BARBER Mélodies Passagères
Former ROH Young Artist in Barber ‘Hermit’ and Rilke songs
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Samuel Barber
Genre:
Vocal
Label: Quartz
Magazine Review Date: 09/2012
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 60
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: QTZ2079
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Mélodies passagères |
Samuel Barber, Composer
Gweneth-Ann Jeffers, Soprano Samuel Barber, Composer Stephen De Pledge, Piano |
Nuvoletta |
Samuel Barber, Composer
Gweneth-Ann Jeffers, Soprano Samuel Barber, Composer Stephen De Pledge, Piano |
(3) Songs |
Samuel Barber, Composer
Gweneth-Ann Jeffers, Soprano Samuel Barber, Composer Stephen De Pledge, Piano |
(4) Songs |
Samuel Barber, Composer
Gweneth-Ann Jeffers, Soprano Samuel Barber, Composer Stephen De Pledge, Piano |
Despite and Still |
Samuel Barber, Composer
Gweneth-Ann Jeffers, Soprano Samuel Barber, Composer Stephen De Pledge, Piano |
(10) Hermit Songs |
Samuel Barber, Composer
Gweneth-Ann Jeffers, Soprano Samuel Barber, Composer Stephen De Pledge, Piano |
Author: Peter Dickinson
The title songs of this new CD, Mélodies passagères, are settings of poems by Rilke, written in French, not simply translated (the CD booklet is wrong) and were dedicated to Pierre Bernac and Francis Poulenc. Their recording was made in 1952 but not released until 1978 (see Barbara Heyman’s new Thematic Catalogue of the Complete Works; OUP: 2012). The songs seem wedded to the male voice and when there are fine recordings from both Thomas Hampson (DG, 5/94) and Gerald Finley (Hyperion, 1/08), competition is fierce, but Jeffers makes a reasonable case for the high female voice.
She is at her best in the witty and touching Hermit Songs, written for Price and now one of the best-known American song-cycles, but she lacks the easy manner of Cheryl Studer, who shares the DG set with Hampson. ‘Nuvoletta’ sets a crazy text from Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. Jeffers gets the swing; her high notes are impressive but at times in these performances there’s too much vibrato. There are no details about the recording on the CD.
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