Gloriously Committed Singing
Terry Serres | Minneapolis, MN United States | 04/30/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This disk is self-recommending, for Bernarda Fink has emerged as one of the world's preeminent Lieder singers. Hers is a voice of shimmering beauty and intensity, distilling interpretations of uncommon emotional integrity. Her distinction in Lieder is all the more impressive in view of her accomplishments in opera, oratorio, and early music.
Anyone who heard her maiden Lieder recording, the Schumann recital on harmonia mundi france that included Frauenliebe und -leben, will have high expectations of her Brahms. This album does not disappoint. Her noble performances put her in the company of my favorite Brahms interpreters: Olaf Bär, Janet Baker, Elly Ameling, Jessye Norman.
For me, Brahms's Lieder, while utterly beautiful, are less compelling a body of work than Schubert and Schumann. Despite their indebtedness to Schumann, they seem to inhabit their own fragrant sound-world: one of dense harmonies, folk overtones, melodies that are both beautiful and reticent, suffused with melancholy and charm. Unrequited love and separation are constant themes. Fink and Vignoles are in complete accord with the composer, offering in each song a sensitively drawn miniature portrait. Every emotional nuance in verse and music is acknowledged and shared with us.
The first half of the disk includes several songs that are fairly uncommon in recital, with less assertive melodies and shifting harmonies. These are exquisitely realized by the duo. Also perfectly inhabited are favorites like "Von ewiger Lieber" and "Liebestreu" with their heavy burden of melodrama, or the ravishment of "Mainacht." Fink sings with an immediacy that renews familiar songs without ever alienating us. This is perhaps most touchingly evident in the famous Lullaby that closes the recital.
The recital includes more modest songs -- no fewer than 5 have the word "Mädchen" in the title, including 3 entitled "Mädchenlied." These are given fine, honest portrayals -- the setting of a text by Kapper (the second-to-last song on the recital) is especially haunting, as is the "Sapphische Ode" early on. Several songs in a more characterful enliven the second half half of the recital: "Der Schmied," "Vergebliches Ständchen," and "Sonntag." Fink's voice, so tender elsewhere, easily sallies forth with robust tones on these occasions.
One might lament the absence of the Op. 91 pair (Gestillte Sehnsucht, Geistliches Wiegenlied) that are so beloved of mezzos. For me, I would have relished hearing the exuberant "Meine Liebe is grün" in the context of this program. But these quibbles only accentuate a perfection that can't help but leave us wanting more. As I said, the disk is self-recommending. There are no weaknesses in evidence, just gloriously committed singing."
Fine Brahms Songs
David G. Covell | Altadena, CA United States | 05/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This collection of many of Brahms' most popular songs is a wonderful listening experience, which I have been playing over and over. The piano accompaniments are a major part of the success of the disc and the singing is very finely nuanced. Die Mainacht is my favorite but all of the lieder are well done."
Track Listings (31) - Disc #1