BaL 19.06.21 - Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

[Bert]

So did I !

[Barbirollians]

One thing did strike me about her let’s listen to the end of Der Abschied was how for all her delicacy Coote's cool perfomance would have suffered had Flora Willson compared her to Ferrier and Baker - especially the former.

[Barbirollians]

Having heard the whole of the Albrecht tonight I am baffled by its victory in this BAL. The recording is good but rather forensically close . The interpretation by the conductor strikes me as cold . The tenor Fritz is nasal ,effortful and I would much rather hear Patzak's understanding of the texts and the music in his 56 year old voice any day . Coote is worthy of the praise she receives but her relatively dry eyed version still pales by the side of Ludwig, Baker, Connolly and above all Ferrier.

[Bryn]

Having heard the whole of the Albrecht tonight I am baffled by its victory in this BAL. The recording is good but rather forensically close . The interpretation by the conductor strikes me as cold . The tenor Fritz is nasal ,effortful and I would much rather hear Patzak's understanding of the texts and the music in his 56 year old voice any day . Coote is worthy of the praise she receives but her relatively dry eyed version still pales by the side of Ludwig, Baker, Connolly and above all Ferrier.

I would concur with one addition. Back in the 1980s, there was a Proms performance with Jessye Norman which I found particularly affecting. It led me to purchase her recording with Colin Davis and Jon Vickers. Though not, to my mind, as special as that Proms performance, it remains one of those I return to with pleasure. A pity that the Proms performance has not appeared on disc. Perhaps it will turn up on TtN at some point.

[makropulos]

I would concur with one addition. Back in the 1980s, there was a Proms performance with Jessye Norman which I found particularly affecting. It led me to purchase her recording with Colin Davis and Jon Vickers. Though not, to my mind, as special as that Proms performance, it remains one of those I return to with pleasure. A pity that the Proms performance has not appeared on disc. Perhaps it will turn up on TtN at some point.

Bryn, was that Jessye Norman Prom the one with Rattle and the CBSO? I remember being very moved by it.

[LMcD]

Bryn, was that Jessye Norman Prom the one with Rattle and the CBSO? I remember being very moved by it.

It's a pity that the quality of neither the sound nor the recording on YouTube is so poor - oh yes, and the sub-titles aren't in English!

[Barbirollians]

I would concur with one addition. Back in the 1980s, there was a Proms performance with Jessye Norman which I found particularly affecting. It led me to purchase her recording with Colin Davis and Jon Vickers. Though not, to my mind, as special as that Proms performance, it remains one of those I return to with pleasure. A pity that the Proms performance has not appeared on disc. Perhaps it will turn up on TtN at some point.

In RO’s 1983 BAL he is very complimentary about Norman and observes judging by how well she handles tempo changes within her songs that it was a shame she had’t conducted the performance as well .

[Bryn]

Bryn, was that Jessye Norman Prom the one with Rattle and the CBSO? I remember being very moved by it.

Yes, indeed, that was it, in 1985. I taped it to cassette at the time but that cassette is long gone.

[Bryn]

In RO’s 1983 BAL he is very complimentary about Norman and observes judging by how well she handles tempo changes within her songs that it was a shame she had’t conducted the performance as well .

Very well observed by RO.

[BBMmk2]

In RO’s 1983 BAL he is very complimentary about Norman and observes judging by how well she handles tempo changes within her songs that it was a shame she had’t conducted the performance as well .

That would be most interesting!

[Barbirollians]

That would be most interesting!

Indeed, it has prompted me to order a second hand copy.

[Maclintick]

Didn't find the 'winner' particularly exciting. It was OK, but that's all - in fact dare I say - a bit dull.

Having just caught up with this, I concur. Alice Coote's was by far the outstanding contribution here, although one wished for a tad more presence on her voice throughout. The orchestra played well enough, but I'm afraid the leaden conducting didn't really engage sensitively with the vocal lines, or allow space for orchestral solos to blossom. Frankly, this couldn't be compared to the 'historic' recordings...

[visualnickmos]

Having just caught up with this, I concur. Alice Coote's was by far the outstanding contribution here, although one wished for a tad more presence on her voice throughout. The orchestra played well enough, but I'm afraid the leaden conducting didn't really engage sensitively with the vocal lines, or allow space for orchestral solos to blossom. Frankly, this couldn't be compared to the 'historic' recordings...

Exactly. It's one of those works where the more oak-casked recordings have stayed top drawer stuff. Although the recording I did fall for from the BaL, was the chamber version. I thought (from the brief extracts) it was purely delightful. The piece clearly works wonderfully in Schoenberg's arrangement.

[Barbirollians]

I think I have learned from this and the Magic Flute BAL that I have rather different tastes to performance than Ms Willson and will be avoiding any more of her BALs.

[gurnemanz]

I think I have learned from this and the Magic Flute BAL that I have rather different tastes to performance than Ms Willson and will be avoiding any more of her BALs.

She complimented Fritz Wunderlich for bringing the Lied singer's art to it and pointed out the obvious that, as it says on the tin, the work is a song. The tenor she then chose seemed to me to be more of the operatic type.