SAMUEL BARBER (1910–1981) Songs

 

1 There’s nae lark 1927 A C SWINBURNE [1'34]

2 The Beggar’s Song 1936 W H DAVIES [2'07]

3 In the dark pinewood 1937 JAMES JOYCE [1'55]

4 Bessie Bobtail Op 2 No 3 JAMES STEPHENS [2'51]

Hermit Songs Op 29 ANONYMOUS 8TH- TO 13TH-CENTURY IRISH TEXTS [18'55]

5 At St Patrick’s Purgatory [1'30] 6 Church Bell at Night [1'00] 7 St Ita’s Vision [3'27] 8 The Heavenly Banquet [1'22]

9 The Crucifixion [2'25] 10 Sea Snatch [0'40] 11 Promiscuity [0'37] 12 The Monk and his Cat [2'48]

13 The Praises of God [0'59] 14 The Desire for Hermitage [3'39]

15 Rain has fallen Op 10 No 1 JAMES JOYCE [2'24]

16 Sleep now Op 10 No 2 JAMES JOYCE [2'33]

17 I hear an army Op 10 No 3 JAMES JOYCE [2'27]

Mélodies passagères Op 27 RAINER MARIA RILKE [9'40]

18 Puisque tout passe [1'25] 19 Un cygne [2'33] 20 Tombeau dans un parc [2'03]

21 Le clocher chante [1'20] 22 Départ [1'56]

23 The Daisies Op 2 No 1 JAMES STEPHENS [1'04]

24 With rue my heart is laden Op 2 No 2 A E HOUSMAN [1'13]

25 Nocturne Op 13 No 4 FREDERICK PROKOSCH [3'19]

26 Sure on this shining night Op 13 No 3 JAMES AGEE [2'37]

27 Dover Beach Op 3 MATTHEW ARNOLD [8'11] The Aronowitz Ensemble

 

Gerald Finley, baritone

Julius Drake, piano

 

The wonderful Gerald Finley, described recently as ‘the best living baritone currently at the peak of his powers’ (The Globe and Mail), brings his ‘glorious sound and great dramatic instinct’ to this fascinating selection of songs, sensitively accompanied by Julius Drake.

 

Barber’s songs are among his greatest musical achievements, demonstrating above all his sustained lyric impulse and graceful melodic writing. Another aspect was his well-developed literary taste. He unfailingly selected texts of high quality, including English ‘Georgian’ poets, Irish bards, the French Symbolists and poets writing in English who were affected by them, such as James Joyce, as well as some of his own American contemporaries. Throughout his song output, he found ways of embodying the poets’ thought in musical correlatives that were never merely decorative, and developed an instinctive knack for embodying words in a memorable vocal shape. Presented here are a range of early and later songs including Barber’s first success for voice, Dover Beach, which the composer sang on its first recording in 1935.

 

Hyperion CDA67528