Music : Lorraine at Emmanuel
from: Avie
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0822252213027
Label: Avie
Manufacturer: Avie
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Avie
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Sales Rank: 21534
Studio: Avie
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Rating: -
In the best parts of these performances - those mentioned by Tom Lawrence, but I would definitely add to his list "Where shall I fly" - Lorraine's flame burns fully as intensely and penetratingly as on her great Handel recording with Harry Bicket.
(In case anyone still doesn't know, Lorraine's two recordings with William Christie are at that level, too.)
Hard to find words for Lorraine. No wonder she made her husband think of Rilke:
Words still softly give way before the unsayable . . .
And music, forever new, out of the most tremulous stones
builds in unusable space her house fit for gods.
Rating:  -
The centerpiece of this CD is a recital of selections from Handel's opera Hercules. The late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson sings Dejanira's recitatives and arias, following a path from passion and jealousy into madness. This program is bookended by two alto arias from Bach cantatas. While the Bach solos are musically more to my liking, the Handel material does well to showcase the mezzo-soprano's talent. For me there are three highlights to this disc.
- Track 1: "Kommt ihr angefochten Sünder" from cantata BWV 30. This is an ideal first song of the day as you start your car. The measured pulse of the music gently helps you wake up and takes the edge off the morning commute. Whether a trick of the composition, the performance, or the recording (or all three), the first note sounds like a pickup, with strings plucking the offbeats. Then twenty seconds into the piece your brain shifts and you realize that the song actually started on the downbeat. The effect is best when you are still partially asleep.
The singer uses her lower and middle register throughout the number, so no high shrieking to shock the system. There is a slight derailment at the recapitulation five minutes into the piece, but it sorts itself out in two beats and all is well. The flute plays a sparing descant to the voice, and it is pleasing to hear how effective a few well-placed notes can be. By the end of the work the instruments have warmed up and are parting ways in intonation, but you are ... Read More
Rating: -
In the August 2008 BBC Music Magazine, George Hall gave this disc four out of five stars. He didn't like some of Lorraine's fast passage work and found that conductor Craig Smith lacked impetus. Hmm. Not me. These are magically relaxed performances where soloist and chamber orchestra are almost literally singing to and with each other. There's something special going on here. And Lorraine Hunt Lieberson sounds completely in control of what she's doing. I don't think you'll be disappointed. If only there had been more.
Rating: -
As a Boston resident from 1985-1994, I attended numerous Emmanuel Music events ranging from the Sellars production of Handel's "Giulio Cesare" (brought to Boston by Sarah Caldwell & the Opera Company of Boston) to several of the weekly Bach Cantatas that they performed Sundays at the Emmanuel Church services. I even returned to Boston once to specifically hear the ensemble's performance of Handel's "Solomon."
Emmanuel Music, under the directorship of its founder Craig Smith, never made much of a misstep in any of its performances. Undoubtedly the people who played and sang for Smith did so out of a love for the ensemble and a high respect, admiration of and love for him. The performances were outstanding because the performers were driven to perform for the experience and the musical involvement Smith provided them with, not for great sums of money.
Craig Smith was not a flashy showman kind of conductor (in fact he was quite the opposite) and one always suspected that he might be a bit eccentric in an endearing sort of way. However, what he was was a musician/conductor searching for truth in music and in character. And it's in that regard that he singularly stood out - not just in Boston, but also internationally. He always paid great attention to the finest of details in the music he conducted and he knew how to get refined, genuine and transcendent performances from those working with him. He was, in some regards, one of the musical world's best kept ... Read More
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