NANCE GRANT

The Art Of Nance Grant

CD1

Edvard Grieg:

1. I Love Thee (Melodies of the Heart Op. 5 No. 3)

2. With a Waterlily Op. 25 No. 4

3. Two Brown Eyes (Melodies of the Heart Op. 5 No. 4)

4. Solveig's Song (Peer Gynt Op. 23)

5. A Dream Op. 48 No. 6

Richard Hageman:

6. Charity

7. Music I Heard With You

8. At the Well

9. Do Not Go, My Love

10. Miranda

Richard Strauss:

11. Ich Schwebe Op. 48 No. 2

12. Meinem Kinde Op. 37 No. 3

13. Die Nacht (Acht Gedichte Op. 10 No. 3)

14. Die Georgine (Acht Gedichte Op. 10 No. 4)

15. Wie Sollten geheim sie Halten? Op. 19 No. 4

16. Glückes genug Op. 37 No. 1

17. Schön sind, doch kalt Op. 19 No. 3

18. Waldseligkeit Op. 49 No. 1

19. Wiegenlied Op. 41 No. 1

CD2

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:

1. Idomeneo, re di Creta, 'Estinto è Idomene

2. 'Idol mio, se ritroso altra amante a me ti rende' (Wayward lover n

3. Ludwig van Beethoven: Fidelio, 'Komm, Hoffnung, lass den letzten St

4. Gaetano Donizetti: Maria Stuarda, 'Sì, vuol di Francia il Rege col

Richard Wagner:

5. Tannhäuser, 'Dich, teure Halle'

6. Die Walküre: 'Der Männer Sippe'

7. 'Du bist der Lenz' Sieglinde

Richard Strauss:

8. Ariadne auf Naxos, 'Ein Schönes war'* 'A Wonder Wa

9. 'Es gibt ein Reich'(There is a Land)

10. Felix Mendelssohn: Elijah, 'Hear Ye, Israel'

Richard Wagner:

11. Wesendonck-Lieder, Der Engel

12. Stehe still!

13. Im Treibhaus

14. Schmerzen

15. Träume

Nance Grant (soprano), Geoffrey Parsons (piano), West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Atlas (conductor) and others

Acclaimed and cherished as one of Australia’s finest operatic artists, Nance Grant had a voice possessed with beauty and power, an ease of technique, a perfection of phrasing and taste that cemented her place in the hearts of Australian music lovers. This long overdue tribute presents one of the great sopranos from down under - in recordings previously thought lost.

Nance Grant chose to stay close to her family in Australia rather than pursue an international career, even though Sir Edward Downes insisted he could ‘fill her books’ with performances in Britain and Europe. So this double album offers those who never had the opportunity to hear her, the gift of discovering a voice of magnitude and generosity, and for those who grew up hearing her on stage, the chance to reacquaint themselves with her artistry.

The original tapes from radio broadcasts of the 1960s and ’70s have been carefully restored to give more than a hint of the majesty of Nance Grant in a characteristic range of repertoire. The recordings represent significant landmarks in the development of opera in Australia: the emerging Victorian State Opera’s enormously successful Idomeneo, re di Creta, and Maria Stuarda under the direction of Richard Divall; Australian Opera’s Ariadne auf Naxos, Fidelio and Tannhäuser with Sir Edward Downes; and one of the first of the Australian Opera/ABC collaborations presenting concert performances of Wagner operas, with Grant as Sieglinde in Die Walküre conducted by Leif Segerstam.

The programme also pays homage to Nance’s considerable concert career, including a complete song recital - Greig, Richard Hageman and Richard Strauss - with pianist Geoffrey Parsons, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and an excerpt from Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

Melba Recordings 2cds MR30113536