COMPOSERS: Mahler
LABELS: Philips Duo
WORKS: Das Lied von der Erde; Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen; Des Knaben Wunderhorn (excerpts); Kindertotenlieder
PERFORMER: Jessye Norman (soprano), Janet Baker (mezzo), James King (tenor), Hermann Prey, John Shirley-Quirk (baritone); Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra/Bernard Haitink
CATALOGUE NO: 454 014-2 ADD (1970-77)
The peaks of this (or any) Mahler song-survey are undoubtedly Janet Baker’s ‘Abschied’ and Jessye Norman’s ‘Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen’, though the mountain range as a whole never falls below an impressive altitude. Inevitable reminiscences of the Janet Baker/John Barbirolli song cycles (EMI) make baritone Hermann Prey’s deeply felt contribution seem like second best; but John Shirley-Quirk takes astonishing risks with the military nocturnes, the necessary extreme to Norman’s smiling charm (no Schwarzkopfian archness here). Texts are lacking and the track labelling is slightly askew. David Nice
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde; Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen; Des Knaben Wunderhorn (excerpts); Kindertotenlieder
The peaks of this (or any) Mahler song-survey are undoubtedly Janet Baker’s ‘Abschied’ and Jessye Norman’s ‘Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen’, though the mountain range as a whole never falls below an impressive altitude. Inevitable reminiscences of the Janet Baker/John Barbirolli song cycles (EMI) make baritone Hermann Prey’s deeply felt contribution seem like second best; but John Shirley-Quirk takes astonishing risks with the military nocturnes, the necessary extreme to Norman’s smiling charm (no Schwarzkopfian archness here). Texts are lacking and the track labelling is slightly askew.
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:06 pm