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.
An ambitious new series focusing on the songs of Franz Liszt, starting with all three versions of the Tre Sonetti del Petrarca, (Petrarca Sonnets), S.270a, S.270b and S.161 with Andrè Schuen and Daniel Heide for Avi-music.de.
Since no complete edition of the Liszt songs exists apart from the Alexander edition for Breitkopf and Härtel in 1919-21, this may be more than an ordinary completist series. There could be as many as 145 variants, with questions of classification, since Liszt did not not assign opus numbers. This recording seeks to highlight the connections between Liszt’s three settings of Petrarch’s Sonnets 47, 104 and 123. Recorded in the Marküs -Sittikus Saal in Hohenems, these are performances of great sensitivity, as we’d expect from Schuen, and Heide.
Andrè Schuen is easily one of the more promising young baritones around, and one whose genuine love for repertoire leads him to in-depth performances of more eclectic material. He recorded an outstanding Frank Martin Sechs Monologe aus Jedermann as well as Schumann, Beethoven and Wanderer, an excellent collection of Schubert Lieder. At the Wigmore Hall on Saturday 23rd November, Schuen and Heide are giving a recital of Schubert and Mahler (Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and the Rückert Lieder).
Liszt’s first settings of the Petrarch sonnets date from 1842-6 while the second settings were completed between 1864-1882. Composed decades apart, these are far more than simple “variations” but thoroughly thought-through new works, showing the evolution of Liszt’s approach though time. The order of songs is also transposed. In the first Sonetto 104, (Pace non trovo) is declamatory, each verse clearly separated by a piano interlude. The line “equalamente mi spiace morte et vita” rises with operatic flourish, before a hushed ending, marked by two assertive chords on the piano for emphasis. The second Sonetto 104, better reflects the brief phrases in the poem, which flow in succession, building up tension towards the line “né mi vuol vivo, né mi trae impaccio” expressing the poet’s frustration. The line “in questa stato son, donna, por voi” is all the more moving because it expresses love, tenderly complemented by a gentle piano postlude.
In the first Sonetto 47 (Benedetto sia ‘l giorno), the mood is gentler, suggesting the purity of the beloved. Elaboration is focused on the third strophe “Benedette le voci tante” where phrases are repeated, adding lustre to the name “Laura”, which Schuen projects with glowing awe. The second setting of this sonetto is even more sensitive, Liszt’s attention even better attuned to the scansion of Petrarch’s flowing phrases, “‘l giorno, e ‘l mese, e l’anno, e la stagione, e ‘l tempo, e l’ora, e ‘l punto”, which are all connected, since they underline the meaning of the poem. Schuen’s perfect diction underlines the melodious nature of the text. Only in the line “E le piaghe, ch’infino al cor mi vanno” is there a hint of the pain the poet is going through. With such subtlety, Liszt has no need to decorate the third strophe: its impact comes from the sincere, direct expression of emotion. This makes the final strophe even more moving, as it gradually decelarates into quietude. For the poet, nothing matters but the beloved: “Ch’ è sol di lei” sings Schuen with deep feeling, “si ch’altra non v’ha parte”. As the song subsides, the word “benedette” is intoned, like a prayer.
An extended piano prelude introduces the first setting of Sonetto 123 (I’ vidi in terra), the genly rocking melody taken up in the vocal line. The beloved is now a memory, “par sogni, ombre e fume”. Though there are differences in the two settings for voice and piano, the focus is now on the poet, alone. For Liszt as composer, such personal expression would have favoured the piano. Given that the versions for solo piano from Années de Pélerinage, Année II (Italie) S 161 no. 4 to 6 were written shortly after the first settings of the songs for voice and piano, S 270a, it is natural that the resemblances are strong. The popularity of the pieces for piano thus derives from the emotional power inherent in the songs, even shorn of text. Hearing all three sets together enhances understanding of their context and the role they play in the development of Liszt’s oeuvre. Paradoxically, this also means a greater appreciation of the later set, known as S 270b, but much more mature, subtle and sophisticated than mere variation.
Appositely, Schuen and Heide conclude this first volume in the Liszt Lieder series with Liszt’s setting of Victor Hugo, Oh! Quand je dors, S 282, here in the second version, completed in 1859. Many of Liszt’s songs are standard repertoire, but the time has come for a re-evaluation of all the songs, in context. Recently, Cyrille Dubois and Tristan Raës presented Liszt Lieder together with his Mélodies in the French style, demonstrating how original Liszt was, a composer “beyond boundaries”, so to speak. Please read more about that here. Essential listening for all.
Anne Ozorio