Mahler: Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children)

Mahler's vocal works conjure up the spirit of old folk songs, reinterpreted as miniature emotional dramas. In Christa Ludwig these pieces found one of their most gifted interpreters: her recordings from the 1950's and 60's are among the most important of all Mahler readings available on disc.

"In 'Stimme der Sehnsucht,' a poem by Carl Busse, the voice of longing is depicted as a mysterious whispering sound, a dark and confused spirit from Thule, a mythical island beyond the boundaries of the world. Edgar Allan Poe’s poem 'Dream-land' portrays Thule as a surreal realm of melancholy and dread, while Rainer Maria Rilke wrote: ‘That is longing: living in turmoil and having no home in time'." Christianne Stotijn

Christianne Stotijn’s recital of Lieder by Pfitzner, Mahler and Strauss confronts powerful emotions – longing, loving, grief, and a desperate wish to turn the clock back to happier times. The collection is dominated by the theme of night, an exploration of dreams, restlessness and darkness.

This is a thoughtful and moving programme from one of the outstanding mezzos of our time. Christianne Stotijn’s previous recordings for ONYX have been praised and her song recital CD 'Tchaikovsky Romances' (ONYX4034) was awarded a BBC Music Magazine Award in 2010.

This performance was recorded in Munich in 1954. Includes Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder cond. Klemperer with George London.

The third volume of The Flagstad Recitals couples music by Wagner and Mahler. Flagstad’s LP of Wagner scenes recorded with Hans Knappertsbusch is complemented by the “Todesverkündigung” from Act II of Die Walküre with Sir Georg Solti as well as the “Immolation Scene” from Götterdämmerung from a Norwegian broadcast performance conducted by Øivin Fjeldstad. Also included are the two Mahler song cycles Flagstad recorded with Sir Adrian Boult and the Vienna Philharmonic.

In his booklet notes John Steane asks us to “remember (for it is easy to forget) that in this recording we hear the voice of a woman over 60. It is still possible to feel, as Desmond Shawe-Taylor did when hearing her years earlier in a concert performance with Furtwängler, that the ‘sumptuous, saturated tone-quality of this sort has almost vanished from the world’.”

‘It is wonderful to hear how the great soprano can produce the softest flute-like tone on a high G, fining it down to vanishing point’ [Mahler: ‘Ging heut’ morgen über’s Feld’ from Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen] Gramophone

[Wesendon-Lieder] “…beautifully played on this disc, as is everything else, by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Knappertsbusch. Flagstad's deeper insight into the music shows particularly in ‘Stehe still!’ and ‘Im Treibhaus’ but she is very well suited by all five songs." Gramophone

[Kindertotenlieder] “That glorious voice is heard here in a very fine recording, and Sir Adrian and the Vienna Philharmonic form a happy combination. And in any case, Flagstad sings these particular songs most beautifully; Lieder on this scale finds in her a fine and sensitive interpreter. Incredible that she was 62 at the time." Gramophone

“Flagstad was a superb Sieglinde, and her glorious voice is perfectly suited to the rich inspiration of the Wesendonk-Lieder … one of the finest Brünnhildes of our time” The Penguin Guide to Bargain Compact Discs