|
Site review by Polly Nomial December 20, 2006
|
Performance: Sonics (MC): |
I cannot recommend this disc without grave reservations.
The singing and playing is very good and is a marvellous example of the art of singing, accompanying and conducting. In both the Strauss and Wagner, Runnicles directs the Atlanta SO in glowing and performances that have an inner glow of energy. Christine Brewer veritably soars above the carpet of sound without a hint of strain or narcissistic wallowing.
For all the unmannered but compelling interpretations offered, it is a disc that I am loath to return to my player on any frequent basis because of the recording itself. When it is purely orchestral, the sound is well balanced and rounded with a fine amount of detail being naturally present in the MCH presentation; it is, IMHO, one of Telarc's finest orchestral discs and isn't cursed by their usual penchant for the bass drum & in itself would rate 5 stars. However, there is a "halo" of reverberation that accompanies Brewer's lines which is most unnatural and really unpleasant to the ear upon repetition - 1 star for the lack of care in producing this! Perhaps on average, it should get 2-3 stars...
I would strongly urge auditioning of this disc before purchase.
(Purchased)
|
Copyright © 2006 John Broggio and SA-CD.net
|
|
|
Site review by Castor October 21, 2006
|
Performance: Sonics (MC): |
The glowing performance of the Tristan Prelude with which this disc begins is testament to Donald Runnicles’ wide experience of conducting Wagner in the opera house. It is sensibly paced, and Telarc’s recording, which balances clarity with richness, does justice to the fine playing of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Anyone who heard, or attended, the concert performances of Tristan und Isolde at the Barbican in London in 2002/3 will be aware that Christine Brewer is a truly outstanding Isolde. Here, in the Liebestod, her experience of the complete role pays dividends, and her voluminous, yet perfectly controlled voice, expands gloriously to fill the Woodruff Arts Centre in Atlanta.
Runnicles weighty account of Tod und Verklärung is equally impressive. At the start he captures the mood of the dying man’s final hours beautifully; note the telling contrabassoon in the first few bars and the very clear timpani throughout this section. The first Allegro is projected thrillingly with trumpets and trombones cutting through the orchestral texture with ease. In the central section, depicting memories of childhood, the solo violin is not highlighted and appears in perfect perspective with the rest of the orchestra, while the soft strokes of the tam-tam at the moment of death are palpable, unlike the woolly and vague sound heard on so many recordings.
Finally, the radiant strings of the orchestra make the transfiguration music, which can often appear bombastic in the wrong hands, sound noble and spiritually uplifting.
Christine Brewer gives the Four Last Songs, the first appearance of this work on SACD, an intelligent, well- sung performance. It is rare to have these songs performed so effortlessly by such a large voice and with such perfect control and intonation.
The approach is certainly that of a Wagnerian; think Kirsten Flagstad (who sang the first performance in 1950) and Jessye Norman rather than the more intimate versions of say Lisa della Casa, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf and more recently Soile Isokoski. Nevertheless, at no time does Brewer sound blowsy or overblown.
The high tessitura of ‘Frühling’, un-surprisingly, presents no problems for Brewer even though Runnicles takes it at quite a swift tempo. ‘September’ is also memorable, sung here with great restraint, and mention must be made of the beautifully played horn solo with which this song ends. In ‘Beim Schlafengehen’, Brewer’s gleaming voice fully matches the ecstatic violin solo in the central section while in ‘Im Abendrot’ the more reflective tempo adopted by Runnicles and Brewer perfectly capture the mood of resignation conveyed by the poem and it’s moving ending ‘Wie sind wir wandermüde – ist dies etwa der Tod?’
This version of these wondrous songs, while certainly not eclipsing any of the great performances of the past, has many virtues that make it worthy to place along side them.
Telarc seem to get their best sound in Atlanta, and this well upholstered example, capturing, most successfully, the ambience of the recording venue, is no exception. Listening to the multi-channel layer, however, I felt that Christine Brewer had been given a touch of artificial reverberation surrounding her voice. This effect was most noticeable in loud passages and might be just be an excitation of the hall acoustics.
|
Copyright © 2006 Graham Williams and SA-CD.net
|
|
|
Review by thepilot September 20, 2006 (10 of 11 found this review helpful)
|
Performance: Sonics (S/MC): / |
The good news first: here we have a true Wagner/Strauss voice that soars above the stave so easily and does the big crescento in Beim Schlafengehen so splendidly, that one is reminded of Jessye Norman's rendition for Philips (with Masur). Yes the voice is a true miracle of an operatic soprano at her prime, and the only thing we can do is really enjoy the Four Last Songs.
The Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde is also very very good, but here we have a more calculated rendition, one that surely does not banish the memory of the great Wagner voices of the past (Birgit Nillson in particular).
Tod und Verklarung is glorious and the orchestra play like angels in a very germanic, a very Wagnerian way, dark, brooding, menacing, this is all splendidly done.
The sound is absolutely perfect and the new ribbon mics that Telarc uses now for voices, are really good, that is Christine Brewer appears magically in front of you, of course if your system can cope with the wide dymanic range.
Tha bad news? We want more of this, that is splendid performances in perfect sound from Telarc and not one SACD every two months.
|
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
