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Dux Records

Heitor VILLA-LOBOS (1887-1959) Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 (1932) [10.33] Joseph CANTELOUBE (1879-1957) Chants d'Auvergne (1925): Baïlero; Pastourelle; La Delaïssado; Pour l'enfant; Uno Jionto Pastouro; Lou Coucut [22.35] Alban BERG (1885-1935) Sieben Frühe Lieder (1910, 1928) [14.53] Samuel BARBER (1910-1981) Adagio (1936) [5.35] Anna Bajor (sop) Sinfonietta Cracovia/Jerzy Maksymiuk rec. St Catherine's Church, Cracow, Nov 1997. DDD DUX 0101 [54.27]

This disc is built with the voice of Anna Bajor as its focal point. She is recorded in a stone-resonant church acoustic and in this respect the disc is unique among the pages of the Bachianas Brasileiras 5 discography. Bajor’s voice which happily ranges from pianissimo to triple forte exults in this setting. She has indeed a most beautiful voice. Try the section from 5.01 onwards in track 1. It is not all plain sailing as she does not enunciate perfectly at the start of the Dansa although she is spot-on from 0.47 onwards. When Bajor's voice is challenged to great heights the church acoustic seems to open welcomingly and allows it to bloom fully. The Canteloube songs have been well known since the 1970s and two events: the Dubonnet commercial and the issue of the matchless Netania Davrath Vanguard LPs. Maksymiuk and his orchestra touch in many delicious details including the soft ascends-descends in Baïlero. The only substantive criticism I have is that the selection is too sleepy-eyed. It would have benefited from the insertion of more eager songs. As for the Berg songs these came early in Berg’s career before his fully developed voice. They fall somewhere between Wagner, Schoeck and Zemlinsky. The Barber adagio is, of course, for strings alone. I am not quite sure what it is doing here. In any event it is taken at a no-nonsense fast clip which suggests that its lugubrious pleasures can be taken breathlessly. I am not sure it works fully but at least it is not one of those glue and caramel readings. The resonance of the acoustic certainly adds to the experience. Listening to this I rather wish we could hear the Elgar Introduction and Allegro, Howells and Bliss Music for Strings and RVW Tallis done in this location. Why were there not more tracks from Bajor? Her voice is treasurable, strong as an oak, yet lithe and pliable. All the words are printed and given in either German or Polish translation. The disc was not made for the English speaking market although background notes are in English. Voice fanciers should take a tip and try to track down a copy. Bajor's voice is well worth catching. I see this disc becoming a collector's item. Rob Barnett   Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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