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Richard STRAUSS
(1864–1949) Vier letzte Lieder + 15 Lieder 2 Lieder from Op. 68:
1. No. 2: Ich wollt’ ein Sträusslein binden
[3:07]
2. No. 3: Säusle, liebe Myrthe [4:36]
Mädcheblumen, Op. 22:
3. No. 1: Kornblumen [2:07]
4. No. 2: Mohnblumen [1:23]
5. No. 3: Epheu [2:42]
6. No. 4: Wasserrose [3:24]
3 Lieder from Op. 10:
7. No. 4: Die Georgine [4:03]
8. No.7: Die Zeitlose [1:24]
9. No. 8: Allerseelen [3:08]
4 Lieder, Op. 27:
10. No. 1: Ruhe, meine Seele! [3:30]
11. No. 2: Cäcilie [2:09]
12. No. 3: Heimliche Aufforderung [3:09]
13. No. 4: Morgen! [3:33]
14. Das Rosenband, Op. 36 No. 1 [3:04]
15. Heimkehr, Op. 15 No. 5 [2:21]
Vier letzte Lieder:
16. Frühling [3:13]
17. September [4:22]
18. Beim Schlafengehen [5:04]
19. Im Abendrot [6:30]
Barbara Hendricks
(soprano)
Wolfgang Sawallisch (piano) (3-15)
Philadelphia Orchestra/Wolfgang Sawallisch (1,
2, 16-19)
rec. September, October 1994, Memorial Hall, Fairmount
Park, Philadelphia (1, 2, 16-19); September 1995, Bavaria Studios,
Munich (3-15)
Texts and English translations included.
EMI CLASSICS 7243
5 55594 2 5
[62:56]
I
have pointed out before that Barbara Hendricks has a voice that
is among the purest and most beautiful now before the public.
Her characteristic quick vibrato also makes her immediately
recognizable. She is also among the most musical in her trade
with an unfailing sense of phrasing and taste. What she lacks
is a wider spectrum of colours. Whether she sings Mozart, Strauss
or Puccini it is the same tonal palette, which tends to give
an impression of anonymity. I am fully aware that not all listeners
react as I do and I hasten to add that I belong to her deepest
admirers for pure singing. Sometimes it is more than satisfying
just to wallow in the beauty of the singing. It depends very
much on what kind of repertoire it is. Lieder singing requires
more nuance, more shading and more changing of voice character;
sometimes I miss that quality in Ms Hendricks’ readings. The
first two songs here, with orchestra, from Op. 68, neither of
them very often heard, are well sung but in a generalized way.
Accompanied
by the flexible Wolfgang Sawallisch she makes much more of the
four songs under the collective heading Mädchenblumen,
also relative rarities. Here she is certainly alert to the varying
moods: hushed and intimate in No. 1, lively and outgoing in
No. 2, melancholy in No. 3, ethereal in No. 4. The youthful
freshness of the three songs from Op. 10, composed in 1882-83
when Strauss was still in his teens, comes over well through
her heartfelt singing and she is deeply touching in Allerseelen
with its juxtaposition of love of the past and the day that
belongs to the dead. Ruhe, meine Seele, the first of
the 4 songs Op. 27, belongs in the same sphere but is bleaker,
more resigned while the other three are, each in their own way,
life-enhancing. All these readings in fact contradict my general
view about limited vocal colours.
When
it comes to Vier letzte Lieder reservations come creeping
in. These are honest, well-considered readings and accompanied
by the superb Philadelphia Orchestra the result can’t be anything
but compelling – but again in a generalized way. I warm to her
musical phrasing, I warm to the beauty of her voice but I look
for deeper expression in vain. I don’t believe anyone buying
this disc will feel seriously disappointed – it is after all
a record of one of the most accomplished singers of our time
– and I will certainly listen to it again. However when I want
to hear even more satisfying readings of this marvellous score
I have four special favourites: Lisa Della Casa and Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf, both from the mid-1950s and the earliest commercial
recordings of the songs; from more modern times Soile Isokoski
and – released just half a year ago – Nina Stemme. I have another
half-dozen, each of them with considerable merits – and Barbara
Hendricks is added to that list – but for unalloyed pleasure
the four mentioned versions are from my point of view the most
recommendable.