The Prince Consort - Other Love Songs - Audiophile Audition
30 August 2011
Audiophile AuditionSteven Ritter
My favorite to this point for the Brahms works has been the EMI
recording with Anne Sofie von Otter, Kurt Streit, Bengt Forsberg,
Barbara Bonney, Helmut Deutsch, and Olaf Bär. That is a beautifully
recorded disc that also has the
Spanische Liebeslieder, Op. 138
as well. But there are many others, including a fabulous version with
the Robert Shaw Festival Singers on Telarc that includes some
miscellaneous songs too. In fact, there are around 20-25 readings of
these pieces available, and many are quite excellent. Okay, face
it-these pieces are not really the most difficult things in the world to
sing, and often require less stringent interpretative nuance than many
of Brahms's other works. But they still have to be in tune, properly
balanced, and done with the correct degree of style and spirit, and that
means a very deep acquaintance with the art of the
ländler, that rustic, pre-waltz form that so attracted Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, Mahler-and yes, Brahms himself.
In other words, there has to be a certain sense of the amateur in
performances of these works without sounding amateurish. They have to
have the sense of a party about them, a soiree, a good time, a get
together with friends out in a parlor on a Sunday afternoon. And the
voices, while needing to blend properly, can't be too perfect, which
really is what we get on the EMI recording and so many others. The
voices here, all of up-and-comers, are just new enough to not take
themselves too seriously and concentrate on the virtues of the ensemble
(when needed-some are solo vehicles) as opposed to the glories of
individual voices.
These were very popular in Brahms's day, the first set following the composition of the
German Requiem (one of his greatest successes), while the second set, much more somber in tone and deceptively serious, preceded his
First Symphony.
Almost all of Brahms's early works were enormously and immediately
popular. The Prince Consort is young enough to not be intimidated by
anyone and make a really carefree run at these pieces, to great effect.
The Hough premiere was commissioned by the Prince, and the composer
set out to take on the theme of love, but not romantic between a man and
a woman, but focusing on "different" kinds of love-I'll let you read
the texts to see how different they are. He also avoids waltzes, which
is a good idea coming between the two Brahms sets as it serves as a very
nice bridge and transition, amazingly so. These are profoundly lyrical
pieces of intensity and excellent craftsmanship, making me want to hear
more of Hough's music, as I have known him to date only as a
pianist-clearly there are other sides to the man.
The Prince performs perfectly in these works, and the surround sound
is elegantly displayed to wonderful purpose, proving once again that
Linn is on the ascent when it comes to audiophile recordings. Very nice
indeed.
Related Links
The Prince Consort
Other Love Songs