Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Listen Without Prejudice, February 17, 2001
I have heard several performances of 'Songfest' and have to conclude that this isn't the best, so it is a great pity that a superior version isn't available. Contrary to the other reviewers, I do not believe that Bernstein was going off the boil when he wrote 'Songfest'. It is a masterly work,which pays homage to the different voices of America, past and present. The music is written in a very approachable tonal idiom, with the exception of the brilliant second movement, in which Bernstein has written a superb twelve-note jazz tune. 'Songfest' is a passionate, deeply moving work, which deserves to be more popular. Its time will come.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A little below my expectations, January 5, 2001
I bought this CD for the Songfest. The lyrics were all lyrics from poems of Americans. He just didn't have the touch in this work that Bernstein had in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or Quiet Place, his neighboring compositions to this. It wasn't filled with the catchyness in most songs I would of expected. HMS Storyette was good as it has alwyas been. But the real highlight of this CD was the triumphant Serenade. This works pours much passion and horror into a 30 minute work. I'm very surprised at this. I wasn't expecting much from this work like I was Songfest and I got the reverse. The violin was the main instrument through this work. And Bernstein conducted both of these works so it has to be as good as it gets. The Israel Philharmonic and especially the National Symphony Orchestra are both very good. This DG seires Bernstein Conducts Bernstein is a good one indeed. Keep an eye out for other recordings under this label such as Candide and Quiet Place. Both done to perfection. I tihnk bernstein must of just had a lack of a creative spurt with Songfest. If you're an avid Bernstein collector and fan, yeah, get this. Otherwise, you might want to look into these pieces a little more before you decide to buy it if 10 bucks means a lot to you. Recording quality is also good.
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5 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Consider this two totally different albums, September 16, 2000
The serenade is a beautiful, beautiful piece. Bernstein's music builds and builds on itself slowly until it becomes a perfect fabric, haunting and evocative. This recording of it is fantastic, capturing the piece perfectly.As for Songfest . . . . well, by this point (1977) Bernstin was sort of losing it. AS early as the Mass he was starting to lose that galvanic brilliance and incredible originality that was the hallmark of his work, and by the late 70s it was almost gone. Anyone who is familiar with A Quiet Place will know what I'm talking about. In Songfest he flirted with atonality, rather then his usual gingery dissonance; rhythm and harmony are pretty much out the window. He purposely sets the poems to monotonous tone rows that don't even match the text's natural flow. The opening selection is also marred by pretentiousness, as are several other pieces. Plus, the Whitman poem (To What You Said) is set to a tune he had already used in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (it was long and billious there, and it still is here.) The only parts that really shine are Storeyette H.M. (a jazzy and driving duet) and the last poem, Israfel, which is really really bizarre but in an interesting way. I suppose any Bernstin fan should have this, but it isnt for those who generally prefer West Side Story to The Age of Anxiety.
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