Search - Wunderlich, Swr Radio Orch, Smola :: Fritz Wunderlich: Historical Recordings 1954-1965

More Wunderlich - Gott sei dankt!

Joyce Sorensen | Ashland, MA USA | 10/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was thrilled to get this cd with some Wunderlich arias I had never heard before. I have loved his voice since I first heard it (on LP) in 1966. The fascinating thing about this cd is that there are selections recorded as early as 1954 (when he was only 23) back-to back with arias recorded in 1965 and 1966, just before he died at the age of 35. The voice was beautiful at 23 but what a tremendous amount of growth in sound and interpretation just 11 years later. The booklet also provides some biographical information I had not seen before; e.g. in his early days, Wunderlich had a heavy Pfalz accent (the region in which he was born). He had to overcome this -- which obviously he did. His diction and enunciation are among the purest ever recorded. I visited his hometown in Kusel, Germany as few years ago. You can see where he was born; there is a library with costumes, pictures and recordings and a concert hall named after him. (Even the local furniture company is called "Moebil Fritz"! Buy this album -- it's a treasure!"