Gorgeous Lyricism and Romanticism
Terry Serres | Minneapolis, MN United States | 02/10/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The best word to describe this recording is gorgeous. It's an unusual, demanding recital where this famous soprano's voice gets quite the workout.The program is 12 songs by Lizst (4 in French, 8 in German) and Schumann's Dichterliebe song cycle. Let's start with the more satisfying Dichterliebe, which concludes the disc. This is almost universally interpreted by men, and Bonney's female predecessors in the cycle are limited to Lotte Lehmann in the 40s, and Fassbaender later on (I am not sure she ever took it into the studios). By contrast to these imposing performers, Bonney is decidedly feminine in sound and approach yet interpretively sound. The songs are rendered as indirect discourse: In the notes she says she imagined herself the poet's object of passion, relating the story of their involvement through his eyes. She brings beautiful sound, somewhat richer than we are used to from her, and in this cycle where harmonies are traded between voice and piano is blessed in an accompanist who draws her forth. I loved that "Die Rose, die Lilie" was taken at a frolicsome amble, not frantic the way we usually hear it. Throughout the disk, but especially in the gothic "Im Rhein, im heilgen Strome" she deploys a solid and attractive lower register, but that song does wind up getting the better of her, with the last two lines misjudged. "Ich grolle nicht" reveals shades of heartbreak, and her interpretation is deliberately much closer to the sorrowful tone of the original poem than Schumann's sarcastic-seeming setting is usually taken for -- the poet is not railing against a woman who has run off with a more glamorous suitor, but genuinely pitying the beloved who wears the "Diamantenpracht" of her nuptials in an unhappy arranged match (which makes more sense of "Es ist ein Flöten und Geigen"). "Ich hab' im Traum geweinet" is done with such immediacy (aided by the consistently lush but clear ambience of the recording), you really get the sense of eavesdropping. The otherworldliness of this, the 13th song, through the 15th lead very convincingly to the strangeness of the last song, where vocal heft is again demanded and delivered.For me, the one big strike against this latest outing of Bonney's is that I am proof to Lizst's tumescent and psychologically flat Lieder. Some of them are downright exasperating. But what Bonney makes of them! She shrinks from them not at all, but meets them with fullness of tone and superb phrasing -- the only salvation for these often sprawling settings (the booklet notes point out that the later versions of the songs are for the most part used, where the hyperbole was somewhat reined in). I liked the French songs better ... the disc starts with a dreamy and rapturous "Oh! Quand je dors," and "Comment, disaient-ils" is expertly paced, contrasting the fretfulness of the men to the heartfelt responses of the women. Lizst's "Kennst du das Land" is an appalling piece of writing, with a pedestrian recapitulation of "Kennst du das Land, das Haus, den Berg?" at one point. Yet it gives enough of a foretaste of the Wolf that you think Ferenc might have a clue: Bonney, by the way, is ripe for Wolf's engrossing setting. "Du der von dem Himmel bist" is another clunker, but its pendant "Über allen Gipfeln is Ruh'" benefits from a quieter touch and Bonney's comfortable chest tones. Liszt's setting of "Im Rhein, im schönen Strome" -- a poem also used in Dichterliebe -- is a mask, content to remain purely descriptive of the scene whereas Schumann's moves eloquently from the aerial view of Cologne into the poet's heart. But the ballad "Die Lorelei" is very exciting, and the overblown first version of "Oh! quand tu dors" that concludes the set offers the interest of being done in a contemporary German translation by the composer Peter Cornelius.In any case, this is a fascinating record. I recommend it to fans of this artist and those who crave a fresh approach to challenging material. Those who like Liszt, help them, should also be satisfied."
A dream of delight - Barbara Bonney takes on Dichterliebe
Ingrid Heyn | Melbourne, Australia | 07/27/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Given that the Dichterliebe were intended for a male voice, we could rail against the transposition enabling a soprano voice to sing them. But transposition of music is so frequently done that it's not really the big no-no that many believe it to be. I'll add a caveat - to transpose an opera aria within an opera is indeed something that should not be done. A role is written for a particular type of voice in context, and its musical challenges are written for a particular type of voice in context. To distort this is to distort the composer's intentions. (Imagine, for instance, a contralto "Der Hoelle Rache" - Queen of the Night!)
But to transpose Lieder is indubitably done many times, and was done during the time of the composers. Granted, I believe that the composer's best intention for this cycle is achieved when a male voice sings it, but certainly hearing a soprano tackle it is exciting and different... and strangely attractive.
I loved the WAY in which Barbara Bonney approached this music. She is a sensitive and intelligent singer, and it shows in her performances. The voice itself is simply glorious, and it flows into the phrases and words like water from the heart of a stream.
There's nothing but praise for the Liszt songs on this album. From the exquisitely detailed "Oh quand je dors!" onwards, the listener knows he/she is going to hear delight after delight. This is the sort of repertoire that Barbara Bonney makes her own, and it's why she is one of the few sopranos today who can be called a genuine Lieder singer. Artsong singing is not as easy as it seems... It requires an ability to shine and capture the intrinsic heart of a song in miniature rather than on a grand scale.
This is a gem of an album."
Track Listings (28) - Disc #1