The Sixteen continues its exploration of Henry Purcell’s Welcome Songs for Charles II. As with Robert King’s pioneering Purcell series begun over thirty years ago for Hyperion, Harry Christophers is recording two Welcome Songs per disc.
In February this year, Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho made a highly lauded debut recital at Wigmore Hall - a concert which both celebrated Opera Rara’s 50th anniversary and honoured the career of the Italian soprano Rosina Storchio (1872-1945), the star of verismo who created the title roles in Leoncavallo’s La bohème and Zazà, Mascagni’s Lodoletta and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
Collapsology. Or, perhaps we should use the French word ‘Collapsologie’ because this is a transdisciplinary idea pretty much advocated by a series of French theorists - and apparently, mostly French theorists. It in essence focuses on the imminent collapse of modern society and all its layers - a series of escalating crises on a global scale: environmental, economic, geopolitical, governmental; the list is extensive.
Amongst an avalanche of new Mahler recordings appearing at the moment (Das Lied von der Erde seems to be the most favoured, with three) this 1991 Mahler Second from the 2nd Kassel MahlerFest is one of the more interesting releases.
If there is one myth, it seems believed by some people today, that probably needs shattering it is that post-war recordings or performances of Wagner operas were always of exceptional quality. This 1949 Hamburg Tristan und Isolde is one of those recordings - though quite who is to blame for its many problems takes quite some unearthing.
The voices of six women composers are celebrated by baritone Jeremy Huw Williams and soprano Yunah Lee on this characteristically ambitious and valuable release by Lontano Records Ltd (Lorelt).
As Paul Spicer, conductor of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir, observes, the worship of the Blessed Virgin Mary is as ‘old as Christianity itself’, and programmes devoted to settings of texts which venerate the Virgin Mary are commonplace.
Ethel Smyth’s last large-scale work, written in 1930 by the then 72-year-old composer who was increasingly afflicted and depressed by her worsening deafness, was The Prison – a ‘symphony’ for soprano and bass-baritone soloists, chorus and orchestra.
‘Hamilton Harty is Irish to the core, but he is not a musical nationalist.’
‘After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music.’ Aldous Huxley’s words have inspired VOCES8’s new disc, After Silence, a ‘double album in four chapters’ which marks the ensemble’s 15th anniversary.
A song-cycle is a narrative, a journey, not necessarily literal or linear, but one which carries performer and listener through time and across an emotional terrain. Through complement and contrast, poetry and music crystallise diverse sentiments and somehow cohere variability into an aesthetic unity.
One of the nicest things about being lucky enough to enjoy opera, music and theatre, week in week out, in London’s fringe theatres, music conservatoires, and international concert halls and opera houses, is the opportunity to encounter striking performances by young talented musicians and then watch with pleasure as they fulfil those sparks of promise.
“It’s forbidden, and where’s the art in that?”
Dublin-born John F. Larchet (1884-1967) might well be described as the father of post-Independence Irish music, given the immense influenced that he had upon Irish musical life during the first half of the 20th century - as a composer, musician, administrator and teacher.
The English Civil War is raging. The daughter of a Puritan aristocrat has fallen in love with the son of a Royalist supporter of the House of Stuart. Will love triumph over political expediency and religious dogma?
Beethoven Symphony no 9 (the Choral Symphony) in D minor, Op. 125, and the Choral Fantasy in C minor, Op. 80 with soloist Kristian Bezuidenhout, Pablo Heras-Casado conducting the Freiburger Barockorchester, new from Harmonia Mundi.
A Louise Brooks look-a-like, in bobbed black wig and floor-sweeping leather trench-coat, cheeks purple-rouged and eyes shadowed in black, Barbara Hannigan issues taut gestures which elicit fire-cracker punch from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
‘Signor Piatti in a fantasia on themes from Beatrice di Tenda had also his triumph. Difficulties, declared to be insuperable, were vanquished by him with consummate skill and precision. He certainly is amazing, his tone magnificent, and his style excellent. His resources appear to be inexhaustible; and altogether for variety, it is the greatest specimen of violoncello playing that has been heard in this country.’
Baritone Roderick Williams seems to have been a pretty constant ‘companion’, on my laptop screen and through my stereo speakers, during the past few ‘lock-down’ months.
Melodramas can be a difficult genre for composers. Before Richard Strauss’s Enoch Arden the concept of the melodrama was its compact size – Weber’s Wolf’s Glen scene in Der Freischütz, Georg Benda’s Ariadne auf Naxos and Medea or even Leonore’s grave scene in Beethoven’s Fidelio.
Franz Schubert’s song cycle Winterreise has been performed by many fine singers, who keep the work alive in the repertoire and in the imagination of audiences. In recent years the work has been subject to a variety of interpretations, and with this recording, the well-known tenor René Kollo offers his perspective on the work, accompanied by the young pianist Oliver Pohl.
Those familiar with René Kollo’s work might associate him more with opera, but he has recorded other kinds of works as well. This release is Schubert’s Winterreise is a recent effort that was created for and released by Oehms in 2004. Kollo recorded it between 17 and 19 February. His statement about the performance is included in the booklet that accompanies the CD, and in it he calls attention to his perspective of the music. As he states,
With my interpretation of Winterreise, I hope to present listeners with a new view of Schubert’s Lied cycle. For me, Winterreise is not primarily a story of farewell and the longing for death. I see it much more as the wrathful flight of a man, who – beset by the realities of class differences – must leave the one he loves. He fails in the face of social tensions; the rich girl is unattainable for him. . . . At the end, I sing of a beginning – not of a standstill. In the person of the hurdy-gurdy grinder, the search finds one who has certainly traveled a similarly fateful path. He now sings his songs with him. The mood is lighter and tends slightly towards optimism. . . .
Yet in concluding his remarks, Kollo acknowledges that the CD is expressly intended as a fund-raiser for the Deutsche Kinderhilfe Direkt (the German Direct Children’s Aid Association). The purpose is stated on the cover of the CD, and the first thing that one finds inside is the statement by Georg Ehrmann that the purchase of the recording is intended to benefit German Children’s Aid, with the address, contact information and even Konto codes for further donations. As a means of calling attention to a cause, this is certainly a unique involvement of the arts, which are often concerned with raising money for their own purposes.
Notwithstanding the reasons for the recording, it merits attention for the mature and well-thought perspective that Kollo brings to a familiar work. This is a sound approach to the work that the performers have borne out well in this recording. As a studio recording, the performance is lacks hall noise and other distractions that sometimes occur, even in the best of circumstances. Yet the sound levels are sometimes extremely close to the voice, thus missing the ambiance that comes from having some distance between the performances and the microphones. The kind of resonance that has been preserved in some other recordings of Schubert’s Lieder is not easy to find on this CD, and it is sometimes difficult to hear the accompaniment blend with the voice.
As to the accompaniment, the performance on this recording suggests that Oliver Pohl has much to offer in the area of Lieder. The nuances that Pohl brings into the fourth song, “Erstarrung,” the one which Kollo holds to be the turning point in the cycle, is effective. This stands in contrast to the sometimes relentless execution he gives to the first three songs, the ones that Kollo states depict the angry flight [zornige Flucht] of the protagonist. The lighter tone that the performers introduce after the first songs culminates in an exceptionally thoughtful conclusion, with the final song “Der Leiermann” fading away in a manner that fully contrasts the opening pieces. Pohl is responsible for this convincing dénouement, and he has clearly worked out the interpretation with Kollo. Overall Pohl supports Kollo solidly, matching the tenor’s intensity with similarly strong playing, which is evident in the exposed passages for piano, like the one in the center of “Der Lindenbaum.”
The liner notes for the CD include the full text of the song cycle, but without any translations. With a familiar work like this, the lack of a translation is not a problem, but it points, perhaps, to the intended audience of the CD in Germany or, at least, in German-speaking countries. In fact, the note by Pohl appended to his biography reinforces the intention of the performers’ support of the Deutsche Kinderhilfe Direkt, and this leads into Kollo’s statement about the interpretation of the cycle.
All in all, this recording has much to recommend, not the least of which is the overtly divergent approach that Kollo offers. In a mature, polished singer conveys his well-considered approach to familiar music. Enthusiasts of Lieder and specifically Schubert’s music may find this recording of interest. At the same time, those familiar with Kollo as an opera singer may want to hear him in the context of this fine recording of Schubert’s Winterreise.
James L. Zychowicz
Madison, Wisconsin