Sibelius: Svarta rosor, Op. 36 No. 1 (Ernst Josephson) (Black Roses, Schwarze Rosen)

Sibelius acknowledged that he did not have a great affinity for the piano, yet there are some genuine jewels on this repertoire. The CD begins with four arrangements of melodies for voice and piano and includes pieces such as Nocturne & Souvenir. André Peyregne, Director of the National Conservatory of Nice, said of Dubé, “this kind of a prodigy you can find once every ten or twenty years…..”

In her autobiography (The Flagstad Manuscript, 1952) Kirsten Flagstad tells of the joy she experienced on finding, when she began to give concerts in the United States, that the Americans so took to the songs of her native country, and particularly of Grieg. She herself had been brought up with them, and even included some in the program of one of her first professional engagements, at an Oslo jail in 1913. She was told that one prisoner due for release had asked to stay on till Easter so that he could hear ‘that girl’ again.

The cycle Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid, 1895) was almost entirely unknown to listeners outside Scandinavia till Flagstad issued her first recording of it in 1940. Even then it failed to achieve the popularity its melodies and poignancy should have eared for it, and only since the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth has it won due recognition. Yet Flagstad had a great love for it and put heart and soul into the songs.

This second volume of “The Flagstad Recitals” focuses on Grieg as well as other Scandinavian composers, offering songs with both piano as well as orchestral accompaniment.

[Grieg Songs] “Listening to Mme Flagstad's recital makes one regret that she did not record more of her great countryman. The songs are varied and rewarding and her account of From Monte Pincio, one of the finest, is beautifully characterised as indeed are nearly all the songs on this record. I only regret that the quality of the recording was not better. The voice remains undimmed…" Gramophone

"…what a marvellously fresh and original work Haugtussa is and how glorious is Flagstad's tone and characterisation! I do urge readers who do not know this song-cycle to invest in this record." Gramophone

Sony Classical ORIGINALS offer listeners outstanding enjoyment, authentically recapturing the fascination of legendary recordings from the age of long-playing records and preserving worthwhile releases from two labels with particularly long and distinguished traditions: RCA Red Seal and Columbia Masterworks. These superb recordings by great artists have enjoyed international acclaim ever since they were first released. Showered with critical plaudits, they are part of the 20th century’s cultural legacy. All have been remastered and carefully restored using the latest studio technology in order to reproduce the original interpretations as faithfully as possible. The CD covers are taken over from the original LPs. The original introductions and LP labels are also reproduced in full, making Sony Classical ORIGINALS unique documents in the history of recorded sound.

Featuring original LP cover artwork in full size and reproduction of original labels in mini LP design.

Contains original liner notes in 3 languages (English, French and German) Jewel case packaging with fully coloured booklets.

The Sony Classical Originals bring together for the first time at the Mid Price the greatest recordings from across all of the labels which are part of the Sony Classical umbrella, and are a perfect starting point for any classical collector.

This will be of great interest to collectors. The last concert given by this world famous tenor was in Göteborg in 1960. It includes excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Puccini’s Manon Lescaut and Wagner’s Lohengrin. The bonus tracks were recorded in Stockholm and are excerpts from Il Trovatore (1960), Rigoletto (1957) and Pagliacci (1954).

“In the works by Grieg, we wanted there to be unity in the language. So To brune ojne and Jeg elsker dig, by the Danish poet Andersen, are sung in Norwegian. The songs of Op. 48, settings of various German poems, were translated by the poet Nordahl Rolfsen, who was a close friend of Grieg’s. And I have chosen to sing his translations of the two German poems, by Goethe and von Bodenstedt: En drøm (Ein Traum) and I rosentiden (Zur Rosenzeit). They are usually sung in German. In Grieg there is no tragedy, but instead a gentle Nordic melancholy.

In Sibelius, on the other hand, nature is brutal and love is passionate. Never has the personification of nature been as present as it is in these songs. Here, everything evokes the end of winter and the gushing waters of spring (Marssno, Men min fagel), betrayal (Se n har jag, Flickan kom ifran), despair and weariness with life, conveyed by the image of a rose tree growing in the heart (Svarta rosor); I thought it was interesting to include the song En slanda, in which the music, rather than the poem itself, evokes a dragonfly, symbolising the pleasures of life which come to distract the mind of a person who is lost in thought. The idea of completing this recording with Debussy’s very sensual evocations of amorous desire expressed in the three Chansons de Bilitis came quite naturally. Apparition is for me one of Mallarmé’s finest poems, and in his setting Debussy conveys perfectly the ecstatic yet unsettling feelings caused by love at first sight.

We chose to end this recording with Beau Soir. This infinitely gentle song invites us to contemplate nature and the natural cycle of water and of human life.” Karen Vourc’h

Karen Vourc’h studies with Christa Ludwig. In 2010, she will be Annina in Menotti's Saint of Bleeker Street at the Opéra de Marseille, Musetta at the Opéra de Monaco, Mélisande at the Opéra Comique, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and Vincenette (Mireille) at the Chorégies d' Orange. In March she shared the rôle of Emilie in Kaia Saariaho’s new opera, with Karita Mattila, to good reviews.

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary in 2010, Ondine releases a series of five twofers, containing best-selling titles from the back catalogue.

The focus is on five of Ondine’s star artists: sopranos Soile Isokoski and Karita Mattila, baritone Jorman Hynninen, violinist Pella Kuusisto and clarinettist Kari Kriikku.

These releases are specially priced (2 CDs for the price of 1) and are limited edition, running through 2010 only.

Historic Masters Ltd. Is delighted to be associated with, and to have contributed to, this CD release of little known material by one of the truly great tenors of the twentieth century. In the course of our researches we have discovered original metal parts for three recordings by Jussi Björling which were not released by EMI at the time they were made. All three have now been issued as part of our Historic Masters series and we are delighted to be able to make copies available for transfer to this CD. The tenor solo from Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de perles was recorded in April 1947. Given that it is Björling’s only studio version of this aria, it seems surprising that it remained unissued until November 1977, late in the LP era. Only then was it included in an EMI boxed set entitled The Art of Jussi Björling. The other two items, the songs Mattinata and For you alone, rank amongst our most sensational discoveries in the EMI archive. These were the very first recordings made by Björling as an adult on 4 September 1929. Piano accompanied, they were almost certainly intended as tests to determine Björling’s suitability for a recording contract. Listening to these first recordings, there can be no surprise that Björling clearly passed this examination with flying colours. Three months later he was in the studio for what was in effect the launching of his hugely successful recording career with HMV and Victor. In the first few months of that career Björling repeated both songs – this time with full orchestral accompaniment. Perhaps this explains why the original tests were forgotten and, indeed, were marked in March 1930 as ‘destroyed’. In 1952, RCA, using the recently developed tape technology, decided to record a selection of the songs that Björling performed at his recitals. It is unlikely that all of these pieces would have been given at one time, but they were certainly included in his programmes over the years and give a very representative selection of the range of his repertoire. Apart from German Lieder, he always liked to sing some Swedish pieces, as well as works by the Finnish composer Sibelius, who complimented him on his interpretations of his songs, particularly those written to Swedish words. This recording from 1952 remained on the catalogue for many years as an LP in the USA, but it was less widely available in Europe and can now be heard here for the first time in a CD transfer from the original master tape. It finds Björling in particularly glorious voice.

Extract from the booklet