Angels Hide Their Faces: Dawn Upshaw Sings Bach and Purcell

Henry Purcell (Composer), Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Arthur Haas (Performer), Dawn Upshaw (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Arthur Haas, Dawn Upshaw
• Composer: Henry Purcell, Johann Sebastian Bach
• Audio CD (March 27, 2001)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000059LXH
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,917 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Music for a While (from 'Oedipus'), song, Z. 583/2

2. The Indian Queen, semi-opera, Z. 630: I Attempt from Love's Sickness to Fly

3. Tyrannic Love, or, the Royal Martyr, incidental music, Z. 613: Ah! How Sweet It Is To Love

4. Lord, what is man?, sacred song for soprano & continuo, Z. 192

5. The Fairy Queen, semi-opera, Z. 629: Hark! How All Things

6. Cantata No. 199, 'Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut,' BWV 199 (BC A120): 'Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut', Recitative for soprano

7. Cantata No. 199, 'Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut,' BWV 199 (BC A120): 'Stumme Seufzer, stille Klagen', Aria for soprano

8. Cantata No. 199, 'Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut,' BWV 199 (BC A120): 'Doch Gott mus mir genaig sein', Recitative for soprano

9. Cantata No. 199, 'Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut,' BWV 199 (BC A120): 'Tiefgebuckt und voller Reue', Aria for soprano

10. Cantata No. 199, 'Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut,' BWV 199 (BC A120): 'Auf diese Schmerzens-Reu', Recitative for soprano

11. Cantata No. 199, 'Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut,' BWV 199 (BC A120): 'Ich, dein betrubtes Kind', Chorus

12. Cantata No. 199, 'Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut,' BWV 199 (BC A120): 'Ich lege mich in diese Wunden', Recitative for soprano

13. Cantata No. 199, 'Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut,' BWV 199 (BC A120): 'Wie freudig ist mein Herz', Aria for soprano

14. If music be the food of love, song, Z. 379 (3 settings)

15. Tell me, some pitying angel, (The Blessed Virgin's Expostulation), sacred song, for soprano & continuo, Z. 196

16. Now that the sun hath veiled his light, sacred song for soprano & continuo ('An Evening Hymn'), Z. 193

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Picky reviewers, May 31, 2001

By 

LangMat "Historian, Medical Writer" (Watsonville, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angels Hide Their Faces: Dawn Upshaw Sings Bach and Purcell (Audio CD)

I've got a degree in musicology ( and am fluent in German as well), and for a while after total immersion in graduate school, found my listening enjoyment frustrated by the same pickiness that hampers your reviewer. Fortunately, that passed, and I'm now able to simply appreciate Dawn Upshaw's performance of the music we hear all too seldom. I hope that others will be able to participate in Upshaw's interpretation of the poetry behind the music, to think about the theological role of angels (not just pretty faces and feathery wings), to love this wonderful recording. We are indeed blessed that technology allows us to experience such music, such an artist.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hark ! how well the lady sings, May 30, 2001

By 

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Angels Hide Their Faces: Dawn Upshaw Sings Bach and Purcell (Audio CD)

This is one of those little gems that becomes more appealing with each hearing. The Purcell pieces are sweet and lovely, but the Bach ! This Cantata is the glory of this CD. It's verses are of the deepest sorrow and repentance, woeful utterances for God's forgiveness, until the final aria, "How joyful is my heart since God is appeased". Dawn Upshaw's interpretation is beautiful. She captures the emotion, the longing, the spirituality and heart of the piece.

The musicians in the simple accompaniment are superb, and the entire package excellent...it was the cover art that first drew my attention to this CD...an unusual and moving painting by Hugo Simberg titled "Wounded Angel" from 1903. It also has the lovely added touch of being slip-cased, making it a perfect gift item for anyone who likes this type of music.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now that the Sun hath veil'd his light....., August 4, 2001

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Angels Hide Their Faces: Dawn Upshaw Sings Bach and Purcell (Audio CD)

Some say angels are God's messangers. When angels communicate, surely they sound like Dawn Upshaw. Upshaw's beautiful soprano voice rises to the stars and floats back again as she sings the beautiful collection of arias and cantatas by Purcell and Bach contained in ANGELS HIDE THEIR FACES.

Shaw's interpretation of Purcell's 'How sweet it is to love' reminds me of the elation I first felt on realizing love exists. 'Lord what is a man' brings one back to earth with a lamentation about human frailty and the finiteness of human existence. "Rejoice, rejoice" sings the angel in 'Hark! How all things' with lyrics from 'The Fairy Queen' -- a text by E. Settle after Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.'

Bach's cantatas fill the air as Upshaw sings arias in German (interpretations are provided in the text accompanying the CD). J.S. Bach's songs are clearly and beautifully articulated by Upshaw while in the backgound various wind and string instruments accompany her vocalizations. Many of Upshaw's vocalizations by Bach in German as well as the instrumentation (including viol consort) remind me of the arias from 'The Messiah' -- majestic albeit on a very human scale. For example, Aria #9 by Bach is comparable to "He shall lead his flock.." (although the latter was written for an alto voice).

The music in English by Purcell is a bit lighter. My favorite piece is 'An evening hymn' by Purcell which I would expect to hear near dusk in an English chapel. However, ANGELS HIDE THEIR FACES contains music you can play year round at any time of day.