Search - Georg Littasy, George Frederick Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart :: Hommage a Teresa Stich-Randall

SUPERB RARE TERESA STICH-RANDALL PERFORMANCES

H. Campo | Burbank, Califirnia | 08/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The late Teresa Stich-Randall was one of the best loved but underrated singers of the 20th. Century. Her repertoire was vast and varied; she could sing anything from Bach to Puccini and sing it better and with more conviction and passion than almost any of her more famous contemporaries. This superb, but sadly out of print 4 CD Hommage released in 1991 brings together 4 individual CDs (also out of print) of recordings Stich-Randall made between 1959 & 1961 and include a definitive performance of Handel's "Ode pour la fete de Sainte-Cecile, where the soprano is joined by tenor Alexander Young and the London Chamber Singers and Orchestra conducted by Anthony Bernard, Disc 2 features Mozart's "Exultate Jubilate" in its finest performance ever, with Maurice Andre, trumpet and conducted by Karl Ristenpart coupled with J.S. Bach's "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen" cantata, again with Andre & Ristenpart. Disc 3 offers Stich-Randall in two more definitive Mozart performances of his Solemn Mass #14 "du Couronnement, K.317" and "Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, K.339", with Bianca Maria Casoni, alto, Pietro Bottazzo, tenor, Georg Littasy, bass with choral and orchestral forces again conducted by Karl Ristenpart. Worth ten times the price of this set alone is the 4th CD which features Stich-Randall in a recital of Mozart & Schubert Lieder, accompanied by Jacqueline Bonneau on the piano. To say that the 16 tracks on this disc are examples of great singing at its best is an understatement. I have never heard this music sung better by anyone else. Schubert's often recorded "Ave Maria" is given a sensitive and beautiful performance as is Mozart's "Abendemfindung". The sound quality on these 4 French manufactured CDs is clean and consistent with recordings of this period and never gets in the way of the excellent musicianship. Teresa Stich-Randall should be declared a national treasure. Once you hear her, you will never forget her. This set is indeed a "Hommage" to a great artist who will be missed but lives on in recordings like these."