Tír Na HiFi

Another version of the Christmas Story....





....and a very good one too!

Another perennial Christmas favourite.

There are several excellent recordings of Schütz´s Historia der Geburt Jesu Christi, like Fergus´ recording with the wonderful Ian Partridge. But I am playing today the Gabrieli Consort recording made all the more attractive with added Christmas music from other Schütz contemporaries. The tenor narrator is Charles Daniels here.

Nielsen - Symphony No.2 The Four Temperaments (Michael Schonwandt, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Dacapo)

I have recently had this set on repeated listen for several reasons; firstly, this is actually the first full disk of Brahms lieder which I have owned and secondly because (to my shame) this is my first Jessye Norman recording...

she seems to have a very rich, velvety, full bodied style for a soprano and she seems at home in this repertoire (I notice from Wiki that much of her career output has been Germanic, so there is no surprise here). these songs appear to me to be very heartfelt and sensuous; Norman straining every emotion out of the words... it's wonderful to listen to, and just how Lieder should sound; Barenboim's pianism reacting/ shadowing Norman beautifully, whilst in the (arguably) best known 'Two Songs' op.91, she is also joined by Wolfram Christ on the Viola.

I don't know about you, but I find lieder are something I have to give repeated listens to over a period of time, to gain many a subtle nuance in expression and tone which is so clearly lacking at this level in popular music as a genre, and as a consequence, it is often not easy for a newbie to appreciate (I know I didn't, but I love it now).

Of all of the most highly regarded sets of Brahms lieder on the market, this is probably the most comprehensive, journeying over 2 disks throughout the entirety of Brahms' lifetime from Opus 3 to Opus 107, and including all 8 songs from the Zigeunerlieder cycle (Op.103) en route. That said, Baker, Fink & von Otter have also recorded disks, most of which will find their way into my collection within the short-medium term, I feel.

Does anyone else have any feelings and opinions on Brahms lieder, they'd like to share?

It has to be said that recordings of all 3 of Schumann's SQs on the same disk are surprisingly thin on the ground, so it is rather serendipitous that the BBC Mag gave this set 5 stars last year (their recording of the month for Dec 11), from the young Doric SQ who seem to specialise in slightly lesser-known repertoire within the medium. They have just released a disk of the Korngold SQs, and previously, both versions of the Walton SQ:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_ ... rtet&ajr=0

Benefitting from typically high standards of recording from Chandos, I find this version to be vibrant and energetic, with a balance between warmth and incisive penetration, especially in the outer movements.

Written in early summer 1842, the year that saw Schumann suffer from bouts of psychological ill-health, these SQs were written together during a frenzy of intense creative activity, over the period of a couple of weeks.

Although I don't personally find these works to be as immediate as the fabulous Piano Quintet and Quartets (written during the autumn of the same year), they certainly grow on me with each listen, and seem to spring from the same well as LvB... hardly surprising as he had a few years before been bowled over by his introduction to the Op.130's and wished somehow emulate them...

at any rate, I think the works, sometimes written off as being '2nd tier' Schumann, have been very well served in this recording. If you only elect to purchase one set of his SQs for your collection (which might be all you need unless you're a chamber specialist), then this is a fine one.

Jared wrote:

I have recently had this set on repeated listen for several reasons; firstly, this is actually the first full disk of Brahms lieder which I have owned and secondly because (to my shame) this is my first Jessye Norman recording...

she seems to have a very rich, velvety, full bodied style for a soprano and she seems at home in this repertoire (I notice from Wiki that much of her career output has been Germanic, so there is no surprise here). these songs appear to me to be very heartfelt and sensuous; Norman straining every emotion out of the words... it's wonderful to listen to, and just how Lieder should sound; Barenboim's pianism reacting/ shadowing Norman beautifully, whilst in the (arguably) best known 'Two Songs' op.91, she is also joined by Wolfram Christ on the Viola.

I don't know about you, but I find lieder are something I have to give repeated listens to over a period of time, to gain many a subtle nuance in expression and tone which is so clearly lacking at this level in popular music as a genre, and as a consequence, it is often not easy for a newbie to appreciate (I know I didn't, but I love it now).

Of all of the most highly regarded sets of Brahms lieder on the market, this is probably the most comprehensive, journeying over 2 disks throughout the entirety of Brahms' lifetime from Opus 3 to Opus 107, and including all 8 songs from the Zigeunerlieder cycle (Op.103) en route. That said, Baker, Fink & von Otter have also recorded disks, most of which will find their way into my collection within the short-medium term, I feel.

Does anyone else have any feelings and opinions on Brahms lieder, they'd like to share?

I am a great fan of Brahms Lieder, but then I am a great fan of Lieder in general. His Lieder is maybe a little bit more difficult than Schubert´s or Schumann´s because it´s not as immediately tuneful, but definitely there are tunes and they are lovely too, so yes, repeated hearings and familiarization will pay handsome dividends.
Jessye Norman, who has sung Brahms often in her career, is an ideal interpreter. Her dark, contralto-like voice is very different from the bright, high soprano tradition of such German-speaking interpreters like Irmgard Seefried, Lisa della Casa or Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, but Norman speaks such good German, and is such a great artist that everyone is easily won over in no time.
The more you hear those cds Jared, the more you are going to love them.

Jose Echenique wrote:I am a great fan of Brahms Lieder, but then I am a great fan of Lieder in general. His Lieder is maybe a little bit more difficult than Schubert´s or Schumann´s because it´s not as immediately tuneful, but definitely there are tunes and they are lovely too, so yes, repeated hearings and familiarization will pay handsome dividends.
Jessye Norman, who has sung Brahms often in her career, is an ideal interpreter. Her dark, contralto-like voice is very different from the bright, high soprano tradition of such German-speaking interpreters like Irmgard Seefried, Lisa della Casa or Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, but Norman speaks such good German, and is such a great artist that everyone is easily won over in no time.
The more you hear those cds Jared, the more you are going to love them.

yes, I would agree that the harmonies and structure don't seem to give themselves up as readily as with Schubert and perhaps some of the best known Schumann, and I am actually very pleased I didn't tackle Brahms's first... I do nevertheless feel that he had a great gift for putting his emotions and talent into these songs, which tend to be more of a slow-burner... I do feel I will be listening to these works for some time to come, on and off...

Warlock - Capriol Suite & Serenade for Strings (Neville Marriner, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Decca)

Dvorak - Symphony No.6 (Rafael Kubelik, Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsche Grammophon)