Customer Reviews

Complete Songs of Samuel Barber ~ Secrets of the Old / Studer, Hampson, Browning, Emerson String Quartet

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

 

 

When I bought this record I had not heard any of the Barber songs before, but what a pleasant surprise they proved to be. These are beautiful romantic songs, and Studer and Hampson perform them very well. The recording sound is also very good. Warmly recommended.

Finally, a complete edition of these wonderful songs by this wonderful and sadly underrated composer.
The songs are varied and span the composer's entire creative years.
They range from the romantic, child-like youth compositions (the Daisies)through his almost Brahms sounding period (Sleep now,Nocturne, Sure on this shining night) to his tragic, disenchanted
older years.
The Hermit songs & the French ones are a particular delight. We all know just how wonderful Hampson is, but Studer is also fine & pure sounding- A total joy!

I'm not even kidding. This really is the best song-CD ever released. Don't laugh until you hear it... then you'll see for yourself. Where to begin! Barber-- his orchestral works are great for the most part, the Knoxville setting for Orchestra and soprano is mediocre, the piano sonata is also great BUT: the heart of this composer is in his songs. And here they ALL are, including the 10 unpublished songs from his youth. There's Nae Lark is one of only three songs I've ever heard that made me burst into tears on FIRST listening... Barber was around 17 when he wrote it! Bessy Bobtail could make a person drop dead in the right mood. The Joyce settings are so true to the poet's intentions! And the final 3 songs...especially A Green Lowland of Pianos show that Barber NEVER EVER lost his musical voice and razor-sharp talent. This compilation also includes the sincere and depressing On Dover Beach setting-- few if any composers besides Barber have ever managed a successful setting of Arnold's multilayered poem. OK... what if you don't like Thomas Hampson... I know there are some out there who think he's an odd singer... too much rubato, too much bravura? I promise you, you'll like him here, you may even grow to love the guy... if Hampson's ever been sincere and if there's ever been a composer whose music is well suited to his voice, it's Barber...guaranteed. I think this compilation also proves (ok, arguably, I'll admit) that complex tonal song settings pose many more compositional challenges than any of the atonal song-music produced in this century. I can't think of any atonal composer outside of Webern who could shake a stick at the harmonic ingenuity of Barber here. (Just so lightning doesn't strike me... Sir Michael Tippett is also a fine song composer, but he's NEVER been atonal, just EXTENDED tonal.) Barber, Barber, Barber... buy this now. These songs are so powerful that I can remember as vividly as yesterday exactly where and when I first heard every one of these songs and what I was feeling... they quite literally imprinted themselves in my mind. Don't cheat yourself out of this experience... buy this now!

Though being a professional singer, I've only recently discovered Samuel Barber's songs. I'm glad I did it, because Barber wrote some of the most beautiful art-songs I've ever heard in my life. From the earliest to the latest song, it's all pure quality, with few - if any - exceptions.
This recording is a great acquisition, not only for the fact that it includes *all* the songs Barber wrote, but also for Thomas Hampson's magnificent and moving performance.
Unfortunately, the female singer (Cheryl Studer) almost manages to completely spoil this pleasant experience: her artificial, dull, often-completely-out-of-tune (?) singing is the reason for my 4 out of 5 rating. Otherwise, it would definitely be a five star recording.

This is a great CD set. I was so glad to find it on Amazon because, as far as I know, it is the only complete recording of Barber's vocal works. The music is well performed, and songs are charming and thoughtful. I have sung many of them myself, and it is so nice to have a reference recording in my personal library. I recommend this music to anyone that hasn't heard Barber's vocal music. Some of them are fun and full of whimsy, while others are solemn and take my breath away.