The Faces of Love ~ The Songs of Jake Heggie / Fleming, McNair, Larmore, von Stade, Forand, Cao, Clayton, Vaness, Asawa

Jake Heggie (Artist), Renée Fleming (Artist), Jennifer Larmore (Artist), Brian Asawa (Artist), Frederica von Stade (Artist), Kristin Clayton (Artist), Carol Vaness (Artist), Emil Miland (Artist), Zheng Cao (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00000K2EN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,741 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I shall not live in vain

2. Eve-Song: no 2, Even

3. Eve-Song: no 4, Listen

4. Eve-Song: no 5, Snake

5. Of Gods and Cats: no 1, In the Beginning

6. Of Gods and Cats: no 2, Once Upon a Universe

7. Paper Wings: no 1, Bedtime Story

8. Paper Wings: no 2, Paper Wings

9. Paper Wings: no 3, Mitten Smitten

10. Paper Wings: no 4, A Route to the Sky

11. Natural Selection: no 2, Animal Passion

12. Natural Selection: no 3, Alas! Alack!

13. Natural Selection: no 5, Connection

14. Before the Storm: no 3, What lips my lips have kissed

15. If you were coming in the Fall

16. As well as Jesus?

17. From Emily's Garden: no 4, It makes no difference abroad

18. Encountertenor: no 1, Countertenor's conundrum

19. Encountertenor: no 2, The trouble with trebles in trousers... (Pitch ca

20. Dixie

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make Room for Jake Heggie!, August 22, 2000

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Faces of Love ~ The Songs of Jake Heggie / Fleming, McNair, Larmore, von Stade, Forand, Cao, Clayton, Vaness, Asawa (Audio CD)

This joyous, varied collection of the Art of the Song places Jake Heggie firmly in the vanguard of the, gratefully, increasing number of composers writing for the solo voice and piano. Recitals by the really fine American singers such as Renee Fleming, Susan Graham, Sylvia McNair, Jennifer Larmore, Frederica von Stade are more and more drawing focus to the output of the young American composers joining the ranks of the likes of Copeland, Barber, Bernstein, and Rorem. And this little gem of a disc offers a fine reason why that is happening. Jake Heggie writes accessible music (and that to these ears is not a put down!) which is wholly melded with the poetry he choses to set singing. His affinity to the works of Emily Dickinson, Edna St Vincent Millay et al is here in evidence. Heggie himself serves as the sensitive, warm collaborative accompanist to his circle of friends. How many other discs give us this much variety of voices who gathered to record this music particularly - not just excerpts from dozens of recordings? It all works. If the recording at times sounds more friendly to the piano than to the voice it may have been the variation in the setup on the day of those recordings. While all the soloists do well by Heggie's writing and collaboration, the real surprises here are Brian Asawa (rarely has he sounded so wedded to lyrics), von Stade (whose own poems are wondrously right with Heggie's touch), and McNair. But that sounds as though certain singers are singled out and that is not really possible in a program so evenly beautiful ...and fun.

With every listening the magic grows......! Welcome to Valhalla, Jake Heggie! You restore our faith in contemporary vocal music. Can't wait to hear/see "Dead Man Walking" this fall.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delight, February 22, 2006

By 

Larch Hill "Consumer/designer" (Larch Hill, New England) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Faces of Love ~ The Songs of Jake Heggie / Fleming, McNair, Larmore, von Stade, Forand, Cao, Clayton, Vaness, Asawa (Audio CD)

We first heard Jake Heggie in an interview on NPR and were intrigued enough to order this CD. It has been such a complete delight. His songs are wonderfully evocative and complex and somehow they manage to be just what you longed to hear. That a serious composer is writing such accessible and rewarding music is heartening beyond measure. If Amazon's review format would only allow a sixth or seventh star...

14 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dynamite performances; memorable melodies, December 13, 1999

By 

D. C. Elliot - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Faces of Love ~ The Songs of Jake Heggie / Fleming, McNair, Larmore, von Stade, Forand, Cao, Clayton, Vaness, Asawa (Audio CD)

Buy this CD! Jake's superlative compositions are performed magnificently by a talented coterie of fabulous recording artists. In particular, check out the dynamic vocal talents of rising soprano star Kristin Clayton! A marvelous collection of melodic, mellifluous harmonies that cleave the air with heart-stopping resonance; guaranteed to grace any classical music collection with class and beauty.