Ian Bostridge - Beethoven - Import CD

Credits:

Ian Bostridge

Description:

Recorded to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth! The best tenor of our time, Bostridge, sings a collection of romantic songs, and Pappano's piano renditions are superb! The centerpiece of this album is a series of songs composed in 1816, "To a Lover Far Away". Beethoven had just published his Seventh Symphony and was said to be in a bit of a slump at the time, but this song cycle is not only inventive, with the theme of the first song returning in the sixth and final song, but Pappano describes it as "Beethoven's most concentrated 13-14 minutes of music ever written. Pappano calls it "Beethoven's most concentrated thirteen- to fourteen-minute music to date," and Bostridge praises the theme of "a faraway lover" as evoking Beethoven's secret passion, gently sung with unbounded sympathy. Like this song cycle, the well-known "Adelaide" was composed in the 1790s. The protagonist of the song is a man who has passed away and speaks to the lover he has left behind. The contrast between the slow introduction and the lively second half is beautiful, and the song was very popular at the time of its release. Bostridge is probably the best singer of this kind of song.Enjoy Bostridge's skill in singing the emotional ups and downs of his songs, sometimes wistfully, sometimes pleadingly. The ensemble also includes the well-known "Flea Song" and the breezy "May Song," both of which showcase Beethoven's charming side, as well as a series of rarely heard folk song arrangements in which the virtuosos Wilde Flang and Nicolas Altstedt join the ensemble to accompany Pappano in a fine piano trio. Pappano and Bostridge, accompanied by a fine piano trio, performed a "joyful song of good-natured fun". And finally, "Guinea Pigs" was placed last. The song about a street performer who travels from one country to another with a small animal in tow, is a song that closes the album with a twist that is typical of Bostridge. Warner Music Japan

Tracklisting:

1.An die ferne Geliebte Op. 98~No. 1 Auf dem Hugel sitz ich spahend
2.An die ferne Geliebte Op. 98~No. 2 Wo die Berge so blau
3.An die ferne Geliebte Op. 98~No. 3 Leichte Segler in den Hohen
4.An die ferne Geliebte Op. 98~No. 4 Diese Wolken in den Hohen
5.An die ferne Geliebte Op. 98~No. 5 Es kehret der Maien, es bluhet die Au
6.An die ferne Geliebte Op. 98~NO. 6 Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder
7.Adelaide Op. 46
8.Sehnsucht WoO 134~1st Setting: Andante, poco agitato
9.Sehnsucht WoO 134~2nd Setting: Poco andante
10.Sehnsucht WoO 134~3rd Setting: Poco adagio
11.Sehnsucht WoO 134~4th Setting: Assai adagio
12.Aus Goethes Faust (Flohlied) Op. 75/3
13.Ich liebe dich (Zartliche Liebe) WoO 123
14.In questa tomba oscura WoO 133
15.Maigesang (Mailied) Op. 52/4
16.Andenken WoO 136
17.Resignation WoO 149
18.The pulse of an Irishman
19.Avenging and bright (O who, my dear Dermot)
20.O Mary, ye's be clad in silk
21.The Parting Kiss
22.The lovely lass of Inverness
23.The Return of Ulster
24.Come draw we round a cheerful ring
25.Sunset
26.Marmotte Op. 52/7