Snap up the used copies of this important disk. How it is o
Craig Matteson | Ann Arbor, MI | 11/29/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"How this disk can be out of print is beyond me. Hans Werner Henze is an outstanding modern composer and the songs on this disk are quite important. More than that, the first six songs are performed by Ian Bostridge and Julius Drake for whom they were written and to whom they are dedicated. The last three are settings of poems by W.H. Auden. Bostridge sang them and Drake played them so wonderfully that Henze was inspired to write the first six songs for them.
The "Six Songs from the Arabian" are really mostly lyrics from Henze that are grounded in what Henze calls an occidento-oriental sensibility. Some of the lyrics are taken from a few lines of Goethe's "Walpurgisnacht", and a Rueckert translation of Hafiz, but these are the exception. All of the songs are on the longer side: five to nine minutes, but have such a wide range of expression within each song that each seems like a contained short song cyle. While it is hard to capture all of the songs without sharing all of their lyrics, perhaps number three, "Sunrise" can give you an idea.
The last half reads:
Night's animals seek out their haunts.
A mule cries out
And cormorants, startled, take wing.
A rustling within the bushes - oh, there are animals in flight!
Lava pours from the volcanoes.
The dawn has become surging breakers:
The whole sky is now ready for the hero's grand entrance.
The aureole blooms
(at its edges are silvery stones)
till suddenly, when one no longer expects it, from the depths of the east,
Helios rises, the ceaselessly burgeoning orb of the world!
All thrown themselves to the ground, hide their eyes and give thanks for the new day's rays in its glory.
Pretty neat stuff and when you hear it sung, it is especially effective and the piano accompaniment is wonderfully supportive of what the singer is doing without being traditional in any way.
The first six songs are in German and the Auden songs are in English. The Auden songs are also well set. Henze did two operas to librettos by Auden and Kallman: "Elegy for Young Lovers" (1961) and "The Bassarids" (1965) so he was quite comfortable with they way Auden used language and it shows in these three songs.
I am a huge fan of Bostridge's singing and Drake's playing. Hearing them perform an Schubert here in an Ann Arbor was one of the great recitals I have ever heard. This recording of these songs also demonstrate their mutual artistry and the amazing breadth of their expression and prowess."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1