Search - Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Robert Schumann, Franz Rupp :: Schubert & Schumann Lieder

Georgeous Lieder

Grey W. Satterfield Jr. | Oklahoma City, OK United States | 04/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Since my daughter gave me this golorious collection of Marian Anderson's performances of Schubert and Schumann Lieder I can't quit listening to it. It grows better with each playing. What a great artist Marian Anderson was: beautiful voice, impeccable taste, and unsurpassed musicality. Listening to these pieces verges on religious experience. As a test I listened to what had been my favorite recording of Schubert lieder recorded by Elly Ameling (An Die Musik, Phillips 410 037-2). As wonderful as Ameling was, Anderson was better. This is a statement I thought that it would be impossible to make as I admire Ameling's lieder singing greatly. The most amazing part of this recording of Anderson's lieder is that her performances and the listening experience they provide are as great as they are despite the fact that the recordings were made between 1945 and 1951. In those years Anderson was in her late 40s and early 50s and recording techniques were primitive by current standards. Nevertheless, these are great recorded performances, which is a characterization I do not use lightly."

Incredible

Kate | 07/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anderson had no doubt one of the most distinctive voices of the century. Perhaps better known today for the steps she made, quietly with immense dignity, in ensuring a place for African American opera singers at the Met (among other political accomplishments), please do not miss the opportunity to hear the voice that is truly the product of something divine; a voice, in the famous words of Toscanini, that 'one hears once in a hundred years.' Let me take a moment to attempt to describe this voice that I surely hope you will desire to experience yourself if you have not already:Anderson was a true contralto; not merely a 'pushed down' mezzo soprano. A true contralto voice has a distinct timbre that is very difficult to explain. In many ways, it is similar to a coloratura, in the sense that one feels, when Anderson sings, as though she is painting each note with different strokes from a paint brush. With each additional note she trails some of the colors from the previous note and blends them in such a way that the result is like velvet. Anderson was unique because she had an incredibly large range as well as a distinct vocal colour. She could support a high A (the one that mezzos fear) as well as a low D below the staff (the one that baritones complain about!). Her technique and interpretive skills were top of the line, with no unnecessary 'sappy' emotions that can cut at the way a song is delivered. Particularily in the Shubert pieces, Anderson uses her voice to execute dramatics that make you shiver. In Gretchen, she is the poor helpless heroine of Goethe's classic and her vocalizing is precise yet angst-ridden (can you believe Shubert was a mere boy of 17 when he wrote this incredible piece?). In Die Forelle she manages to convey a light sarcastic tone in describing the unfortunate trout who is captured via trickery by a cruel fisherman; her voice almost mimics the 'fishing reel' motif in the piano. Conversely, in Der Tod und das Madchen and Erlkonig (in my opinion her versions of these songs are some of the best ever recorded) Anderson uses her voice in such a way that one is almost certain there are many characters singing: the frightened young girl confronting death, the deep consoling voice of death in response; in Erlkonig, the ignorant father who fails to understand his son's fervent assertions, the little boy entralled and then frightened by the demonic Elf King, and the Elf-King himself who almost seduces the listener and the boy with his florid singing into coming with him. . . . I truly felt as though I had witnessed the most dramatic of opera or theater through the efforts of a single voice!I have always felt that Anderson is one of the most underrated American vocalists. Thank goodness these recordings are available to give us access to a voice that at times touched greatness!"

A surprise...

Izolda | North Haven, CT United States | 03/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have never consciously listened to Marian Anderson's singing and probably would never try if I had not been exposed to her art while shopping in one of the biggest CD stores in New York. After a few first tracks from this record, played through the loudspeakers, I was under Anderson's spell. I still did not know who was singing, but I was sure that I wanted to buy this record for any money. The singing was "oldfashioned", very innocent yet very expressive. It fitted my mood perfectly and it fitted my new collector's passion for old recordings of Lieder. Her "Death and the Maiden" was breathtaking, and the changing voices in the "Erlkoenig" hard to forget. I still did not listen to Schumann, simply because I want to savour the first part of the disc. Her Lieder singing may not be to everybody's taste, but if you like exploring old recordings, this CD is a must. This is one of my recent "discoveries" and I am happy that I came accross this great singer."