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A. Mahler: Complete Songs / Paasikivi, Panula, Tampere Philharmonic
Ondine

A. Mahler: Complete Songs / Paasikivi, Panula, Tampere Philharmonic

$18.99

Details

Composer
MAHLER, ALMA
Artist
Paasikivi, Panula, Tampere Po
Format
CD
Label
Ondine
Released
Jun 23, 1999
Catalog #
ODE 1024-2
UPC
761195102428

About

REVIEW:

It's the marvelous singing of Lilli Paasikivi, with her intelligence, penetrating insight, and richly rounded tone that fully captures the spirit of these works and makes them little gems that no Lieder enthusiast can afford to overlook. Ondine's warmly resonant, naturally balanced recording makes this important disc even more welcome. It's a "must-have".

It's not long into this disc before it becomes evident that Alma Mahler was a very different composer from her famous husband Gustav. Alma studied with Zemlinsky, whose influence (along with that of Hugo Wolf) shows most readily in her work--yet this is Alma's music through and through. Even before Mahler forbade her from composing once they were married, Alma displayed a distinctive voice, one steeped in 19th-century Romanticism (her father often sang Schumann lieder) as well as the musical currents of the new century. The first set of Five Songs comes from this early period, and right from the opening "Die stille Stadt" Alma's skill at word setting captivates, as does her ability to recreate in music each poem's unique emotional state. Of the five, "Bei dir ist es traut", with its recurring falling major second, is the only one that sounds remotely close to her husband's style.

After Gustav's death Alma again took up composition, and the following Four Songs reveal a new richness and poignancy in her writing as well as an expanded harmonic palette. "Licht in der Nacht"'s haunting atmosphere lingers after the song has ended, while "Anstrum"'s tonal waywardness displays Alma's awareness of modern musical developments. Alma's last set of Five Songs, published in 1924, is based on spiritual texts, emphasizing both their reverential (Hymne) and mystical (Hymne an die Nacht) themes.

The program concludes with two unpublished songs, "Leise Weht ein erstes Bluhn" and "Kennst du meine Nachte", both composed in a cultivated Romantic style that would indicate their belonging to Alma's earlier period. The impact of the music is no doubt enhanced by Jorma Panula's idiomatic and imaginative orchestrations, beautifully rendered by the Tampere Philharmonic.


--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 16 tracks

  1. 1 No. 1. Die stille Stadt (The Quiet Town) 02:48
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. Die stille Stadt (The Quiet Town)
    Duration
    02:48
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  2. 2 No. 2. In meines Vaters Garten (In My Father's Garden) 05:25
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. In meines Vaters Garten (In My Father's Garden)
    Duration
    05:25
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  3. 3 No. 3. Laue Sommernacht (Mild Summer's Night) 02:07
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3. Laue Sommernacht (Mild Summer's Night)
    Duration
    02:07
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  4. 4 No. 4. Bei dir ist es traut (With You it is Pleasant) 01:38
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 4. Bei dir ist es traut (With You it is Pleasant)
    Duration
    01:38
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  5. 5 No. 5. Ich wandle unter Blumen (I Stroll Among Flowers) 00:54
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 5. Ich wandle unter Blumen (I Stroll Among Flowers)
    Duration
    00:54
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  6. 6 No. 1. Licht in der Nacht (Light in the Night) 03:06
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 1. Licht in der Nacht (Light in the Night)
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  7. 7 No. 2. Waldseligkeit (Woodland Bliss) 01:45
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 2. Waldseligkeit (Woodland Bliss)
    Duration
    01:45
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  8. 8 No. 3. Ansturm (Storm) 01:35
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 3. Ansturm (Storm)
    Duration
    01:35
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  9. 9 No. 4. Erntelied (Harvest Song) 03:58
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 4. Erntelied (Harvest Song)
    Duration
    03:58
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  10. 10 No. 1. Hymne (Hymn) 05:35
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 1. Hymne (Hymn)
    Duration
    05:35
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  11. 11 No. 2. Ekstase (Ecstasy) 02:32
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 2. Ekstase (Ecstasy)
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  12. 12 No. 3. Der Erkennende (The Recogniser) 02:50
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 3. Der Erkennende (The Recogniser)
    Duration
    02:50
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  13. 13 No. 4. Lobgesang (Song of Praise) 03:11
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 4. Lobgesang (Song of Praise)
    Duration
    03:11
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  14. 14 No. 5. Hymne an die Nacht (Hymn to the Night) 03:31
    Track
    14
    Title
    No. 5. Hymne an die Nacht (Hymn to the Night)
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  15. 15 Leise weht ein erstes Bluhn (Softly Drifts a First Blossom) (arr. for mezzo-soprano and orchestra) 03:41
    Track
    15
    Title
    Leise weht ein erstes Bluhn (Softly Drifts a First Blossom) (arr. for mezzo-soprano and orchestra)
    Duration
    03:41
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel
  16. 16 Kennst du meine Nachte? (Do You Know My Nights?) (arr. for mezzo-soprano and orchestra) 05:18
    Track
    16
    Title
    Kennst du meine Nachte? (Do You Know My Nights?) (arr. for mezzo-soprano and orchestra)
    Duration
    05:18
    Composer
    Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel