Precious, historic days, those in the spring of 1948 and June the following year when Flagstad, with her faithful partner of the day, Set Svanholm, visited the EMI studios to give most of the glorious performances reissued here. Flagstad was then at the peak of her powers, the resplendent voice of pre-war years now enhanced by interpretative depths. The earliest sessions produced probably the most satisfying of her commercial Gotterdammerung Immolations, the inward, radiant singing of Elisabeth's Prayer, and the magnificent Narration and Curse from Tristan more vivid and searing than that on the complete set of 1952, possibly due to Dobrowen's tense, impassioned conducting, more—I would guess—to the fresher state of Flagstad's voice.
Even better is the hitherto unpublished Liebestod of the same sessions. For some inexplicable reason it was rejected. Luckily Keith Hardwick had kept a lacquer in his cupboard of the test made at the same session, and he has now brought it out for us to hear. I would say unhesitatingly that this is the most inspired and gentle of all Flagstad's readings of the passage, faultless in tone and execution, a miracle. A few weeks later the great Wagnerian was back in the studios to show that the softness and beauty of that Liebestod could be repeated in the Wesendonk Lieder, with Moore as her partner. The wonderfully unfettered tone and care over detail make this preferable to the later, Decca performance with orchestra (414 624-1DM; CD 414 624-2DH, 10/86).
Karl Bohm was in the 'pit' for the two duets recorded in 1949. The ''Todesverkundigung'', already well known, benefits from his firm yet elastic direction, and Svanholm is in eloquent form. He is even better a day later in the Tristan love duet, where Flagstad's all-enveloping Isolde, so warmly and tenderly phrased, is about the equal of her version in the Furtwangler set. How could anyone accuse her ever of being matter of fact or uninvolving?
The 1951 recordings are not quite so remarkable, mainly because Sebastian is such a stodgy conductor. That has always inhibited complete surrender to the closing duet of Siegfried, which also suffers from Svanholm's slightly too strenuous sound; even so, he would sweep the Helden-tenor board today. He was out of voice the day after when it came to ''Zu neuen Thaten'', which explains why it was not issued at the time.
Now Hardwick explains in his accompanying note that a couple of weeks later the duet was remade, this time with Weigert as conductor. Svanholm did well, but Flagstad muffed her concluding high C, so that, too, remained unissued. I feel, slightly, that we should have had the later version because, to judge from the ''Helle Wehr'' swearings from the Weigert sessions, he is a much more inspiring conductor than Sebastian, and Svanholm's reputation might have benefited from that recording, but that would have meant splicing in the other high C! Still, it is wonderful to have Flagstad's soaring, ecstatic singing in this duet, especially as she cannot be heard 'officially' in this music anywhere, except on the now deleted unsatisfactory 1955 Norwegian issue on Decca of the complete Gotterdammerung (LXT5205/10, 8/56).
The transfers are excellent; none the less there are not a few LP clicks on my pressings, and one is sorry not to have had this set on CDs. In his notes JBS gives a vivid pen-picture of Flagstad, but ignores the career of Svanholm, a shame when his contribution is appreciable. Nor is anything said about the two mezzos—it was a special pleasure to hear once more the steady, sensuous voice of Constance Shacklock in Brangane's warning. However, all in all, this is a 'must', not only for the many collectors who know that Flagstad's was one of the voices of the century, but for younger ones who may think that what they hear from her successors today is the best that can be done with Isolde and Brunnhilde.'