Search - Gerald Finley, Charles Ives, Julius Drake :: A Song - For Anything: Songs by Charles Ives

One of the best recitals of 2005

Bruce Hodges | New York, NY | 06/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Over the years, the sparkling, quirky, haunting songs of Charles Ives have been interpreted by many of the world's great singers. I first encountered many of them through Jan DeGaetani's still-moving recording with Gilbert Kalish, which remains one of the best ever of some of these gems.



But now we have a stunning new collection from baritone Gerald Finley, with his fine pianist Julius Drake. They have created not only one of the most definitive readings of Ives' songs to date, but one of the finest recitals of the year, period. The pleasures and surprises are almost too many to list, beginning with Finley's mellifluous voice, immaculate diction, and theatricality that helps shape these songs with unusual clarity. As just one example, consider the first part of "Memories" called "Very Pleasant," evoking the anticipation of sitting in the audience, waiting for a performance to begin. As the final word, the singer blurts out, "Curtain!" and Finley is the only one I've heard who throws his voice far away, as if the shout is coming from one of the stagehands, waiting in the wings. Not only does this make the ending more prototypically "Ives-ian," but the song makes more sense with the unexpected change in point of view.



Some of the quieter songs are just ravishing, such as "Ich Grolle Nicht" and "When stars are in the quiet skies," both with intimacy and control to spare. One of my personal favorites, "Like a sick eagle" (text by Keats), shows Finley's exquisite precision in navigating quarter-tones, creating a languid image of a dying bird slowly circling in the air. Drake is more than just an accompanist in all of these, in piano parts that are often fiendishly complex, such as "General William Booth Enters into Heaven" or the marvelous "The Cage."



The winsome "Ann Street" and poignant "The Greatest Man" both end abruptly, with tiny offhand phrases that Finley nails perfectly. And there are treasures such as the rarely recorded "Slugging a Vampire" -- as swift as the title might indicate -- and the equally delightful "1,2,3."



One could go on and on in endless detail about the entire array of 31 songs (chosen from the 114 available), but the best thing is just to get to the most pleasant part: listening. If I have a small quibble (and make no mistake, it is very small), it is that Hyperion's gorgeous, rather tranquil cover art gives no clue to Ives' wild imagination, and to the blazing work by his two outstanding interpreters here. (It looks more like a cover for something by Delius.) But it hardly matters, when both of these artists are in such rapturous form -- and captured so effectively by Hyperion's engineers. The sound, recorded in All Saints Church, East Finchley (London) is a model for projects of this kind. A release that is sure to go down as one of the finest Ives recordings ever.

"

The Finest Charles Ives Song Collection Available!

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 10/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Charles Ives, that wondrous American iconoclast, wrote 114 songs, songs that vary in content from comedic to nostalgic to patriotic to German lieder (!) to operatic. Here brilliant baritone Gerald Finley and his gifted piano collaborator Julius Drake have selected a fine range of that output in 31 songs that not only demonstrate the spectrum of Ives' creativity, but also give notice that Canadian Gerald Finley may just be the foremost authority on how Ives' songs should be performed.



Included in no particular order (except thoughtful programming!) are such very familiar songs as 'General William Booth Enters into Heaven', 'When stars are in the quiet skies', 'Serenity', 'Tolerance', and 'Ann Street' along with the lesser known early German lieder composed in his early formative years. One of the revelations on this elegant recital is 'The Housatonic at Stockbridge' which lends text to the extraordinary last movement of Ives' orchestral 'Three Places in New England'.



Finley's diction is impeccable and his baritone voice is pliant throughout his wide range. He conveys the essence of these texts as well as any interpreter ever has. Julius Drake provides exemplary piano accompaniment. This is one of the finest recordings released this year. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, October 05"

Near Definitive Ives Songbook Handled with Dexterity and Sub

Ed Uyeshima | San Francisco, CA USA | 04/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to admit I've had exposure to relatively unheralded American composer Charles Ives' work only twice in the past - the first was baritone Nathan Gunn's vibrant sampling of three Ives compositions on his 1999 debut recital CD, "American Anthem", and the second was soprano Deborah Voigt's recent recital disc, "All My Heart", in which she impressively opens the recording with seven hymn-like selections. With his acute dramatic sense and unobtrusive masculine tone, Canadian baritone Gerald Finley manages to bring his own impressive vocal shadings and consequently turns out to be the ideal muse for Ives' eclectic and unique song selection. Thirty-one of the composer's over 100 songs are covered here, some as short as 28 seconds ("Slugging the Vampire"), but each very individual in feeling and character.



Expertly accompanied by the accomplished Julius Drake on piano, Finley deftly performs an immensely diverse range of material from the traditional lied format of "Feldeinsamkeit" and "Ich grolle nicht" to the haunting pastoral images of "The Housatonic at Stockbridge" to the youthful zeal of "The Greatest Man" to the swooning romanticism of "When Stars are in the Quiet Skies" to the funereal dirge of "Thoreau". The adventurous sequencing of the tracks also provides the right dynamic to the program. For example, a Brahms-inspired lullaby ("Berceuse") is followed by a passionate diatribe against poverty ("West London"), which is then followed by a sentimental war ballad ("Tom Sails Away"). In one selection, the tonal change occurs midway through the song - the aptly titled "Memories (A) Very Pleasant; (B) Rather Sad" starts out as a jaunty account of an exciting night at the opera, while the second half becomes a wistful piece of nostalgia using the same tune.



My favorite performances on the disc are the stunning evocation of a French chanson, "Elegie"; the highly dramatic poem, "General William Booth Enters Into Heaven", full of jarring of rhythms and shouts of "Hallelujah!" to evoke the religion-fueled stanzas; "Charlie Rutledge", in which Finley evokes a bit over-the-top Texas twang to bring a blackly comic touch to an oddly tragic story; and the touching title song which closes the disc - a moving ballad consisting of three verses from three different sources - a love poem, a psalm and a Yale song - yet together quite compatible. I was quite impressed with Finley's portrayal of Robert Oppenheimer in John Adams' "Doctor Atomic", staged by the San Francisco Opera last fall, and also his moving performance as the title character in Benjamin Britten's "Owen Wingrave" (a 2001 cinematic production on DVD). This recording shows that he is able to translate his dramatic skills with dexterous ease into a recital setting."