Famous voices of the past - William Warfield

William Warfield

Paru le 03/08/2006 chez Preiser Records
Artistes principaux : William Warfield
Genre : Classique

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Langue disponible : anglais

Assembled from parts of three Columbia LPs from the early '50s, this composite Preiser re-release is a welcome step toward making William Warfield's lieder recordings available on CD. Bare-bones as it is (no texts or translations, and only cursory notes), it nevertheless captures the esteemed American baritone in clear mono recordings during the early prime of his career, when his voice was at its richest and most expansive. The program combines two staples of the art song repertory, Robert Schumann's Liederkreis and Johannes Brahms' Vier ernste Gesänge, with a group of Ballads by Carl Loewe and five sea chanteys arranged by Celius Dougherty. The most surprising, and in many ways most recommendable, group is the Loewe: Warfield's vivid characterizations, marked by changes in vocal color and inflection and even a few "special effects" falsettos, make entertaining stories out of these sprawling songs, which can sometimes seem much too long. "Odins Meeresrit" reveals the full power and range of Warfield's voice, erupting into thunderous depictions of charging horses, while the playfully ornamented melody of "Des Glockentürmers Töchterlein" (The Bell-Ringer's Daughter) is a lesson in cantabile singing, just straight-faced enough to make the most of the song's double entendres. The Schumann cycle is vocally clear and meticulous -- almost too much so, substituting an audible attention to German diction and accuracy of rhythm for the subtler shades of coloration and character that bring the best out of poet Heinrich Heine's ephemeral verses. As a result, Schumann's rhythm loses its supple indefiniteness, and his wispy melodies seem more chiseled than they often do. Those same qualities are put to much better use in Brahms' Four Serious Songs, in which the gravity and dark-hued richness of Warfield's delivery suit Brahms' starchier melodies and emphatic cadence. The combination of folksy approachability and old-fashioned earnestness that made Warfield the perfect singer for Aaron Copland's Old American Songs (possibly Warfield's most famous song recordings), also animates the concluding group of sea chanties. Beautifully lyrical, and a lesson in clear diction, they exude a joyful warmth that anyone who ever met Mr. Warfield in person may immediately recognize as the honest expression of the man himself.
© TiVo

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Famous voices of the past - William Warfield

William Warfield

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