Search - Håkan Hagegård;Warren Jones :: Songs Of Brahms, Sibelius And Stenhammar

Songs Of Brahms, Sibelius And Stenhammar
Håkan Hagegård;Warren Jones
Songs Of Brahms, Sibelius And Stenhammar
Genres: New Age, Pop, Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (21) - Disc #1

Hagegard's sampler is a model of how a recital disc can be programmed. With expert collaboration from Warren Jones, the Swedish baritone serves up a smorgasbord of song with Brahms at both ends of the table and a tasty sel...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Håkan Hagegård;Warren Jones
Title: Songs Of Brahms, Sibelius And Stenhammar
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Bmg Int'l
Release Date: 11/11/1997
Album Type: Import
Genres: New Age, Pop, Classical
Styles: Instrumental, Vocal Pop, Opera & Classical Vocal, Historical Periods, Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 090266809721

Synopsis

Amazon.com
Hagegard's sampler is a model of how a recital disc can be programmed. With expert collaboration from Warren Jones, the Swedish baritone serves up a smorgasbord of song with Brahms at both ends of the table and a tasty selection of Sibelius and Stenhammar settings in the center. The central work here is the Four Serious Songs, Op. 121, those remarkably poignant meditations on Old and New Testament verses that Brahms finished May 7, 1896, the last birthday of his life, and with which he effectively said farewell to the world. They are sung to glorious effect by Hagegard, who probes their gentle emotion with a master's touch and conveys the characteristically ambivalent mix of pain, resignation, and wintry radiance at their core. Swedish is a beautiful language, especially when its sounds are entrusted to the Swedes; both Stenhammar and Sibelius knew it as their mother tongue, and were able to fashion songs of remarkable beauty and expressiveness on its poetry. In the vignettes presented here, Hagegard, with his sure grasp of imagery and characterization, proves an impressive interpreter. Especially noteworthy is his treatment of the lengthy ballad "Florez och Blanzeflor," with which the 20-year-old, self-taught Stenhammar proved what a master he was. The recording, made at the HageGarden Music Center (a haven for artists in Brunskog, Sweden founded by Hagegard in 1992), is appealingly lifelike in its presence and dynamic range. --Ted Libbey
 

CD Reviews

Powerful velvet (!)
Mr JB | Karlskrona Sweden | 06/25/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Håkan Hagegård in his prime - as a lieder-singer. No baritone in the world today can combine pure velvety softness, with such enormous power as Hagegård can. Add to this his understanding of the music - here it is perfect, every emotion brought forth. Even if you've never heard the songs before, you will probably feel that 'this is it' directly when you hear it. Hagegård sounds very familiar with all these three composers, maybe most notably the nordic ones. I myself (being swedish) consider this recording the finest ever made of these lovely Stenhammar and Sibelius songs - Hagegård perfectly catches the special nordic emotionality. The last Brahms are also extremely good. This is baritone-singing at it's very finest. There really isn't anything bad at all with this recording - it's pure listening-pleasure! It's a must if you're a fan of baritone-singing."