Search - Gustav Mahler, Diana Damrau, Ivan Paley :: Mahler - Des Knaben Wunderhorn / Damrau, Paley, Landemann [world premiere recording]

Five star performance

Jerry Floyd | Washington, D.C. USA | 06/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a stunning, two-CD performance of unusual groupings of some of Mahler's "Das Knaben Wunderhorn" songs in piano arrangements, rendered by two fine young singers, Diana Damrau and Ivan Paley, who perform a few duets but mostly sing solo.



A scintillating Aithra in the Metropolitan Opera's recent production of "Die agyptishe Helena", Damrau is as much (or more) an accomplished lieder singer as she is an opera star. I particularly liked her rendition of "Es sungen drei Engel," normally performed by a children's chorus in Mahler's Symphony No. 3. I can't recall having heard this piece sung by a single voice, or so plangently.



The young, honey-voiced Argentine barihottie, Ivan Paley, is not yet all that well known in this U.S., but this is apt to soon change. Just listen to Paley's quiet, brooding interpretation of of "Urlicht", usually performed by a mezzo and also heard in Mahler's Symphony No. 3. I thought Paley sounded a bit ragged in a couple of other songs, but since he was performing songs about a prisoner and a soldier, it may just be the way he is interpreting the pieces.



Stephan Matthias Lademann provides sensitive soulful accompaniment, as he does on Damrau's 2005 Salzburg recital disk, which includes a couple of the songs that are also in this compilation.



Mahler's songs are a very special part of the lied repertory and in this recording they are grouped together under such evocative categories as "Children and Youth" and "Separation and Farewell" (Paley explains the rationale for the groupings in accompanying program notes). Withal, this new release provides many insightful, enjoyable moments by two first-class Mahler interpreters."