All I Know About Nowakowski
Tonn Borde | New York, NY | 05/06/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"All I know about Nowakowski (1912-2000) comes from this CD which I bought from Amazon, having found it as the result of a search for bass singers. According to the liner notes, Nowakowski's recordings were limited, but this release includes private recordings from the collection of Maria Nowakowska Stycos and unpublished Decca recordings. Made in Germany, but published by Pavilion Records of England.
I like his take on the standard bass repertoire pieces ("Monologue of Boris," "Volga Boatmen," and "Dormiro sol," for instance). Some are sung in English, which is not at all obvious at first because of Nowakowski's accent. The CD includes several songs I have not heard before, such as "Aria Skoluby" from the Polish composer Moniuszko's opera "Straszny Dwór" (The Haunted Manor)."