disc of aria antiche, lieder, and national folk songs.

The recital starts with that old standby Caro mio ben. Note that the portamenti – always a feature of her art - are relatively discreet, the voice not over-scaled, the chest voice lightly deployed. It’s an imaginative, intelligent performance and contrasts quite firmly with that of many of her contemporaries in this repertoire. Schumann’s Widmung has the requisite urgency of utterance; her German is as ever excellent. Mondnacht is also well judged and she doesn’t do too much with it. The brace of Brahms songs is similarly accomplished, the lulling Wiegenlied especially. But it’s the Strauss songs that show her affinities best I think. Her vibrant sense of identification can be gauged best from Caecilie where the technical control is at its most impressive, though Zueignung is powerful in its own right.

The Yugoslav songs offer another avenue into appreciating Milanov. Some were composed by her brother, her accompanist for the bulk of these tracks, Bozidar Kunc. All are pleasurable. Bersa’s She Duš Dan has an unforced gravity and a near operatic intensity. And Kunc’s ?ežnja is full of urgent, almost florid romanticism, well suited to Milanov’s voice and sense of declamatory power. She brings affectionate refinement, scaled dynamics to The World is Empty. The Songs of Yugoslavia, songs arranged by Dr. Lujo Goranin, are accompanied by an anonymous pianist and violinist; the set was recorded in 1943 whereas everything else derives from sessions in 1955. Milanov’s portamento style is heard to good effect in these six songs. The Magyar influence is strong, tinged with Old Vienna in Gor ?ez jezero – beautifully controlled diminuendi from Milanov here – though elsewhere things are stylistically generic. In the main, though, romantic allure wins the day especially when performed so alluringly as here. There’s nothing in these songs as touching, or important, as the Czechoslovak songs Jarmila Novotna sang at around this time but that doesn’t lessen the impact of Milanov’s singing of them.

There’s residual hiss on the Yugoslav songs, as one would expect. Transfers are fine, the notes too and up to the expected standard.

-- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International

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