Our Summer BAL 37: Strauss Four Last Songs

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

She doesn't take a few of the high notes either but I'm jolly glad to have heard this recording

Never been battered.

- though I wish Flagstad and Furtwaengler had recorded Das Lied von der Erde together instead, with Wunderlich

In "Fantasy Recording League" we can have "as well as"es.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It will have been recorded off-air on acetate discs - the latter the source of the chip shop, ferney. The transfer engineer has to decide how much of that to remove - and in the process how much of the top of the singing (and the orchestra) gets sliced off.

And, as with so many historic recordings, when the performance is so good, it's not long before I filter out the noise. Even so, I'm interested in Barbi's reference to the Pristine remastering - it'll be useful having different "filterings", each shining light on different features of the recording.

[Barbirollians]

Never been battered.


In "Fantasy Recording League" we can have "as well as"es.

As fab as Ferrier/Patzak and Ludwig/Wunderlich are - Ferrier/Wunderlich with VPO/Barbirolli would be on my fantasy recording list in Das Lied

[martin_opera]

Hello martin_opera - interesting post. I wonder what you think of Felicity Lott's performance - mentioned above e.g. by richardfinegold in #24. I've mentioned elsewhere in the past that a while back, a mate and I pooled our '4LS' recordings and spent an afternoon 'blind testing' them as best we could. All the favourites were there - Janowitz, 2 Schwarzkopfs, Popp, Della Casa, Norman, Isokowski, Jurinac, Studer, Fleming, plus a few outsiders. Of course we recognised many voices... but trying as hard as we could to ignore preconceptions, and give an objective, relative evaluation of singing, orchestral performance, balance of singer with orchestra, and sound quality generally, the recording that came "top" of our private BAL session was Flott with Jarvi on Chandos.

Since then, I've added another favourite - do you know it? No one's mentioned it so far - the performance by Elisabeth Meyer-Topsøe on Kontrapunkt. She and the orchestra basically do more or less everything as I hear it in my head, with the added benefit of not being a 'recognisable' voice. I haven't listened for a while but a wonderful little touch that comes to mind is the way she gives a radiant vocal colour to the word 'Freude' in the last song. Having heard it, I miss that in other performances!

It's an expensive CD new but about half that price on iTunes and less for second hand copies of the CD:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Strauss-Songs-Wagner-Wesendonck-Lieder/dp/B000025ZCE/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1409431880&sr=1-1

Anyone who hasn't heard it who loves this music and is looking for a beautiful new perspective on the songs could do a great deal worse imho.

The Elisabeth Meyer-Topsøe recording arrived yesterday and I listened to it eagerly last night. It is wonderful. From a first go I would say that she is somewhere in between Isokowski and Te Kanawa with a bit of Hendricks thrown in. The way she reduces the voice to a thread almost like there's nothing there and holds it on the breath reminds me of Hendricks and Anna Moffo (whom I'd previously suggested would be my wish list singer to have a go). It's a voice that's plenty big enough for the music but is also delicate - a good combination for these songs. I was less struck at initial reading by her way with detailed words but I'll have to have further listens. Not immediately in my top ten but I am certainly glad to have it on my shelf. Thanks for the recommendation Caliban!

[Nick Armstrong]

Glad you like it!

[teamsaint]

Glad you like it!

On your recommendation for this version, I had a listen to her singing "Morgen" on youtube.

I think I will be listening to more of her singing very soon.

Lovely stuff.

[gurnemanz]

Very nice live version from Elly Ameling and Sawallisch.

[martin_opera]

Samples here of the latest version from DG and Daniel Barenboim with Anna Netrebko. i must admit I was a bit sceptical about this having not liked her Verdi album, and doubting her ability to really enunciate the words but she does sound reasonably good on these clips. Anyone heard the full piece?

[Flosshilde]

Also on 'In Tune' this afternoon, at the start of the programme (so Straussphiliac Rafferty phobes don't have to listen to too much of him)

[Nick Armstrong]

Samples here of the latest version from DG and Daniel Barenboim with Anna Netrebko. i must admit I was a bit sceptical about this having not liked her Verdi album, and doubting her ability to really enunciate the words but she does sound reasonably good on these clips. Anyone heard the full piece?

The whole of Beim Schlafengehen was on CD Review on Saturday, about 10 minutes after the start of the programme. I've never heard Ms Netrebko sing anything before. It was okay - a bit fruity, for my taste, but I recall she hit one high entry so so sweetly in tune - made me want to hear it again....

[Beef Oven!]

My go to Vier has always been, and probably always will be, Jundula Janowitz/Karajan. But lately I've been listening quite a lot to my CD of Kirsten Flagsted/Furtwaengler/Philharmonia on Testament.

Although recorded underwater in 1950, Flagsted's voice is otherworldly. World premiere and the Wagner stuff is glorious too!

[martin_opera]

The whole of Beim Schlafengehen was on CD Review on Saturday, about 10 minutes after the start of the programme. I've never heard Ms Netrebko sing anything before. It was okay - a bit fruity, for my taste, but I recall she hit one high entry so so sweetly in tune - made me want to hear it again....

Thanks Caliban. Have just listened and very much liked the little "tags" that CD Review have placed on the time line to help you find individual pieces. Every little helps...

[Barbirollians]

I note that above in my list of favourites I did not include the Janowitz /Karajan. I think because I played it too much in its DG Galleria cassette incarnation in the 1980s having never really got on with the Schwarzkopf.

Then along came the Jurinac,della casa and Popp and gundula was rather left on the shelf .

Today I found the Galleria CD in a charity shop for £2 . I had forgotten just how sumptuous this record is and it was wonderful to hear it again - the Im Abendrot in particular is surely unsurpassed .

[Roehre]

I note that above in my list of favourites I did not include the Janowitz /Karajan. I think because I played it too much in its DG Galleria cassette incarnation in the 1980s having never really got on with the Schwarzkopf.
....
Today I found the Galleria CD in a charity shop for £2 . I had forgotten just how sumptuous this record is and it was wonderful to hear it again - the Im Abendrot in particular is surely unsurpassed .

Though I can get on with Schwarzkopf/Szell, this is one of the most impressive recordings, IMO at the same level as Söderström/CGO/Haitink

[cloughie]

Though I can get on with Schwarzkopf/Szell, this is one of the most impressive recordings, IMO at the same level as Söderström/CGO/Haitink

For me Felicity Lott tops the list for me.