Ned Rorem: Selected Songs

Ned Rorem (Artist), Carole Farley (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 20, 2001)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos American
• ASIN: B00005QISU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,358 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From International Record Review - subscribe now

Record collectors all over the world have had good reason to be grateful to Naxos during the past decade or so. A welcome recent development has been the launch of its American Classics series, even if the word 'classics' in the title has to be interpreted pretty widely.That being said, I have always been astonished that the work of such fine composers as Ned Rorem, Benjamin Lees and David Amram (among others) remains largely unknown outside the USA. Not that their music does not travel – perhaps it is that the composers themselves have not travelled; after all, when did Ned Rorem last visit London? He has nothing to fear, and could well be surprised at the warmth of his reception.Well, if Rorem will not come, his music can, especially through this outstanding collection of no fewer than 32 of his songs, beautifully and most idiomatically performed by Carole Farley, with the composer himself as her incomparable accompanist. The recording quality is very good throughout, and the provision of full texts and notes in the booklet add to the attractions of this inexpensive disc.But the music's the thing. There are some really fine songs here – particularly Little Elegy, The Nightingale and Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening. Rorem's Whitman settings are particularly good and those which mean more to American audiences – Orchids, Nantucket and Ask me no more, among Rorem's complete settings of Theodore Roethe – will surely find new listeners throughout the world. Many people will wish to compare Rorem's settings of poetry with those which Britten also set – and not always to the American's disadvantage. This is an important CD, which – in artistic terms alone – deserves wide circulation and success. Robert Matthew-Walker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars more German than Rorem, July 19, 2002

By 

Eric "seric26" (Somerville, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ned Rorem: Selected Songs (Audio CD)

I've been a Rorem fan since hearing a highschool friend perform some of his work in her college recital. His startling, atonal songs were an instant revelation. For years there were few reliable CDs of his vocal work. A scandal considering his reputation rests more on his art songs and chamber music than on his orchestral pieces. This Naxos entry of a wide overview of his best songs is thus quite welcome, due largely to its availability, wide distribution and professional packaging (he's had some shoddy issues before with incorrect liner notes, etc.; the challenge of the low budget).

I can't call myself an unalloyed fan of soprano Carole Farley however. Her delivery here recalls the speak-singing style of German 12-tone composers (a specialty of hers), and can sound melodramatic, especially when she rushes the more delicate passages.

I prefer Rorem's softer, more melodious French side, the one that descends from Impressionism and is more warmly emotive. While Farley loses the shading of some of the more fragile songs, she is well-suited to the longer, more forceful pieces. I've heard many readings of "Early in the Morning" (one of Rorems most popular songs) by male and female vocalists, and its tale of wistful nostalgia is muted by Farley's direct approach. However, she nails "My Papa's Waltz," a fractured setting for a Roethke poem about a frightened child forced to dance with a drunken father. Here her acting skills come to the fore, and she perfectly captures the tipsy madness of the song. Rorem can be quite theatrical himself on occasion. She does almost as well with "See How they love me," a ballad with a regular pace that allows her assertive style to breathe.

At any rate it's great to hear these lovely songs in a recent (2000) recording, accompanied (rather emphatically, but perhaps he's matching his theatrical singer) by Rorem himself.

The similar Susan Graham album is more to my taste, but this is a more than competent bargain set.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREATEST VOCAL RECORDING OF AMERICAN MUSIC, January 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Ned Rorem: Selected Songs (Audio CD)

Naxos deserves to be congratualated for their continuing series of recordings of the greatest American classical music. The new CD of songs by Ned Rorem, with soprano Carole Farley and the composer at the piano, is one of the very best in this remarkable series. What a wonderful document to have: the composer as performer, and one of the greatest singers of the day giving us a most inspired, delightful rendition of these songs. Her voice and technique seem capable of doing almost anything. Since her debut at the MET in that house's first production of Berg's "Lulu", probably some 25 years ago when she must have been a very young singer, Farley has grown into a major artist of enormous potential. This new recording of Rorem songs is even superior to her previous CD releases of songs by Prokofiev and Milhaud. Rorem at the piano provides exquisite insights into these beautiful songs.
Joseph Silver

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An American Composer of Art Song, April 1, 2003

By 

Robin Friedman (Washington, D.C. United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ned Rorem: Selected Songs (Audio CD)

American popular song, whether standards, show tunes,jazz, blues, or rock, is one of our country's most visible artistic achievements. American classical (or Art) songs are much less known. Ned Rorem (b. 1923) is probably the greatest American composer in this unfamiliar medium. Rorem is sometimes dubbed the "American Schubert."

This disc features 32 of Ned Rorem's songs for voice and piano. Soprano Carole Farley is the accomplished singer, and Ned Rorem himself plays the piano. The disc is special because it features settings of the works of American poets. The CD begins with 9 settings of poems by the mid-twentieth century poet, Theodore Roethke, and concludes with settings of 5 poems by Walt Whitman. The disc also includes settings of poems by William Carlos Williams, Gertrude Stein, and Paul Goodman, among others. Thus the disc combines in a special way American creative effort in poetry and in music.

Rorem's songs are declamatory in style. Typically, the voice line delivers the text of the poetry in a sort of chant. The relationship between the voice line and the piano is far from Schubertian. Generally, the piano takes a separate line and accentuates the voice by means of large chords or by runs or by other comments and punctuation on the voice. The texts are well set and the music is effective. There are some unusual harmonies with jazz and blues influences. Rorem's piano accompanyment on this disc gives the recording a sense of authenticity -- we get a good idea of how the composer wants his songs to be conveyed.

The disc includes excellent program notes and texts of all the songs. Naxos has received deservedly high praise for its "American Classics" series which makes much music written by Americans available on CD at a low price. This disc includes some lovely, little-known songs. It is an excellent introduction to the American art song and to the music of Ned Rorem.