Frederica von Stade – Mahler Songs

Frederica von Stade - Mahler Songs
Studio album by Frederica von Stade
Genre Classical
Length 40:20 (LP)
Language German (song texts only)
Label CBS Masterworks
Producer Paul Meyer

Frederica von Stade – Mahler Songs is a single-disc LP album of orchestral songs by Gustav Mahler sung by mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrew Davis. The album was released by CBS Masterworks in 1979 and includes Songs of a Wayfarer, two songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and the Five Songs on Poems by Friedrich Rückert. These recordings are also now available for download in digital format.

Critical reception

The album was favorably reviewed by Peter G. Davis in the New York Times: "Miss von Stade ... sounds utterly absorbed in Mahler's aching world of nostalgia and regret, while the burnished beauty and fragile vulnerability of her voice communicates with every note. Some of the songs, such as 'Um Mitternacht', ideally require greater tonal volume than she can muster, but on the whole this is a cherishable disk, further distinguished by the subtly shaded orchestral playing of the London Philharmonic under Andrew Davis's sensitive direction."[1]

The album was also critiqued by John Steane in Gramophone in a review comparing it to Mahler recital albums by Marilyn Horne, Christa Ludwig, Janet Baker, and Yvonne Minton. Describing the Rückert Lieder performances he says: "Frederica von Stade starts rather unhappily, not rising, in the first place, to the 'linden' very gracefully and indulging too much in the habit of opening out individual notes in succession, 'squeezing' rather than 'binding'. Sometimes a phrase comes to life, as when she brings a touch of impulsiveness which has eluded the other singers in what is surely the crucial line 'o ja, mich liebe!' in 'Liebst du', and in 'Ich bin der Welt' the phrase 'ich sei gestorben' is most beautifully floated. But at times the soft singing is a little too relaxed and the voice lacks the resources of power and body for the climax of 'Um Mitternacht'. ... In Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen [Songs of a Wayfarer] the Von Stade/Davis recording is more satisfying.... For instance, the second song, 'Ging heut' morgen' goes with a spring..." Like Peter G. Davis he felt von Stade could have used more vocal heft, but that "to some extent she compensates for this by the tenseness of her tone in the more turbulent passages, and in the last song she colours the voice most resourcefully and movingly."[2]

Track listing

Side 1      21:47 [3]
Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer 16:47
1.   Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht 3:42
2. Ging heut' Morgan über's Feld 4:18
3. Ich hab' ein glühend Messer 3:20
4. Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz 5:27
Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn (two songs) 5:00
5. Rheinlegendchen 2:58
6. Wer hat dieses Liedlein erdacht? 2:02
Side 2      18:33
Mahler: Five Songs on Poems by Friedrich Rückert 18:33
1. Ich atmet' einen linden Duft 2:15
2. Liebst du um Schönheit, o nicht mich liebe! 2:26
3. Um Mitternacht 6:05
4. Blicke mir nicht in Lieder! 1:35
5. Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen 6:12

References

  1. ↑ Peter G. Davis, "Singers With a Throat of Gold," The New York Times, June 15, 1980. Registration and purchase required. Accessed 29 November 2009.
  2. ↑ John B. Steane in Gramophone, November 1979, p. 892. Accessed 29 November 2009.
  3. ↑ Track information is taken from the LP disc labels, album cover, and song text insert of CBS Masterworks album with (U.S.) catalog number M 35863 (1979). Side and work timings were calculated from the track times.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/20/2013. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.