Alfred Deller

Alfred Deller - Portrait of a Legend (2005)

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4CDs | EAC Rip | FLAC(TRACKS),LOG,NO CUE | Complete Scans (300dpi) | 3% Recovery | 1 GB
Classical | Release Date: June 08,2004 | Label: Harmonia Mundi


During the last 10 years of his life Alfred Deller made approximately 50 recordings for Harmonia Mundi, and here, 25 years after his death in 1979, the label celebrates and commemorates the work of this uniquely gifted and influential artist. By all accounts of his colleagues (several tributes are included in this set's liner notes)--and evidenced by nearly every note he sang--Deller was a master of expression, of breath control, of the most gentle phrasing and subtle shadings of pitch, always in service of the text and in devotion to the beauty of the musical line. Anyone who closely listens and compares his singing to that of his contemporaries and successors comes away with the conviction that no one has been able to do with a song--even the simplest, most basic folksong--what Deller did. And although his voice has a bit of an edge and has a more penetrating, less-mellifluous cast than today's top countertenors, it also has a consistently clear, bell-like tone that's dead-center and impeccably tuned, and capable of the most minute variations in color and dynamics. It's simply a joy--and often a surprise--to hear.

Although this four-disc set is intended as a cornucopia of highlights, several tracks stand out--for me, the simpler the better. That means the solo songs and folksongs, including "The water is wide", "Down by the sally gardens", and "I will give my love an apple", the a cappella "The Wind and the Rain" (from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night), "It was a lover and his lass", and the incomparably masterful "Miserere my Maker", an absolutely astonishing display of vocal artistry and drama. Deller also shines in the Purcell theatre pieces, especially "Fairest Isle" from King Arthur.

If you've never heard Deller, this collection will provide reason enough to appreciate his singular achievement and stature in the history of vocal music and period-performance. You also may wish to investigate his other, earlier recordings on Vanguard, where you'll discover, in comparison to these selections from late in his career, the remarkable consistency of interpretation and of vocal quality and technical facility. Although it's not among Harmonia Mundi's recordings, I always will be convinced that Deller's rendition of "Annie Laurie" (Vanguard) is the most perfectly executed song performance ever captured on disc. Such a performer deserves everyone's attention and respect. Here's your chance.


TRACKLIST

CD 1 : Opera & Stage Music
1. The Fairy Queen, semi-opera, Z. 629: Act 2. Come all ye songsters of the sky
2. The Fairy Queen, semi-opera, Z. 629: Act 2. Prelude
3. The Fairy Queen, semi-opera, Z. 629: Act 2. May the God of Wit inspire / While Echo
4. The Fairy Queen, semi-opera, Z. 629: Act 3. Dialogue
5. The Fairy Queen, semi-opera, Z. 629: Act 4. Symphony
6. The Fairy Queen, semi-opera, Z. 629: Act 5. Thus, thus the gloomy world
7. The Fairy Queen, semi-opera, Z. 629: Act 5. Thus happy and free
8. The Fairy Queen, semi-opera, Z. 629: Act 5. Yes, Xansi, in your looks I find
9. The Fairy Queen, semi-opera, Z. 629: Act 5. Monkey's Dance
10. King Arthur, or, The British Worthy, semi-opera, Z. 628: Act 1. Scene 2. I call ye all
11. King Arthur, or, The British Worthy, semi-opera, Z. 628: Act 5. Scene 2. Fairest Isle
12. The Indian Queen, semi-opera, Z. 630: Act 1. Wake, Quivera, wake
13. The Indian Queen, semi-opera, Z. 630: Act 3. Trumpet Overture
14. The Indian Queen, semi-opera, Z. 630: Act 3. Ah, how happy are we / We the spirits of the air
15. The Indian Queen, semi-opera, Z. 630: Act 3. I attempt from Love's sickness
16. Olinda in the shades unseen, song, Z. 404
17. Thus to a ripe, consenting maid (from 'Old Bachelor'), song, Z. 607/10
18. How happy's the husband (from 'Love Triumphant'), song, Z. 582/1


CD 2 : Sacred Song
1. Incipit Lamentatio Jeremiae
2. Te lucis ante terminum (Procul recedant somnia) (I), motet for 5 voices, P. 214
3. Leçon de Ténèbres 2, for treble voice & continuo
4. Jubilate Domino, omnis terra, for alto, viola da gamba & continuo, BuxWV 64
5. In guilty night, sacred song, Z. 134
6. Great King of Gods (Lord of Lords), anthem for voices
7. Ave verum corpus, for 5 voices (doubtful)
8. Cantabo Domino for 4 voices


CD 3 : Solo Song
1. The Wind and the Rain
2. It was a lover and his lass, song for voice with lute & bass viol
3. Mistresse mine, well may you fare (O Mistress Mine), song for voice with lute & bass viol
4. Willow Song
5. Calleno custure me
6. Miserere My Maker, for voice & lute
7. I Care Not for These Ladies for voice, lute & bass viol
8. Of All the Birds That I Do Know
9. What Then Is Love but Mourning
10. The self-banish'd (A Minuet)
11. Glory of the Arcadian groves
12. Fine knacks for ladies, for 4 voices & lute (Second Book of Songs)
13. Flow, my tears, fall from your springs, for 2 voices & lute (Second Book of Songs)
14. If music be the food of love, song, Z. 379 (3 settings)
15. From rosie bow'rs (from 'Don Quixote'), song, Z. 578/9
16. O solitude, my sweetest choice, song, Z. 406
17. Pien d'amoroso affetto
18. Pallidetto qual viola
19. Amarilli mia bella, for voice & continuo (from 'Le Nuove musiche')
20. Infirmata, vulnerata, motet for alto, 2 violins & continuo


CD 4 : Folksong
1. The Three Ravens, folk song
2. Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair, folk song
3. Sweet nimphe, come to thy lover, madrigal for 2 voices
4. I goe before, my darling, madrigal for 2 voices
5. The Oak and the Ash (North Country Maid), folk song
6. Barbara Allen (Tennessee)
7. Lord Rendall, folk song
8. The Water Is Wide (after O Waly, Waly)
9. The Tailor and the Mouse, folk song
10. Down by the Salley Gardens, folk song
11. I Will Give My Love an Apple, folk song
12. Miraculous love's wounding, madrigal for 2 voices
13. Sweet Kate
14. Bushes and briars, folk song
15. The Foggy, Foggy Dew, folk song
16. She Moved through the Fair, folk song
17. Evening Prayer



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