MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

 

alternatively
CD: MDT AmazonUK AmazonUS

Hugo WOLF (1860 – 1903)
The Complete Songs – Vol. 1
Mörike Lieder Part 1
1. Der Genesene an die Hoffnung [4:15]
2. Der Knabe und das Immlein [3:16]
3. Ein Stündlein wohl vor Tag [2:04]
4. Jägerlied [0:56]
5. Der Tambour [2:39]
6. Er ist’s [1:19]
7. Das verlassene Mägdlein [3:18]
8. Begegnung [1:28]
9. Nimmersatte Liebe [2:29]
10. Fussreise [2:31]
11. An eine äolsharfe [6:14]
12. Verborgenheit [2:45]
13. Im Frühling [4:45]
14. Agnes [3:00]
15. Auf einer Wanderung [3:46]
16. Elfenlied [1:42]
17. Der Gärtner [1:29]
18. Zitronenfalter im April [1:51]
19. Um Mitternacht [3:51]
20. Auf eine Christblume I [5:37]
21. Auf eine Christblume II [1:56]
22. Seufzer [2:22]
23. Auf ein altes Bild [2:23]
24. In der Frühe [2:21]
25. Schlafendes Jesuskind [3:15]
26. Karwoche [3:59]
Sophie Daneman (soprano)
Anna Grevelius (mezzo)
James Gilchrist (tenor)
Stephan Loges (baritone)
Sholto Kynoch (piano)
rec. live 22-23 October 2010 at Holywell Music Room, Oxford, U.K.
Sung texts with English translations enclosed
STONE 5060192780086 [78:23]

Experience Classicsonline



Stone Records have within a few years established themselves as an interesting new voice in the crowded field of companies still believing in the future of recorded classical music. The repertoire has been so far music slightly off the beaten track with a bias towards vocal music. Songs of Delius, Butterworth and Ronald Corp are now joined by the first issue in what is planned to be a complete survey of Hugo Wolf’s songs, begun at the end of the composer’s centenary year.

Starting with the 53 Mörike songs is a good idea, since many of his best known songs belong to this group. They were, all 53 of them, composed between 16 February and 26 November 1888, a quite remarkable feat, comparable to Schumann’s feverish activities in 1840. They are presented here in the published order – which isn’t chronological: the first 26 on this disc and the remainder on volume two, which is already on its way with the same artists as here.

Shared between four singers in four different pitches we are guaranteed maximum variation, and for continuous listening this is good. All four singers are well established internationally, the youngest and probably least known being Swedish mezzo-soprano Anna Grevelius, who studied in London. The soprano, Sophie Daneman, has primarily been associated with the Baroque repertoire, working and recording regularly with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, but her discography also encompasses songs by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Schumann and, a bit surprising perhaps, a Noel Coward songbook together with Ian Bostridge.

A few years ago Stephan Loges took part in a complete recording of Mozart’s songs. I was full of admiration for his singing and mentioned ‘his well modulated, warm and rounded tone and perfect legato’ and in particular his care for nuances was much to my liking. This sensitivity is notable also in the present recital, and with his powerful, dark-tinted bass-baritone he has the full measure of these songs. Fussreise (tr. 10) is very good, Verborgenheit (tr. 12) no less accomplished. But there are unfortunately less attractive features in his singing that were not there three years ago: he is slightly unsteady at times and occasionally strained. Im Frühling (tr. 13) suffers in this respect and Um Mitternacht (tr. 19) is also marred by this, which is a pity since this is one of Wolf’s finest songs.

James Gilchrist’s agreeable lyric tenor is perfectly suited to Der Tambour (tr. 5) and the two songs entitled Auf eine Christblume (tr. 20-21) are certainly sensitively sung. But Schlafendes Jesuskind (tr. 25) is not very successful – again a pity, since I believe many listeners are fond of this song. The concluding Karwoche (tr. 26) is beautifully performed as long as he sings softly but when under pressure the voice tends to spread and the tone hardens.

No such problems with Anna Grevelius. Her mezzo is well-equalized from top to bottom, it is powerful and agile – her debut as Rosina in The Barber of Seville at the English National Opera got rave reviews – and she is wonderfully sensitive. Nimmersatte Liebe (tr. 9) is a worthy calling-card, but even more so is An eine äolsharfe (tr. 11) and Elfenlied (tr. 16) with its evocative piano part is certainly one of the highlights in her lively reading.

As a Baroque singer one can expect Sophie Daneman to sport a basically light voice but it has darker undertones and seems cut out for the Wolf songs she has been allotted. Ein Stündlein wohl vor Tag (tr. 3) is a gem in her reading and the delightful Er ist’s (tr. 6), jubilant and beautifully sung, evokes a genuine feeling of spring, even though I write this in early November when Jack Frost has already begun his rule up here in Scandinavia. The voice glitters as much as the piano! Der Gärtner (tr. 17), one of my earliest Wolf favourites, is sung with a special lilt but – isn’t it very slow? No matter, this is Lieder singing on a high level.

The pianist, Sholto Kynoch, was a new name to me but his playing is extremely accomplished and flexible. A chamber musician as well as accompanist he has excellent credentials for a Wolf cycle. This first issue has a lot to offer though it is a bit uneven. In general it is the female singers who give the most satisfying readings but some of the less favourable impressions of the singing of the men may be due to temporary indisposition. After all, the programme was recorded live on two consecutive days with obviously no chance to tidy things up afterwards. Readers who are allergic to live recordings should know however that there are no signs of an audience: no applause, no creaking floors, no coughing.

Göran Forsling

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.