Nothing much new, but all of it great
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 10/01/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Janet Baker was the supreme British mezzo of her day and might well be classed with Kathleen Ferrier and Peter Pears as the aristocrats among post-war singers from England. EMI's recycling of her copious recordings has been constant over the years, and so it's hard to keep up with what's in or out of print. For that reason, this budget-priced omnium gatherum is useful, since so many great recordings are included.
I'm a fairly assiduous collector of Baker's work, and the new things here (meaning that I haven't seen them in the U.S. for a decade or so) are the Wesendonck Lieder with Boult (the singer is wonderful, but the aged Boult proves a lackluster Wagnerian, to say the least), filled out with four Strauss lieder in lush orchestral arrangements (gamely sung in ravishing voice, but for me this is one of the few idioms where Baker doesn't sound at home). Almost everything else is so famous and beloved (Elgar and Mahler especially) that there's nothing to say except "buy them" if you haven't already.
Here's the entire contents of the 5-CD package:
Bach, J S:
Cantata BWV82 'Ich habe genug'
Arias and recits from "Christmas oratorio"
St John Passion, BWV 245 (excerpts)
Berlioz:
Les Nuits D'été, Op. 7
Brahms:
Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53
Chausson:
Poème de l'amour et de la mer, Op. 19
Elgar:
Sea Pictures, Op. 37
Softly and gently, dearly-ransomed soul (from The Dream of Gerontius)
Handel:
Messiah: He was despised
Selected Italian cantatas
Nos. 1 & 13
Liszt:
Lieder
Mahler:
Kindertotenlieder
Rückert-Lieder
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
Urlicht (from Symphony No. 2)
Ravel:
Shéhérazade
Schubert:
Selected Lieder
Schumann:
Frauenliebe und Leben, Op. 42
Strauss, R:
Liebeshymnus, Op. 32 No. 3
Das Rosenband, Op. 36 No. 1
Ruhe, meine Seele!, Op. 27 No. 1
Wagner:
5 Wesendonk Lieder
"