Customer Reviews

The Complete Askel Schiotz Recordings 1933-1946, Vol. 3

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During the 1930s and `40s, Wagnerian tenor Lauritz Melchior was the most famous Danish tenor in the world, singing virtually every role Wagner ever wrote worldwide, but in Denmark during the same period a very different kind of tenor was flourishing: Aksel Schiøtz, with his light, silvery voice, high standards of musicianship, excellent command of lieder and wide popularity among his countrymen for his singing of Danish folk and art songs.

All of this came to an abrupt end in the fall of 1946 when Schiøtz, suffering from severe headaches and impaired vocal control, was diagnosed with a brain tumor that had to be removed immediately. The operation saved his life but left one side of his face, and vocal muscles, paralyzed. Through sheer hard work he was able to com back, two years later, as a baritone, but though the phrasing and musicianship remained intact the voice no longer had its silvery bloom. He continued to perform and record as a baritone through the late 1950s, then became a teacher of voice and interpretation in Colorado before accepting a similar post in his native Denmark in 1969. He died ten years later.

This particular entry in the Schiøtz legacy contains his second, more successful recording of Schumann's "Dichterliebe" (the earlier performance is on Vol. 6), as well as the rather risqué lute songs of Swedish composer Carl Bellman. Schiøtz sings all of it with an ease of production and quality of interpretation that made the discs instant classics in their time.

None of the cramped, dry LP pressings we all became to familiar with were used here, or indeed in any of the volumes of this series; every single track was lovingly and meticulously restored in London's Abbey Road studios from mint-condition copies of the original 78s or brand-new transfers made from the original metal parts. The results are simply magical, creating a tremendous intimacy between the tenor and listener in a way that is hard to describe unless you hear it for yourself. A shame that most of these CDs are now hard to obtain, but I urge you to get them if you can!