Paul Dukas’ Ariane et Barbe-Bleue, first heard in 1907, once seemed important. Arturo Toscanini conducted the Met premiere in 1911 with Farrar and later arranged some of its music for a 1947 recording with his NBC Symphony.
The economics of the recording companies dictate much that is not ideal. Wagner’s operas were not composed as they were in order to permit the extraction of bleeding chunks, even on those occasions when strophic song forms do occur.
Among the recent recordings of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, Valery Gergiev’s release on the LSO Live label is an excellent addition to the discography of this work.
While not unknown, the songs of Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942) deserve to be heard more frequently.
Recorded on 5 and 6 May 2008 and 17 and 18 January 2009 at the Lisztzentrum (Raiding, Austria), this recent Bridge release makes available the piano-vocal versions of three song cycles by Gustav Mahler, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Rückert-Lieder, and Kindertotenlieder performed by mezzo-soprano Hermine Haselböck, accompanied by Russell Ryan.
Contraltos rarely achieve the acclaim and renown of sopranos. Assigned few leading roles in opera, they are condemned to playing the villain or the grandmother, or to stealing the castrati’s trousers in en travesti roles.
Following their 2011 Decca recording of Striggio’s Mass in 40 Parts (1566), I Fagiolini continue their quest to unearth lost treasures of the High Renaissance and early Baroque, with this collection of world-premiere recordings, ‘reconstructions’ and ‘reconstitutions’ of music by Giovanni and Andrea Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Palestrina, and their less well-known compatriots Viadana, Barbarino and Soriano.
Eternal Echoes is an album of khazones [Jewish cantorial music] for cantorial soloist, solo violin and a blended instrumental ensemble comprising a small orchestra and the Klezmer Conservatory Band.
Michael Tilson Thomas’s recording of Mahler’s Third Symphony is an outstanding contribution to the composer’s discography.
Oliver Knussen burst into British music with an unprecedented flourish. In 1967, the London Symphony Orchestra premiered Knussen’s First Symphony, with István Kertész scheduled to conduct.
Based on performances given in Summer 2010 at the Lucerne Festival, this recording of Beethoven’s Fidelio is an admirable recording that captures the vitality of the work as conducted by Claudio Abbado.
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872) was one of the most popular composers of his day in Poland, and of the many works he wrote for the stage, two are performed from time to time, Halka (1848) and Strazny dwór [The Haunted Manor] (1865).
The Polish alto Jadwiga Rappé is a familiar voice in various stage and concert works, and the recent release of a selection of songs by Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872) is an opportunity to hear her performing artsongs.
Originally released on multiple discs in 1981 this reissue on two CDs is a comprehensive collection of art songs by Italian and French composers from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
An exciting contribution to the discography of this popular opera, the live performance of Richard Strauss’s Salome from the Festspielhaus at Baden-Baden is a compelling DVD.
Released in late 2011, Deutsche Grammophon’s DVD of the new staging of Berg’s Lulu at the Gran Teatro del Liceu, Barcelona is an excellent contribution to the discography of this fascinating opera.
A recent release by the Metropolitan Opera, this two-disc set makes available on DVD the famous performance of Berg’s Lulu that was broadcast on 20 December 1980 as part of the PBS series “Live from the Met.”
The novels of Sinclair Lewis once shot across the American literary skies like comets, alarming and fascinating readers of that era, but their tails didn’t extend far behind them.
Once the province of only the most dedicated opera fanatics, mid-20th century recordings of privately taped live performances have become more widely available.
Flute players in opera orchestra around the world must look forward to the frequent appearances of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, knowing that while the stage spotlight in the mad scene will be on the soprano, the orchestral spotlight will be on their instrument.
In 2001, Finland observed the 300th anniversary of the Finnish Hymnal. As a part of the celebration, YLE (the Finnish public broadcasting company) launched a project to record a substantial portion of the hymnal in performance by soloists or ensembles.
Soprano Soile Isokoski, whose recent disc of Strauss orchestral songs came as a revelation to many, participated in this project, along with her accompanist Marita Viitasalo, both artists drawing upon their childhood and professional experience with church music to record over forty hymns together. Twenty of them compose the program on this Ondine disc.
There is no question that these hymns are sung and played beautifully. However, it is in the nature of hymns that they are written to be sung by everyone in a congregation, so ranges tend to be limited and melodies, while often quite beautiful, are usually simple enough to be grasped in the course of a few verses by untrained singers. This does not leave much room for Isokoski to dazzle us with vocal technique, even assuming that she wanted to do so. Quoting from Isokoski’s remarks in the CD booklet: “Singing hymns makes you feel small and humble. It is really difficult, because it is so open and exposed. There is nothing but that simple melody that you have to sing purely.”
She lives up to this commitment to purity, lovingly spinning out each phrase with even tonal coloring and subtle dynamic variation. Viitasalo’s accompaniment, varying among the hymns between piano and harmonium, supports the vocal line with the same purity and subtlety. Occasionally there are interesting interludes, but often the accompaniment simply provides harmonizing chords underneath the main vocal melody, as is fitting for this kind of music.
The difficulty for non-Finnish speakers (and that, regrettably, is most of us) is that, while the texts of the hymns are all reproduced in the CD booklet, they are only printed in Finnish. (About three pages of notes about the recording and artist bios are also translated into English.) The sole clue as to content that we draw right away from the pure singing style is a generalized feeling of heartfelt reverence, although it is also clear that Isokoski knows exactly what she is singing and really cares about it. I was not familiar with any of these hymns, although most of them sound familiar enough, being generally from the same northern European tradition as the Presbyterian church hymns I grew up with. (Lutherans may recognize more of them than I do.) An exception is the short “Ilta on tullut luojani”, which is sung a capella, emphasizing the somewhat exotic nature of the melody itself. (The information about each hymn is supplied in Finnish only, so I can only guess at this hymn’s history, but its presentation is evocative of folk song, rather than a standard Protestant hymn).
So the result is a beautifully performed program that may not be able to hold the undivided attention of the non-Finnophone classical music listener for its entire 62-minute duration. For most, the choice to acquire this disc will most likely depend upon one’s individual listening habits, appreciation for hymns in general or for the sound of Soile Isokoski’s voice, and/or familiarity with the Finnish language. But I expect that, if one even partially fits the profile of Finnophone lover of sacred music performed with devotion and integrity by a fine interpretive duo of classical song, this disc will be a welcome addition.
Barbara Miller