Customer Reviews

Jane Eaglen - Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs; Richard Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder; Alban Berg: Seven Early Song / Runnicles

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I own eight other recordings of Strauss' four last songs (Schwarzkopf '53; Schwarzkopf '65; Norman; Auger; Studer; Janowitz; Popp; Jurinac) and all excel Eaglen's rendition, as do others I have listened to but not liked enough to buy such as Fleming; Della Casa; Te Kanawa; Bonney; Lott & Mattila. (She is better than Voigt; but that's not saying much.) But I did not buy this recording for the top billing Strauss, and neither should you. The Wessendonck Lieder are among the best; and the Berg is supreme.

I find Eaglen's luscious, soft but expansive voice a very enjoyable experience and do not find her passionless like some other reviewers. On the contrary, a noble, dignified, intelligent passion permeates her singing. The Wagner is better sung than Jessye Norman's rendition (coupled with her now-classic Vier Letzte Lieder on the "Phillips 50" re-release) and possibly reigns equal with the Cheryl Studer/Sinopoli on DG with the Dresden Staatskapelle (also coupled, incidentally, with an indispensable Vier Letzte Lieder). To cite just one delight as an example of the rest, listen to Eaglen lift to the words "Luft" and "Duft" in the third song. The sheer oxygen in her voice forces you to close your eyes and savour the soundscape.

If you aren't familiar with Berg's Sieben Fruhe Lieder (Seven Early Songs); it's time you were, especially if you're a fan of the Wagner/Strauss tradition of voice-as-instrument orchestral lieder. This work ranks among my favourite song cycles; other important versions are sung by Von Otter (once with Piano & once with Abbado conducting the BPO); and Bonney (coupled with Chailly's recent Mahler 4 with the Concertgebouw). None of these excellent alternatives should be sneezed at; but I enjoy Eaglen's voluptuous reading the most of all.

So if you came here looking for the Strauss; I suggest you look elsewhere; but I strongly suggest you acquire this disc for the Wagner and Berg, and simply for the voice. You may as well learn to love the voice of this lady now; for you won't be able to avoid her later - in the right repertoire she carries the hallmark of greatness, and the Wagner and Berg are the 'right repertoire'.

I love Jane Eaglen's voice for its purity and velvet tone, its power and sweetness. She sings with little vibrato and hits the note right on, qualities I crave in a voice. To me, she has that special beauty of sound that I associate with Flagstadt or Nilsson. It seems to only comes along once a generation or so. I can't get enough of her sound!

The selections on this CD are beautiful in and of themselves, and she adds her unique beauties to them.

The engineers couldn't capture the power of Nilsson's voice with the recording equipment of her day, and I wonder if they're much further ahead today -- Eaglen's voice was never unleashed on this album. But these are intimate songs, and I enjoyed her remarkable piano control on this album. This from a woman with a voice to match her physique -- larger than life.

I was not as crazy about some of the orchestra's treatment of phrasing -- not quite as lush and lingering as I love. Surprising, beause Runnicles is great with Wagner. Well, maybe it's just me.

But whether you're a Wagner/Strauss fan or someone who loves beautiful voices regardless of the composer, you'll probably love this album.

I was just about to go to bed last night, and was going to turn of my nightly relaxant, Minnesota Public Radio, when suddenly I heard a beautiful, soaring melody and had to leave it on. I hastily found a blank tape and hit record. The station was previewing Jane Eaglen's new album. The song they were showcasing was, if I am recalling my high school German classes correctly, "In Fruhling" ("In Spring"). While the three songs the station showcased were all sensitively and beautifully portrayed, the "Spring" song in particularly really turned my head for the beautiful, soaring high notes and the expressiveness in the melody line. Jane Eaglen's voice is stunning and far-reaching in its lyrical interpretation. I decided then and there that I was going to find this album. I'm going to order it as soon as I finish my review, and, after I listen to the album as a whole, I might come back and offer a fuller assessment. Still, it's not every day that a selection of songs so catches my attention that I forgo my sleep in order to hear all I can...It's rare to be able to recommend an album before I've even heard the whole thing, but then again, no album as of late has grabbed my attention like the songs I heard from this one.

Singers have been kind to Strauss, especially his Four Last Songs, one of the wonders of the late flourishing of Strauss' art. One thinks of Schwarzkopf, Janowitz, Norman and Te Kanawa as having offered recordings of sublime perfection. For me, the test is always how the soprano deals with the fall in the line "So tief in Abendrod" which when done well is simply emotionally overwhelming. Eaglen does it among the best--perhaps the best. Her "Im Fruhling" worried me a bit--as if she was not comfortable with the high notes which also made me wonder if any successful Brunnhilde had ever recorded a great performance of the Four Last Songs. The remaining three proved that Eaglen could do it. Personally, I would suggest that a collector get all the recordings of these songs I have mentioned, but Eaglen's is near the top and no one will be disappointed with the performance. An added bonus are the Wesendonck lieder--terrible lyrics, but great music--and the rarely performed lushly romantic Berg songs, reminiscent of the romantic Schoenberg. The orchestral accompaniment is solid. And that Eaglen does not let loose is an asset; Strauss, and lieder in general, are not to be approached as if one were singing the role of Brunnhilde, especially in that infamously competitive song contest that ends Siegfried. One compalint is the translations which are far too loose so as to allow for rhymes. But who cares about rhymes if the images and sense are mangled in the process? I wish record companies would be more sensitive about the issue of translations.

This CD is wonderful. I have never heard The Wesendonck Lieder sung with such beauty and expression, as mentioned by the reviewer. Like Eileen Farrell, Jane Eaglen is able to bring line and beauty to the music of Berg, truly singing it. I also loved her personal rendition of the Four Last Songs. It is wonderful to hear them sung by someone who has complete control of her full vocal register. Her high notes sound as equally effertless as her mid, and low range, this gives her complete control over the songs, as she is able to produce a more lush fluid sound on these songs, than I have ever heard. This sound is very appropriate for the message of Strauss music.

It seems that the microphones have been turned way down in order to accomadate Miss Eaglen's large voice, as it is often difficult to hear her when she is singing piano. Live her piano singing is very audible, but as mentioned often when speaking of Jane Eaglen, it is hard to record such a voluptous large voice.

Still this recording will bring much enjoyment to anyone who may buy it.

Jane,one of my favorite soprano(spinto and dramatic are my favourite),i bought all her album,although some of them are not as good as u think,anyway she indeed a good singer,her four last songs is good(i dislike schwarzkopf's vier letzte lieder,as she voice is too light to sing.)
I've heard Fleming,Jessye and Kiri's Four Last Song,i found out that,Jane's tempo is faster than other did,it is useful as a heavy voice need to sing faster to make the song lively.
Her wagner is always da best,maybe she doesn't sing as powerful as brigit or flagstad did,for a young dramatic,she is
good enough!!!
I didn't hear Berg's seven early songs before,but i love them after hearing Jane's singing.
Brava Jane!!!!

Jane Eaglen has voice and talent to spare in this recording. The progression from Wagner to Berg to Strauss is simply a feast for the listner. Don't miss this recording.

Jane Eaglen is a powerhouse of sound and person and while she is being groomed for the big Wagner roles there are other sopranos (Deborah Voight, Deborah Polaski, Violeta Urmana to name but a few) who seem to have grown into the texts and the poetry more than Eaglen. She is an imposing singer, but for this listener there is a metallic sheen to the voice that precludes warmth.

At her best with the difficult Early Songs of Alban Berg, Eaglen demonstrates she has the intelligence and range to communicate Berg's music. Likewise in Wagner's 'Wesendonck Lieder' she sings the notes well and delineates the lines with power and delicacy as each song dictates. At this point she falls short of the plangency, particularly in 'Traume' and 'Im Treibhaus'. As far as the Strauss 'Four Last Songs' she simply hasn't reached that point in career or life to portray the understated resignation of autumnal life that these songs must have.

Perhaps in time Eaglen's emotional temperament will grow to the stature of the power of her voice, but until that time this body of song cycles is not well suited to her repertoire. Grady Harp, August 05

As a recent investor of opera, I found this recording to be a fine inclusion in my vast music collection. I understand that Miss Eaglan has a rather large sound which is suited for Wagner (who I admit am not a fan of )and Strauss (which I think she has yet to tackle operatically). Therefore, big voices do not "record" well. But I unlike other reviewers, I do feel some passion in her singing in this recording. Hoping that one day I'll be able to hear her in person. I did find some of the songs lacked intensity (Four Last Songs of Strauss. Have these songs become the staple in performers repepertoire these days???) I liked her treatment of Berg's post romantic/ 12 tone songs. It was a good find.

Jane Eaglen's voice lacks the kind of sensuous quality and bloom required in this repertoire. Her singing is dry and square, and is without much charm. The accompaniment is of mediocre quality.