Customer Reviews

Bryn Terfel - The Vagabond & other songs by Vaughan Williams, Butterworth, Finzi & Ireland

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I agree wholeheartedly with "A Music Fan From Washington DC:" Fisher-Dieskau MIGHT have sung this repertoire as well as Bryn Terfel, but he did not record it, so how are we to know? And frankly, I doubt seriously that he could possibly have sung it BETTER than Terfel. These are really lovely, rare songs that deserve to be heard by a wider audience. Terfel's total command of language (he makes every word count!) as well as music,(his mellow, rich bass-baritone sounds beautiful in each and every song) make this a very emotional recording, esp. with songs like "Come away, come away, death" by the usually neglected Gerald Finzi. The choice of material is first rate: here are not only terrific composers (i.e. Vaughan Williams, Ireland, etc.) but the source material for the songs is poetry by the likes of Robert Louis Stevenson and John Masefield and Wm. Shakespeare. Each song is like a tiny play. This is a wonderful recording and should be heard.

While Bryn Terfel is not one of my favorite opera singers, I have gained a new admiration for him after hearing his uncanny renditions of some very famous and some very obscure English art songs.

Some of this repertoire is well known to vocalists, and as often is the case with art song collections, is only really of interest to vocalists. However, Terfel's performances make this particular anthology a thrill for anyone interested in English music or the human voice. Terfel's voice soars to majestic fortes and sublime pianissimos on this recording (causing much distress involving the volume knob at times). He infuses these songs with such passion that not even Terfel himself seems to be able to parallel in many of his other recordings. His interpretation of Vaughan Williams' "In Dreams" is particularly exciting. His high range is unusually free in a lot of the songs, and his phrasing is immaculate.

There really isn't anything bad I can say about Terfel's performance, although some of the music has become obscure for a reason. A couple of the songs, while not bad songs overall, are not really well constructed, and with all the excitement that Terfel gives them, they still aren't really all that much fun to listen to. Anyway, be forewarned of that.

This CD should be indisposable to all voice students.

Fischer-Dieskau never sang this repertoire, so what he might have done does not concern me (and he never had Terfel's technique or stylistic range anyway). Terfel is splendid in this recording - full of finesse, sensitivity, and, when appropriate, brashness. His Vagabond is definitive. The dynamic control he displays is rare and satisfying. He sets a new standard.

This is a tough CD to comment on. It is full of great music which deserves to be heard, but which is often neglected. And Terfel is a great singer who, at least in person, is full of charm and wit which bubbles out through his performances. On the other hand, the other hand, this sound is way over processed and does not remotely resemble a real world performance of the works. For example, in "Is my Team Ploughing", Terfel does not actually sing the song the way that he would in performance, but rather plays "mike" tricks with a recording engineer on the dial. That is too bad. His "real" performance would have been all the more captivating.

Perhaps, next time, Terfel can issue two versions... one with overprocessed sound and one "unplugged" in which his real sound can come out.

Bryn Terfel's "The Vagabond" is bringing the English art song to a whole new generation of listeners. A newcomer to singing, I have been desperately trying to find recordings of many different genres of art songs, and have collected over 80 in the last 2 years. Terfel is bringing these to the generation of listeners that I am a part of, most of whom have no idea what a wealth of literature there is out there! Terfel's unbridled gusto is so fitting for the bombastic "Vagabond", which is the opening track; and Terfel closes out the project with the haunting "Is My Team Ploughing?", a song that (no matter how many times I listen to it) always evokes a spine-tingling, throat-lumping sensation that is irrepressable. I've heard five or six recordings of Fischer-Diskau, and nothing compares to Terfel's voice. No, he's not the debonnaire lyric that Fischer-Diskau was, but Terfel's voice brings him into a category all his own. This is a definite must have for anyone looking to expand upon, or begin, their vocal library.

I was fortunate enough in my studies of opera to be assigned several beautiful Vaughan Williams solos for a baritone/bass voice. Through the guidance of my instructor, I went into a search for performances of these songs. I came upon this CD and found that, not only were they completely different than my own interpretations, they were extremely powerful and very beautiful. I found it nearly impossible to emulate the resonance and clarity shining forth in these songs. Terfel's voice brings power to "The Vagabond," and cries out in sadness in "Bright is The Ring of Words." His voice draws something inside of me when I hear it. Throughout the entire recording, Terfel proves that he is the dominant baritone in the world today.

It is difficult when listening to this recording that has been part of the library in the section most played to remember that this recoding dates back to 1995 - 17 years ago! Now Terfel is singing the big Wagner roles but having heard him in recital concert recently He still maintains his gift for intimate communication of the poetry of these songs he sings here.

The music, as is obvious, is all from the British Isles - Vaughan Williams, Butterworth, Finzi and Ireland - and Terfel enunciation of the texts is astonishingly clear. A major part of the success of this recording is the mastery of the piano collaboration the Malcolm Martineau offers. He continues to accompany other singers in this repertoire (Simon Keenlyside here recently) and his involvement and musicality seems to grow every year. Yet having said that, there seems no higher plain Martineau can achieve that his delivery of the piano role here.

Perhaps part of the pleasure of listening to these songs during the winter months is the quiet that accompanies the weather of the season. In all this is a recital and recording that is one of the finest available and certainly one that fans of Bryn Terfel will want to place (or keep!) in the library. Grady Harp, December 11

Terfel does a fine job with these pieces.

Especially fine are the Vaughan Williams and Butterworth songs.

I first heard this CD several years ago in a music shop. It was playing on background and I bought it immediately. It is beautifully recorded, and Terfel's energetic interpretations bring new life to these adaptations of folk songs by British composers.

If you are into English composers such as Vaughn Williams, Elgar, and Parry this CD is essential to your collection.

Bryn Terfel brings astonishing energy, not to mention eardrum-rattling dynamic range, to these English art songs. Frankly, his passionate, sometimes over the top interpretations work for me, injecting virility into songs that could easily become effete in the hands of a more traditionally "English" singer.

As always, DG's sonics are superior. Where a few others have found overly processed sound I simply find superlative engineering that manages to handle Terfel's sometimes overwhelming voice while still capturing the wide range of colors and timbres he injects into every piece.

Malcolm Martineau, by the way, provides first rate accompaniment, also captured with warmth and brilliance by DG's Tonmeister.