Showing posts with label Wagner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wagner. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Wagner: Parsifal - Krauss - Archipel

9:32 PM  Dell  2 comments

Covers + lossless, Not my Rip

Krauss’s Parsifal is another memorable interpretation, on a par with though different from Knappertsbusch in 1951 (now on Naxos). Krauss’s reading is one of the quickest in the Bayreuth annals, but that very pace gives the piece a direct vigour and dramatic consistency not always heard in his coeval’s deeply considered, reverential reading. Krauss imparts a wonderful feeling for the particular texture and tempo needed for each scene, culminating in the cleansing, sustained ecstasy of the work’s close.

Four principals are common to both sets. Ludwig Weber, as Gurnemanz, sings with even more rotund tone and with increased involvement. George London repeats his anguished, strongly voiced Amfortas. Martha Mödl’s Kundry’s individually accented Kundry remains unique, although Waltraud Meier, in more recent performances, is almost her equal, and Uhde is unsurpassed as Klingsor. With Wind- gassen singing Siegfried, Vinay took over from him in the title part and gives a typically expressive performance. He, Mödl and Uhde make the whole of Act 2 as vivid as any. Greindl is a suitably sonorous Titurel. Throughout chorus and orchestra perform with dedication – try the Act 1 transformation and the succeeding choruses. Altogether this is a traversal of the score among the most satisfying on CD.

Alan Blyth

Parsifal by Richard Wagner
Performer: Hermann Uhde (Baritone), Eugene Tobin (Tenor), Theo Adam (Bass Baritone),
Rita Streich (Soprano), Ludwig Weber (Bass), Josef Greindl (Bass),
Ramon Vinay (Tenor), Martha Mödl (Soprano), George London (Bass),
Hermann Uhde (Bass Baritone), George London (Bass Baritone), Martha Mödl (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor: Clemens Krauss
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1877-1882; Germany
Date of Recording: 1953
Venue: Live Bayreuth
Language: German

Track Listing:
Disc 1:
1. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Vorspiel
2. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. He! Ho! Waldhüter ihr
3. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Seht dort, die wilde Reiterin!
4. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Recht so! - Habt Dank! - Ein wenig Rast
5. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Nicht Dank! - Haha! Was wird es helfen
6. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. O wunden-wundervoller heiliger Speer!
7. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Titurel, der fomme Held
8. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Weh! Weh! - Ho! Ho! - Auf!
9. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Nun sag! Nichts weißt du

Disc 2 :
1. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Vom Bade kehrt der König heim
2. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Verwandlungsmusik
3. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Nun achte wohl und laß mich seh'n
4. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Mein Sohn Amfortas, bist du am Amt?
5. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Wehvolles Erbe, dem ich verfallen
6. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Enthüllet den Gral!
7. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Wein und Brot des letzten Mahles
8. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Was stehst du noch da?

Disc 3 :
1. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Die Zeit ist da
2. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Ach! - Ach! - Tiefe Nacht!
3. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Ho! Ihr Wächter! Ho! Ritter!
4. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Hier war das Tosen! Hier! Hier!
5. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Komm, komm, holder Knabe!
6. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Parsifal! - Weile!
7. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Dies alles - hab' ich nur geträumt?
8. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Ich sah das Kind an seiner Mutter Brust
9. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Wehe! Wehe! Was tat ich?
10. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Amfortas! - Die Wunde!
11. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Grausamer! Fühlst du im Herzen
12. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Vergeh, unseliges Weib!

Disc 4:
1. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Vorspiel
2. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Von dorther kam das Stöhnen
3. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Wer nahet dort dem heil'gen Quell
4. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Heil mir, daß ich dich wiederfinde!
5. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. So sag, zu wem den Weg du suchtest?
6. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. O Herr! War es ein Fluch
7. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Nicht so! Die heil'ge Quelle selbst
8. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Gesegnet sei, du Reiner, durch das Reine
9. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Wie dünkt mich doch die Aue heut so schön!
10. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Du siehst, das ist nicht so
11. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Mittag. Die Stund' ist da
12. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Geleiten wir im bergenden Schrein
13. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Ja, Wehe! Wehe! Weh' über mich
14. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Nur eine Waffe taugt
15. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Höchsten Heiles Wunder!

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Wagner: Parsifal - Krauss - Archipel

9:32 PM  Dell  3 comments

Covers + lossless, Not my Rip

Krauss’s Parsifal is another memorable interpretation, on a par with though different from Knappertsbusch in 1951 (now on Naxos). Krauss’s reading is one of the quickest in the Bayreuth annals, but that very pace gives the piece a direct vigour and dramatic consistency not always heard in his coeval’s deeply considered, reverential reading. Krauss imparts a wonderful feeling for the particular texture and tempo needed for each scene, culminating in the cleansing, sustained ecstasy of the work’s close.

Four principals are common to both sets. Ludwig Weber, as Gurnemanz, sings with even more rotund tone and with increased involvement. George London repeats his anguished, strongly voiced Amfortas. Martha Mödl’s Kundry’s individually accented Kundry remains unique, although Waltraud Meier, in more recent performances, is almost her equal, and Uhde is unsurpassed as Klingsor. With Wind- gassen singing Siegfried, Vinay took over from him in the title part and gives a typically expressive performance. He, Mödl and Uhde make the whole of Act 2 as vivid as any. Greindl is a suitably sonorous Titurel. Throughout chorus and orchestra perform with dedication – try the Act 1 transformation and the succeeding choruses. Altogether this is a traversal of the score among the most satisfying on CD.

Alan Blyth

Parsifal by Richard Wagner
Performer: Hermann Uhde (Baritone), Eugene Tobin (Tenor), Theo Adam (Bass Baritone),
Rita Streich (Soprano), Ludwig Weber (Bass), Josef Greindl (Bass),
Ramon Vinay (Tenor), Martha Mödl (Soprano), George London (Bass),
Hermann Uhde (Bass Baritone), George London (Bass Baritone), Martha Mödl (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor: Clemens Krauss
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1877-1882; Germany
Date of Recording: 1953
Venue: Live Bayreuth
Language: German

Track Listing:
Disc 1:
1. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Vorspiel
2. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. He! Ho! Waldhüter ihr
3. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Seht dort, die wilde Reiterin!
4. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Recht so! - Habt Dank! - Ein wenig Rast
5. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Nicht Dank! - Haha! Was wird es helfen
6. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. O wunden-wundervoller heiliger Speer!
7. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Titurel, der fomme Held
8. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Weh! Weh! - Ho! Ho! - Auf!
9. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Nun sag! Nichts weißt du

Disc 2 :
1. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Vom Bade kehrt der König heim
2. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Verwandlungsmusik
3. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Nun achte wohl und laß mich seh'n
4. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Mein Sohn Amfortas, bist du am Amt?
5. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Wehvolles Erbe, dem ich verfallen
6. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Enthüllet den Gral!
7. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Wein und Brot des letzten Mahles
8. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 1. Was stehst du noch da?

Disc 3 :
1. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Die Zeit ist da
2. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Ach! - Ach! - Tiefe Nacht!
3. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Ho! Ihr Wächter! Ho! Ritter!
4. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Hier war das Tosen! Hier! Hier!
5. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Komm, komm, holder Knabe!
6. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Parsifal! - Weile!
7. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Dies alles - hab' ich nur geträumt?
8. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Ich sah das Kind an seiner Mutter Brust
9. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Wehe! Wehe! Was tat ich?
10. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Amfortas! - Die Wunde!
11. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Grausamer! Fühlst du im Herzen
12. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 2. Vergeh, unseliges Weib!

Disc 4:
1. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Vorspiel
2. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Von dorther kam das Stöhnen
3. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Wer nahet dort dem heil'gen Quell
4. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Heil mir, daß ich dich wiederfinde!
5. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. So sag, zu wem den Weg du suchtest?
6. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. O Herr! War es ein Fluch
7. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Nicht so! Die heil'ge Quelle selbst
8. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Gesegnet sei, du Reiner, durch das Reine
9. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Wie dünkt mich doch die Aue heut so schön!
10. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Du siehst, das ist nicht so
11. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Mittag. Die Stund' ist da
12. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Geleiten wir im bergenden Schrein
13. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Ja, Wehe! Wehe! Weh' über mich
14. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Nur eine Waffe taugt
15. Parsifal, opera, WWV 111: Act 3. Höchsten Heiles Wunder!

Links:
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Friday, July 22, 2011

Wagner: Lohengrin (3CDs) - Kempe - EMI

10:41 AM  Dell  4 comments

Covers + lossless, Not my Rip

Despite all the praise heaped on Solti's Ring (and rightly so), it wasn't the only extraordinary Wagner opera project from the early 1960s that featured the Vienna Philharmonic in incandescent form. Rudolf Kempe may not have been a podium superstar, but he was an inspiring musician, a seasoned man of the theater, and an absolute genius when it came to balancing orchestras. If you think, as some understandably do, that Wagner's Lohengrin is often four square in its phrase shapes and dramatically plodding, Kempe will convince you otherwise. Time and again we are struck by how the Vienna Philharmonic, collectively and individually, sets the emotional and dramatic tone for what happens on stage. And what a cast! Elisabeth Grümmer, who remains the most three-dimensional Elsa on record, partnered Jess Thomas in the title role. He is slightly less involved under the microphone's scrutiny than his more unbuttoned live Bayreuth performance under Sawallisch a few years earlier. Christa Ludwig and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau bring riveting authority to Ortrud and Telramund, and the veteran Gottlob Frick's eloquent King Henry also stands out. EMI's 20-bit facelift offers a tinge more presence than the label's previous CD transfer, but if you own the latter there's no need to replace it. At mid-price, though, you can't get a better Lohengrin than this. It belongs in every serious Wagner collection.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
Performer: Otto Wiener (Bass), Christa Ludwig (Mezzo Soprano), Gottlob Frick (Bass),
Elisabeth Grümmer (Soprano), Jess Thomas (Tenor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Baritone)
Conductor: Rudolf Kempe
Orchestra/Ensemble: Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1846-1847; Germany
Date of Recording: 1962-63
Venue: Vienna Theater, Austria
Length: 217 Minutes 23 Secs.
Language: German

Links:
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Wagner: Lohengrin (3CDs) - Kempe - EMI

10:41 AM  Dell  5 comments

Covers + lossless, Not my Rip

Despite all the praise heaped on Solti's Ring (and rightly so), it wasn't the only extraordinary Wagner opera project from the early 1960s that featured the Vienna Philharmonic in incandescent form. Rudolf Kempe may not have been a podium superstar, but he was an inspiring musician, a seasoned man of the theater, and an absolute genius when it came to balancing orchestras. If you think, as some understandably do, that Wagner's Lohengrin is often four square in its phrase shapes and dramatically plodding, Kempe will convince you otherwise. Time and again we are struck by how the Vienna Philharmonic, collectively and individually, sets the emotional and dramatic tone for what happens on stage. And what a cast! Elisabeth Grümmer, who remains the most three-dimensional Elsa on record, partnered Jess Thomas in the title role. He is slightly less involved under the microphone's scrutiny than his more unbuttoned live Bayreuth performance under Sawallisch a few years earlier. Christa Ludwig and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau bring riveting authority to Ortrud and Telramund, and the veteran Gottlob Frick's eloquent King Henry also stands out. EMI's 20-bit facelift offers a tinge more presence than the label's previous CD transfer, but if you own the latter there's no need to replace it. At mid-price, though, you can't get a better Lohengrin than this. It belongs in every serious Wagner collection.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
Performer: Otto Wiener (Bass), Christa Ludwig (Mezzo Soprano), Gottlob Frick (Bass),
Elisabeth Grümmer (Soprano), Jess Thomas (Tenor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Baritone)
Conductor: Rudolf Kempe
Orchestra/Ensemble: Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1846-1847; Germany
Date of Recording: 1962-63
Venue: Vienna Theater, Austria
Length: 217 Minutes 23 Secs.
Language: German

Links:
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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Flagstad: Farewell Concert in New York, March 20, 1955 - Archipel

7:09 PM  Dell  2 comments

Covers + lossless, Not my Rip

1. Die Walküre : Act I - Schläfst du, Gast? 6:00
2. Die Walküre : Act I - Du bist der Lenz 2:33
3. Wesendonck lieder : Der Engel 3:25
4. Wesendonck lieder : Stehe still! 3:46
5. Wesendonck lieder : Im Treibhaus 7:40
6. Wesendonck lieder : Schmerzen 2:19
7. Wesendonck lieder : Träume 5:28
8. Tristan und Isolde : Act I & III - Prelude to Act I and Closing Scene Mild und Leise 19:55
9. Götterdämmerung : Act III - Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort 18:53

Links:
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Flagstad: Farewell Concert in New York, March 20, 1955 - Archipel

7:09 PM  Dell  2 comments

Covers + lossless, Not my Rip

1. Die Walküre : Act I - Schläfst du, Gast? 6:00
2. Die Walküre : Act I - Du bist der Lenz 2:33
3. Wesendonck lieder : Der Engel 3:25
4. Wesendonck lieder : Stehe still! 3:46
5. Wesendonck lieder : Im Treibhaus 7:40
6. Wesendonck lieder : Schmerzen 2:19
7. Wesendonck lieder : Träume 5:28
8. Tristan und Isolde : Act I & III - Prelude to Act I and Closing Scene Mild und Leise 19:55
9. Götterdämmerung : Act III - Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort 18:53

Links:
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