The most sublime/touching/beautiful piece of singing you have ever heard?

[Elgarian]

Teresa Cahill singing the soprano part in Elgar's The Spirit of England - the most underestimated work in Elgar's oeuvre, and here, a performance of it that I doubt will ever be improved upon. No youtube available, alas.

[Elgarian]

I would probably have the version of that by David Daniels.

Just as well. I'd have fought you for it.

[knight66]

I second Elgarian's Elgar.

Mike

[Elgarian]

I second Elgarian's Elgar.

Gosh, you really know how to win me round, don't you?

[Verena]

Handel: As with rosy steps from Theodora: Lorraine Hunt Lieberson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQlt1UxjvWU

Absolutely wonderful. Both the singing and the aria by the greatest baroque composer (hiding for cover..) 

[Elgarian]

Quickly diving in before any other Kozena/Handel fan bags it:

'In darkness deep', also sung by Magdalena Kozena from Handel's Theodora, from the same collection of arias, above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzBBbXWJtUg

There are passages in this where I feel as if my hair is lifting off.

[Verena]

Quickly diving in before any other Kozena/Handel fan bags it:

'In darkness deep', also sung by Magdalena Kozena from Handel's Theodora, from the same collection of arias, above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzBBbXWJtUg

There are passages in this where I feel as if my hair is lifting off.

Oh yes. Kozena's is one of the most beautiful Handel albums I know. We need more great Handel albums like this! Handel has written so many uplifting arias, some of them relatively little known, waiting to be recorded by great singers like Kozena, Connolly, Daniel Taylor etc. Though the situation has improved in recent years, Handel is still underrecorded IMO.

[knight66]

I have not heard the Kozana disc before. That aria is terrifically sung. I won't suggest my own alternative.

Surely, we have a huge number of Handel discs. Here is a duet from one not so far mentioned. Stephanie Blyth and David Daniels as mother and son in Giulio Cesare.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91KD11Zsnck

And yet another with De Donato and Ciofi, a superb disc with a number of fairly obscure duets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atk1P31z2FY

Mike

[Verena]

Surely, we have a huge number of Handel discs. Here is a duet from one not so far mentioned. Stephanie Blyth and David Daniels as mother and son in Giulio Cesare.

Yes, but not enough - in the sense that not all great arias have been recorded by at least one singer I find terrific, accompanied by a conductor and orchestra that are her/his equal. And in Handel, as opposed to some other baroque composer, I need a period instrument performance to enjoy the performance    

I'm not very fond of Daniels, although I tried to be. I think I don't quite like his vibrato. 

[False_Dmitry]

Yes, but not enough - in the sense that not all great arias have been recorded by at least one singer I find terrific, accompanied by a conductor and orchestra that are her/his equal.

The problem there, however, is that many/most of the "famous-singer-does-a-Handel-album" releases contain exactly the same arias with monotonous regularity   To the credit of singers like Scholl, some singers are now venturing out into broader territory, and also including arias by Handel's "Academy Of Music" contemporaries like Lotti, Porpora & Bononcini.

Although it's true that there's chaff among the wheat in Handel's operas, very few of the operas are devoid of hit numbers...  and in fact pieces like RICCARDO PRIMO deserve to live at least as the source of magnificent solo arias...  even if their libretti are pants    For example OTTONE is a fustian piece of drama overall, and doesn't lend itself to super stagings... but - babies with bathwater - we lose lovely arias like Falsa Imagine along the way... yes, indeed that very same defenestration-threatening piece!  And a lovely piece it is, in the French style, with a super viola-da-gamba obbligato accompaniment and basso-continuo alone.

Here's Scholl in a nice piece of Hasse, "Pallido il sole", for example.  The observant will notice that our conductor-knight Sir Roger is more than a little "cavalier" with the composer's dynamic markings    Do you hear the whole range from p to ff here?  I don't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-G74Ma4gHQ&feature=search

[Verena]

The problem there, however, is that many/most of the "famous-singer-does-a-Handel-album" releases contain exactly the same arias with monotonous regularity   To the credit of singers like Scholl, some singers are now venturing out into broader territory, and also including arias by Handel's "Academy Of Music" contemporaries like Lotti, Porpora & Bononcini.

Although it's true that there's chaff among the wheat in Handel's operas, very few of the operas are devoid of hit numbers...  and in fact pieces like RICCARDO PRIMO deserve to live at least as the source of magnificent solo arias...  even if their libretti are pants    For example OTTONE is a fustian piece of drama overall, and doesn't lend itself to super stagings... but - babies with bathwater - we lose lovely arias like Falsa Imagine along the way... yes, indeed that very same defenestration-threatening piece!  And a lovely piece it is, in the French style, with a super viola-da-gamba obbligato accompaniment and basso-continuo alone.

Completely agree with your points 

Here's Scholl in a nice piece of Hasse, "Pallido il sole", for example.  The observant will notice that our conductor-knight Sir Roger is more than a little "cavalier" with the composer's dynamic markings    Do you hear the whole range from p to ff here?  I don't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-G74Ma4gHQ&feature=search

Lovely singing. Norrington has never been a favorite of mine

[Elgarian]

I have not heard the Kozana disc before.

Mike, don't stop to think - just get one. The collection is a bit uneven (in my view, but then I think all aria collections tend to be), but when it's great, it seems unsurpassable. Worth the price for the two big Ariodante arias alone. There's a passage in 'Dopo notte' towards the end where she starts from a place so high, and comes swooping down, that I find myself wanting to stand up and shout 'bravo!' Here it is, on you tube. The bit I mentioned comes at 4:40, but here it's performed live and is to my ears by no means as stratospherically thrilling as the studio recording:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRZa7irgseY

[False_Dmitry]

and shout 'bravo!' Here it is, on you tube. The bit I mentioned comes at 4:40, but here it's performed live and is to my ears by no means as stratospherically thrilling as the studio recording:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRZa7irgseY

Bravo indeed!  But I wish she would stop lurching about and pulling faces   It's very unneeded in the concert-hall, and the snarling and grimacing are out of place - it's a joyful aria of triumph over adversity     I'm not sure it was wise to sing a male aria with her tresses down (and falling in her face) and in a girly dress either 

[Elgarian]

Yes, but not enough - in the sense that not all great arias have been recorded by at least one singer I find terrific, accompanied by a conductor and orchestra that are her/his equal.

I know what you mean, and yet ... I look at my collection of Handel vocal music, wonder just how many days it would take me to play it all through, end to end, and wonder if I really need so much.

[Just kidding. Of course I do. Of course I do!]

[Verena]

I know what you mean, and yet ... I look at my collection of Handel vocal music, wonder just how many days it would take me to play it all through, end to end, and wonder if I really need so much.

[Just kidding. Of course I do. Of course I do!]

Oh yes, I know this quandary. Listening to new stuff means not being able to listen to the already known stuff that I like. The need to some extent exists in my imagination. On the other hand, considering the number of recordings of Beethoven's fifth symphony or Vivaldi's Four Seasons, we clearly need more recordings of Handel's sublime masterpieces - if only for the sake of justice. Handel deserves it, and so do Handelians .. 

[knight66]

I know what you mean, and yet ... I look at my collection of Handel vocal music, wonder just how many days it would take me to play it all through, end to end, and wonder if I really need so much.

That's my dilemma, there have been so many Handel recitals in the last couple of years that my brain glazes over. And yes, I agree there are too many duplications.

I am never altogether sold on Kozena. I bought her initial Bach disc, recorded several years before it was issued. Beautifully sung, kind of half formed as fully rounded concepts, but there was something interesting going on. With that recital she kind of burst upon us and I was eager for the next discs.

I bought probably about half a dozen of them in due procession. Much to admire, often well thought through in terms of programming; but not inspirational. My judgement is that she is often, though not invariably, first rate; but I just don't much connect with her performances. Probably the kind of puzzling remark that has been made by various people about David Daniels, whose voice I rate highly. Obviously, as often observed, different ears experience any voice differently.

Mike

[zamyrabyrd]

Maureen Forrester, Mahler's 2nd Symphony.

What an excellent choice!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWPKiuFmY4M

Zamyrabyrd wrote about a year ago:
Gold Standard Urlicht. Forrester has the unwavering control, serenity, pronunciation and depth unequalled or even approached by other famous singers, some of whom despite obvious "feeling", have very audible vibratos.
Glenn Gould is a fine partner here.

ZB

[Verena]

That's my dilemma, there have been so many Handel recitals in the last couple of years that my brain glazes over. And yes, I agree there are too many duplications.

I am never altogether sold on Kozena. I bought her initial Bach disc, recorded several years before it was issued. Beautifully sung, kind of half formed as fully rounded concepts, but there was something interesting going on. With that recital she kind of burst upon us and I was eager for the next discs.

I bought probably about half a dozen of them in due procession. Much to admire, often well thought through in terms of programming; but not inspirational. My judgement is that she is often, though not invariably, first rate; but I just don't much connect with her performances. Probably the kind of puzzling remark that has been made by various people about David Daniels, whose voice I rate highly. Obviously, as often observed, different ears experience any voice differently.

Mike

Is it the voice you have reservations about, or her interpretations? If it is the interpretation, then it is probably true that an inspirational interpretation will often require the singer to go to extremes of expression and this might often involve producing unpleasant sounds. (Beautiful sounding aggression, anger, grief is perhaps less than credible in many contexts). Perhaps not always, but often. And Kozena hardly ever produces ugly sounds.
So perhaps the most beautiful voices are often a little "boring" - too well-rounded, producing a continuous stream of pleasant sounds with little variation in that respect - and this may be perceived by some listeners as dull. On the other hand, a somewhat less than perfect voice might due to the fragility of the beauty it produces be more touching.
At least, that is the impression I sometimes get. For me, and I blush to admit this  beauty of voice is relatively more important than expression. Still, I am sometimes bored by voices that are too well-rounded: For example, some - certainly not all - early recordings by Scholl I find a tad boring, and even though in my view Christa Ludwig has a more beautiful and even timbre than Janet Baker, the latter can at times be more touching, and possibly this effect is due to the relative fragility of the beauty expressed through her still (even in my view) beautiful voice.
This is just an example and obviously my own subjective perception.

[knight66]

Verena,

I think the fact of keeping on keeping on with Kozana is a sign that I am puzzled as to why I don't really enjoy her very much. Seemingly she injects a good deal of expression. I am happy to assume it is my ears rather than her artistry. I feel the expression is often being applied from the outside and if I have a touchstone for Handel, it is Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. She brings a truth to the music that not many can manage.

I also am completely with you in the Ludwig V Baker remarks. Ludwig had a superb voice, was much admired, but left me cold. Baker inevitably moved me and I have gathered virtually all her recorded performances plus the many radio relays that are surfacing.

If it is an outright choice between beauty and expression....I want both.

Mike

[Verena]

I think the fact of keeping on keeping on with Kozana is a sign that I am puzzled as to why I don't really enjoy her very much. Seemingly she injects a good deal of expression. I am happy to assume it is my ears rather than her artistry. I feel the expression is often being applied from the outside and if I have a touchstone for Handel, it is Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. She brings a truth to the music that not many can manage.

Very interesting point about Kozena. I think I have the same feeling when it comes to her Bach recital. In Handel, as opposed to Bach, I'm probably content with "expression applied from the outside", because the music - at least the operas - is rather showy and intended for the stage - so here I can enjoy the "show" (what you call expression applied from the outside). Actually Hunt Lieberson's expression is almost too "true" for me at times (in Handel).
Matters are different in Bach. Here, I don't want a show, but true feeling. That's possibly why I don't enjoy Kozena's Bach that much.