Volume 4

Kirsten Flagstad (Artist), Walter (Artist), Mcarthur (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 1, 1996)
• Label: Simax
• ASIN: B00000454Y
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,212 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Songs (6) for voice & piano, Op. 36

2. Arioso, for voice & orchestra, Op. 3

3. Songs (5) for voice & piano, Op. 37: The first Kiss, Op. 37 No. 1

4. Songs (5) for voice & piano, Op. 37: The maiden's tryst, Op. 37 No. 5

5. Songs (5) for voice & piano, Op. 37: Was it a dream, Op. 37 No. 4

6. When I Have Sung My Songs, for voice & piano (or orchestra)

7. O Lovely Night for voice & orchestra

8. Lullaby, for voice & piano, Op. 57/2

9. At parting

10. Love went a-riding, for voice & piano (or orchestra), H 114

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), song cycle for voice & piano, Op. 67: No. 1, Det Syng

2. Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), song cycle for voice & piano, Op. 67: No. 1, Det Syng

3. Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), song cycle for voice & piano, Op. 67: No. 2, Veslemøy

4. Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), song cycle for voice & piano, Op. 67: No. 3, Blaabœrli

5. Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), song cycle for voice & piano, Op. 67: No. 3, Blaabœrli

6. Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), song cycle for voice & piano, Op. 67: No. 4, Møte

7. Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), song cycle for voice & piano, Op. 67: No. 5, Elsk

8. Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), song cycle for voice & piano, Op. 67: No. 5, Elsk

9. Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), song cycle for voice & piano, Op. 67: No. 6, Killingdans

10. Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), song cycle for voice & piano, Op. 67: No. 7, Vond Dag

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of opera's legendary figures sings lieder., August 16, 2001

By 

darragh o'donoghue - See all my reviews

This review is from: Volume 4 (Audio CD)

The Norwegian Kirsten Flagstad was the pre-eminent Wagnerian soprano of the 20th century, but she also gave hundreds of lieder and song recitals, the pick of which bejewel this ravishing double CD. the first offers three complete song-cycles, Grieg's rippling 'Haugtussa', all pastoral maidens and brooks, Flagstad singing as light as a breeze; Wagner's 'Wesendonck-Lieder', that ghost of his masterpiece 'Tristan and Isolde', my favourite lieder cycle - this is the best interpretation I have ever heard, passionate, yearning and, in 'Im Treibhaus' and 'Traume', genuinely spine-tingling. Sibelius' enchanting songs complete the CD, with 'The Maiden's Tryst' unexpectedly lush and romantic.

The second disc of Anglo-American songs may be less demanding, but are no less delightful. Highlights include Landan Ronald's operettish 'O Lovely Night', Frank Bridge's rollicking 'Love Went A-Riding', Bax's hushed 'The White Peace', Elgar's hymn-like tribute to his vocation 'Speak Music', Delius' rapturous 'Love's Philosophy', as well as a tantalisingly muffled 1937 recording of Stephen Foster's 'Old Folks at Home'. There are also no less than four lullabies, which attests to the Victorian hangover on bourgeois tastes in the middle of the last century.

Most of these recordings date from the 1950s, so the sound is relatively clear, and if Flagstad is past her operatic prime, her ability to express intense passion with an imperiously cool technique would put most modern singers to shame. her regular accompanist, Edwin McArthur, is a model of self-effacement, quietly playful and inventive in the background. My only complaint is that, at this price, surely a lyric sheet could have been provided. There is, however, a fascinating biographical piece, detailing, amongst other things, the soprano's dubious wartime conduct.