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

Forgettable Strauss; Delightful Wagner; Near-perfect Berg

Mr. Matthew J. Williams | Sydney, NSW Australia | 11/16/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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'."

One of the Best

Allan R. MacLeod | 04/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Jane Eaglen's Voice Exhaults Beautiful Melodies

Allan R. MacLeod | 04/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."