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2024-04-25
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2021-12-17 08:34:42
Poetic imagination: Andri Björn Róbertsson and Ástríður Alda Sigurðardóttir in songs by Árni Thorsteinson & Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann Liederkreis Op. 24 & Op. 39, Árni Thorsteinson songs; Andri Björn Róbertsson, Ástríður Alda Sigurðardóttir; Fuga Libera Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 17 December 2021 Star rating: 4.0 (★★★★) Schumann combined with the Icelandic composer Árni Thorsteinson in this darkly poetic and highly imaginative discRobert Schumann's Liederkreis Op. 24 and Op. 39 are two of the astonishing products of his year of song, 1840. On this disc from Icelandic bass-baritone Andri Björn Róbertsson and pianist Ástríður Alda Sigurðardóttir on the Fuga Libera label, Schumann's Liederkreis Op. 24 (setting poetry by Heinrich Heine) and Liederkreis Op. 39 (setting poetry by Joseph von Eichendorff) are paired with a selection of songs by the Icelandic composer Árni Thorsteinson. Schumann would turn to Heine both for the Liederkreis Op. 24 and for Dichterliebe Op 48; the poet's extremes of elation and despair, mingled sentimentality, self-pity and ironic self-mockery, drew a strong response from […]
2020-04-25 23:00:00
Montemezzi: L'amore dei tre re -- Montemezzi, Pinza, Met Opera (1941)
Italo Montemezzi (1875-1952)L'amore dei tre reOpera in three acts with libretto by Sem Benelli (1877-1949)Ezio Pinza (Archibaldo), Richard Bonelli (Manfredo)Grace Moore (Fiora), Charles Kullman (Avito)Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus; dir: Italo MontemezziRecorded 15 February 1941, New YorkBonus - Pinza rarities:-arias (Mozart, Donizetti, Gounod, Verdi, Handel)-interviewGuild (2003) GHCD 2232/5 AAD mono 2 CDs (out of print)Ripped, scanned, and contributed by Wagnay EAC rip [flac, cue, logs, scans]316 MB1fichier https://1fichier.com/?q6g4ui2ksm6asezvfuwzWeTransfer (for 7 days) https://we.tl/t-NwGROiRMcL
2020-03-24 16:07:00
Dvořák Requiem, Jakub Hrůša in memoriam Jiří Bělohlávek
[…] Bělohlávek's numerous concerts in London. Definitely a recommended recording, even though there is much competition. In this performance of Dvořák's Te Deum op 99 recorded by Hrůša in December 2018, the brass are bright and assertive, the rhythms confident and distinctively idiomatic. There are echoes of the composer's ninth symphony, but it is essentially a celebratory showpiece for large orchestra and massed voices, and presented here with great verve. The baritone is Svatopluk Sem, another Bělohlávek favourite and Národní divadlo regular, and the soprano is Kateřina Kněžíkov. Much is made ofthe high profile premiere in 1892, but the sad truth is that Dvořák was never paid. When a cheque finally arrived, it failed to clear. Oddly enough that fits in with the idea of a Requiem. No matter what worldy status might bring, at the end we all end up the same with only faith to sustain us. […]
2018-08-10 16:22:00
Ao longo da viola morosa
Ao longo da viola morosaVai adormecendo a parlenda,Sem que, amadornado, eu atendaA lengalenga fastidiosa.Sem que o meu coração se prenda,Enquanto, nasal, minuciosa,Ao longo da viola morosa,Vai adormecendo a parlenda.Mas que cicatriz melindrosaHá nele, que essa viola ofendaE faz que as asitas distendaNuma agitação dolorosa?Ao longo da viola, morosa...Viola Chinesa by Camillo Pessanha (1867-1926) Pessanha, the Portuguese poet, who lived in Macau, acculturating as Chinese, though never fully integerated. In this poem he describes a "Chinese viola" playing a nasal yet meticulous melody which lulls into strange reverie. What is this "mournful agitation" ? Why are foreigners hypnotized by these strange imaginings? The poem was dedicated to Wenceslau de Moraes, Pessanha's friend who lived the same dream, but in Japan, the two of them outsiders wherever they went. In the above photograph, Pessanha is dressed as a Chinese peasant, while sitting in the […]