Search - Jussi Bjorling :: Live: Holland '39 / Norway '54

Bjorling 'live' in glowing youth and experienced artistry

Joy Fleisig | New York, NY United States | 08/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although Jussi Bjorling had many triumphs on the opera stage, he was first and foremost a concert singer, giving more than twice as many concerts as opera performances. Because of this, some of the best exemplars of his art are the many recordings made of his live and broadcast concerts, some of them quite rare. We have the wonderful Swedish label Bluebell to thank for releasing many of them, including this CD. The first of the two concerts presented here was given on June 8, 1939, in Hilversum, Holland, and the second almost 15 years to the day later, June 9, 1954, at the Bergen Festival in Norway. For both concerts the conductors (Frieder Weissman and Carl Garaguly, respectively) and orchestras do good work, but it's the singing we've come to hear.In 1939 Bjorling was in his youthful glory, and the voice was at its most beautiful. Even this early in his career, he also shows extraordinary musicianship and feeling for text and character. The 'Ingemisco' is heavily Swedish-accented ('seqvestra' for 'sequestra'), but is otherwise astonishing. He makes it into a genuine prayer as opposed to a tenor showcase. 'Inter oves non compresta' is sung piano, full of sweetness and humility, eventually building to the heroic climax 'statuens in parte dextra'. This is followed by a fine account of 'O Paradiso', but the real highlight of this concert are the French opera selections. It is a great pity that Bjorling never recorded any French opera complete and essayed only Faust and Romeo (two of his best roles) on stage. What he lacks in linguistic skill he more than makes up for his feeling for the STYLE of French opera. For example, he starts the Flower Song from Carmen quietly, lets the drama build and build, and ends with a stunning diminuendo on the high Bb. This and 'Le Reve' from Manon are astonishing not only for beauty of tone but also for feeling, sensitivity and grace. Best of all is Bjorling's Swedish-language 'Salut, demeure' with a splendid pianissimo swell on the high C. This is probably his best recording of this aria, surpassing even his two French versions - and such is his skill that he makes it seem like it IS in French. The concert ends with a magnificent 'Che gelida manina', only a few months after his Metropolitan Opera debut in 'La Boheme', culminating in a ringing high C and yet another beautiful diminuendo on the final phrase.If by 1954 Bjorling's voice lost some (and only some) of its youthful glow and became darker and heavier, he was by now a fully mature artist. It is nonsense that he was in a state of vocal decline, as another reviewer charges - he recorded Des Grieux in 'Manon Lescaut' a month later and it is one of his very best recordings. It is true that he is indisposed, thanks to the laryngitis that kept him out of the Toscanini 'Ballo', and yes, there are some moments of effortful and unfocused singing. Still, Bjorling at 70% is better than almost any other tenor at 100%. If nothing else, this concert is valuable because it contains some comparitive rarities for Bjorling, namely 3 works he never commercially recorded. 'Ombra mai fu' also appears in one or two other live performances, but the 'Pieta, Signore' (here correctly attributed to Louis Niedermeyer rather than Stradella), and Grieg's 'Jeg elsker dig' are unique to this disc. I confess to being somewhat prejudiced regarding the Handel - as far as I'm concerned it's an aria for a mezzo or a countertenor and I don't like ANY tenor version. The 'Pieta, Signore', however, is absolutely astounding. Sung here to an alternate set of lyrics (beginning 'Se miei sospiri'), it is full of 'the unshed tear' that makes Bjorling's voice and artistry so very special, and it becomes a genuine and heartfelt cry of suffering - the pianissimo reprise is particularly moving. The 'Ingemisco' in this concert proves that over 15 years Bjorling's voice gained in power but lost very little of its sweetness, and he also does a bit more word painting for dramatic effect. The Scandinavian songs come off less well but are still valuable. Although I prefer 'Skogen sover' sung with piano than with orchestra, it is one of the most beautiful Swedish songs ever written and Bjorling was composer Hugo Alfven's favorite interpreter. 'Sav, sav susa' is another Bjorling standard, and he sings it better elsewhere, but 'En svane' is a little less common in his discography. 'Jeg elsker dig' seems a bit rushed and might have benefited from a slower tempo.For both concerts, the sound is quite good for the period. The only noticeable flaws come in the 1939 Ingemisco, where there is a 'skip' on Bjorling's ascending 'mihi quoque' and buzzing feedback on his climactic B - I guess his voice was too much for the equipment! This is not, as I originally thought, a defect in the CD itself. There is also feedback in the 1954 Ingemisco, but not as severe, and it's possible that what I originally thought might be Bjorling 'losing his footing' might be a sound dropout.Notes are in both Swedish and English - as far as I can tell the English isn't an exact translation but it's close enough. Unfortunately, no texts or translations for the sung material, which would have been especially helpful with the 'Pieta, Signore'. The cover is Bjorling's signature above a caricature of him that appeared in a Bergen paper after the concert.Despite Bjorling's indisposition in 1954, this is one of the most important CDs of his live concerts ever released. It is worth hearing for the Swedish 'Salut, demeure' and the 'Pieta, Signore' alone. It's a shame that it's difficult to find - but by all means start digging. You'll be well rewarded."

Holland is better than Norway!

K. Shilcock | England | 03/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Two concerts are included on this album, which is reasonably well transferred from live sources. The 1939 Holland one is understandably acclaimed as a sample of Bjorling at his best - young-sounding, perfect vocal control (e.g. "Ingemisco") and intelligent interpretation. Unfortunately the 2nd concert is, to be polite, 'interesting'. As the sleevenote says, a recent operation affects the quality. I suspect that at this stage of his exhausting career, he was vocally weary anyway with demands from the Met and his American public. He said himself that he was worried that he had only a few more years of ability left and he started to transpose top notes (e.g. top-Cs to -Bs). The proferred '5 stars' is for Holland - a unique and remarkable performance. Other reviewers have differing opinions on the 1954 concert, and it would be a poor world if we all agreed. Reconsidering, I feel comfortable in staying with my comments (noting that "in vocal decline" is not my phrase at all). All the reviewers judge the album is worth buying."