Customer Reviews

Grieg: Songs

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Although they are consciously imbued with the Norwegian folk spirit, Grieg's songs are not a million miles from German lieder, and the composer's Goethe setting 'Zur Rosenzeit' (The Time of Roses) is as harrowingly melancholic as anything by Schubert.

Mostly, however, Grieg seems to breathe a crisper, fresher, lighter air. He excels in evoking natural phenomena - the ripples of a stream, the song of a bird, the grandeur of a mountain valley - and the movements of the human heart - the quickening inspired by first love, the despair wrought by absence and loss.

His great power comes from having the two reflect or embody each other, creating an idealised pastoral conscious of the seasons and loss. So even though most of the poems set are songs of love and nature; and although Grieg can exult in romantic ecstasy; there is an underlying sadness throughout, skillfully rendered in this recording by accompanist Erling R. Eriksen. Grieg was notoriously dismissive of singers, but he would be hard-pushed to fault Bodil Arnesen's delicate strength.

i bought this based on good reviews i'd seen elsewhere on the net. these little songs are delightful, and the piano accompaniment is clean and lively.

the real treat here, of course, is bodil arnesen's voice- strong and gutsy on track #7 (tak for dit rad), soaring on track #10 (sloveigs sang), and joyous #22 (i liden hojt deroppe).

naxos has included a huge set of liner notes with all the texts in norwegian and english. it's a nice touch.

70 minutes of beautiful singing at a bargain price. another winner for naxos, and i hope to hear more from ms. arnesen on naxos in the future.

To me, Grieg's music is very special. He uses so much color in his music like a great painter. Listening to his music makes me see the beautiful fjords and the mysterious mid-summer night of Norway. It also gives me a taste of the lives and emotions of the people lived there. His songs are treasures of art song literature. He is definitely the greatest composer Norway has ever offered.
This is my first CD of Bodil Arnese (soprano) and I just love her voice! It is clear, soft, colorful, warm and with a bit of melancholy. She sang with deep emotion and very good technique. I think her voice and the way she sings suit very well to Grieg's songs. On the piano is Erling R. Eriksen, who beautifully created the atmosphere of each song. I liked the interpretation very much and also the collection of songs. The CD has been very useful for me to understand and interpret Grieg's songs.
I really recommend Grieg music lovers to get this CD.

Grieg: Songs is a Naxos recording from 1996 and was recorded at St Martin's Church in East Woodhay in England. Bodil Arnesen the soprano does a great job and so does the piano player Eriksen. Music Notes were written by Oyvind Norheim and translated into by Keith Anderson. All the lyrics are available in Norwegian and English. Highly recommended. 5/5.

I bought this CD to learn a few Grieg songs and immediately became enamored with Bodil Arnesen. Arnesen's rich soprano voice contains just the right amount of melancholy for these Nordic gems. She is a highly skilled interpreter who does not get in the way of the music, and her accompanist, Erling Eriksen, does a masterful job of supporting Arnesen's narrative momentum.

The CD's generous selection of 28 songs (don't be misled by the list of twenty above) allows the listener to fully appreciate Grieg's skill as a songwriter. It also makes one wonder why Grieg's songs are not more widely known and recorded. His best known songs, Jed elsker Dig (I love you) and Solveig's Song, are included. Many other lesser know but lovely songs are also here, including Fra Monte Pincio, Zur Rosenzeit (The Time of Roses), and Varen (Last Spring). Buy this CD to develop or to renew your appreciation of Grieg and to be introduced to Arnesen's exquisite singing.