Shakespeare's Kingdom

Sarah Walker (Performer), Graham Johnson (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Sarah Walker, Graham Johnson
• Audio CD (November 11, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B000002ZHS
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #514,055 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. D 891: An Silvia

2. Op. 107 No. 1: Herzeleid

3. Ophelia Lieder: Wie Erkenn' Ich Dein Treulieb?

4. Ophelia Lieder: Op. 67 No. 1: Wie Erkenn' Ich Mein Treulieb Vor Andern Nun?

5. Ophelia Lieder: Sein Leichenhemd Weiss Wie Schnee

6. Ophelia Lieder: Op. 67 No. 2: Guten Morgen, 'S Ist Sankt Valentinstag

7. Ophelia Lieder: Auf Morgen Ist Sankt Valentins Tag

8. Ophelia Lieder: Op. 67 No. 3: Sie Trugen Ihn Auf Der Bahre Bloss

9. Ophelia Lieder: Und Kommt Er Nicht Mehr Zuruck?

10. Op. 18 No. 2: La Mort D'Ophelie

11. La Mort D'Ophelie

12. Lady Macbeth - A Scena

13. Shakespeare's Kingdom

14. O Mistress Mine

15. Willow, Willow, Willow

16. Willow, Willow

17. Fancie

18. Fancy

19. Under The Greenwood Tree

20. Op. 22 No. 1: Take, O Take Those Lips Away

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Songs (Medium voice) with piano, Song cycles Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For Lieder fans, November 24, 1999

By 

Sen Peng Eu "ESP=Math+Music+Literature" (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shakespeare's Kingdom (Audio CD)

Here are a handful of songs from many different composers, while all texts are selected from Shakespeare's work. Most of them are well enough, although some are very rare and not outstanding, not in a standard repertoire. For example, this CD contains as well the well-known "Was ist Sylvia" by Schubert as "Willow, Willow" by Grainger (a truely wonderful song). And the result is a many-different-style CD. Walker and Johnson's performace are pretty well.For me, "Sylvia" is the most convincing interpretion among all other versioons. Walker's tone are dark and tragic, fits almost the songs here(I like especially the Orphelia suite by Brahms and R.Strauss). It can be more shiny in some obscure songs. The recording is a bit hollow.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good collection of Incidental Music written for Shakespeare, December 8, 2005

By 

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shakespeare's Kingdom (Audio CD)

'Shakespeare's Kingdom' is NOT another collection of attempts to recreate what music actually played at the Globe Theatre may have actually sounded like. Rather, it is a collection of short musical pieces written largely by European composers to passages from Shakespeare's plays.

The most famous contributors are Shubert, Shumann, Brahms, Richard Strauss, Berlioz, Grainger, and Brittin. Obvious by its absence is any part of Mendelsohn's major musical works done for the performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. This is no great loss, as there are numerous good performances of this work.

I give this but four stars not because the works are not sufficiently stellar, but becuase this recording is more of a sampler which will do much to interest you in other works by these composers, but the works themselves do not really hang together very well one with the other. The pieces are written in both English and German and come from a wide variety of Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies.

This is a great Hyperion quality recording if you can find it cheap.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars hard work, May 23, 2002

By 

edeat (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shakespeare's Kingdom (Audio CD)

I bought this CD for one reason only: Richard Strauss' Ophelia's songs. 3 songs out of the whole CD that are wonderful by themselves, and very rare to find. Sarah Walker has a very good voice that gives Ophelia's maddness a tragic and touching colour.

Allas!...
This is a theme CD, and as such, they thought more of the concept and less of the listeners. Ophelia's cycle is made of 3 songs. we were unlucky enough to have another version to that song cycle - by Brahms. For some bizzare reason, the producers of this CD decided to brake the cycles. you hear one song of Strauss, and then one of Brahms etc'.
That's outragious, and dumb.
Still, if you can program your stereo, it's worth the buy just for that magical cycle. Truely one of a kind.