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fergus wrote:

Jose Echenique wrote:The real interest in this recording is tenor Klaus Florian Vogt, one of the most interesting Wagner singers to appear in recent years. He is not your typical Heldentenor, his is a more lyrical and Italianate voice than usual for Wagner. Wagner of course didn´t compose for Heldentenors, the vocal category didn´t exist in his time, that is something that came much later. The very first Lohengrin was a Donizetti tenor, a tenor with Lucia and Poliuto in his repertoire, so a voice like Vogt´s shouldn´t be ruled out. Besides, his luminous, light tone and his musicianship make him a perfect knight.

Excuse my ignorance Pepe but would you mind explaining what a Heldentenor is?

A Heldentenor is the heaviest voice in the tenor range. The beefy, powerful voice to meet the demands of Siegfried, Siegmund and Tristan, the heaviest roles that Wagner wrote.
The best example of a Heldentenor was a Danish singer from the 1940´s called Lauritz Melchior, his was the Heldentenor voice par excellence. Wolfgang Windgassen in the Solti and Böhm Rings was also a Heldentenor, but by the time he recorded both cycles he was already in decline.
Sometimes a spinto tenor with enough heft can sing Heldentenor roles, like Placido Domingo and Siegfried Jerusalem, but the real article, like venerable Lauritz Melchior is a VERY rare bird indeed.

24/48 download from B&W Society of Sound

markof wrote:

24/48 download from B&W Society of Sound

Hi markof and welcome to Tír Na HiFi.

Jose Echenique wrote:

fergus wrote:

Jose Echenique wrote:The real interest in this recording is tenor Klaus Florian Vogt, one of the most interesting Wagner singers to appear in recent years. He is not your typical Heldentenor, his is a more lyrical and Italianate voice than usual for Wagner. Wagner of course didn´t compose for Heldentenors, the vocal category didn´t exist in his time, that is something that came much later. The very first Lohengrin was a Donizetti tenor, a tenor with Lucia and Poliuto in his repertoire, so a voice like Vogt´s shouldn´t be ruled out. Besides, his luminous, light tone and his musicianship make him a perfect knight.

Excuse my ignorance Pepe but would you mind explaining what a Heldentenor is?

A Heldentenor is the heaviest voice in the tenor range. The beefy, powerful voice to meet the demands of Siegfried, Siegmund and Tristan, the heaviest roles that Wagner wrote.
The best example of a Heldentenor was a Danish singer from the 1940´s called Lauritz Melchior, his was the Heldentenor voice par excellence. Wolfgang Windgassen in the Solti and Böhm Rings was also a Heldentenor, but by the time he recorded both cycles he was already in decline.
Sometimes a spinto tenor with enough heft can sing Heldentenor roles, like Placido Domingo and Siegfried Jerusalem, but the real article, like venerable Lauritz Melchior is a VERY rare bird indeed.

Thank you for that information Pepe. It is always nice to get simple explanations to the things that we do not understand.

markof wrote:

24/48 download from B&W Society of Sound

You are very welcome to the Forum markof. I hope that you enjoy the friendly atmosphere around here and that you can contribute often.

markof wrote:

24/48 download from B&W Society of Sound

Welcome to the forum markof. Hope you enjoy it here.

Very refreshing to hear this one on period instruments. Quite a bit better than the equivalant offering from Norrington which I find the final 2 movements too slow and ponderous.

DaveF wrote:

Very refreshing to hear this one on period instruments. Quite a bit better than the equivalant offering from Norrington which I find the final 2 movements too slow and ponderous.

That was an early CD purchase for me Dave. I rember buying it many years ago in Edinburgh. I thought that it was great from the first time that I heard it.

On vinyl....more JS Bach....




....and it still sounds good!

Master bassoonist Sergio Azzolini has just released his second volume of Vivaldi bassoon concertos.
This is playing in excelsis.