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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lisa della Casa sings The Four Last Songs, 8 Feb 2003
I first heard the Lisa della Casa recording of the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss shortly after it appeared in 1953. It then captivated and deeply moved me and I have heard no other interpretation to match it since for purity of tone, sensitivity and an evocative gentleness that seems effortlessly produced by a most lyrical voice. The orchestral pace is a little faster than many other interpretations which for me is a plus, relieving the work of an over-serious morbidity that can detract from its greater quality of ethereal spirituality.At the age of thirty-four this remarkable singer had already developed an exceptional vocal maturity. Della Casa was therefore able to bring to this last song cycle written in 1948, four years before the composer's death, an elegance and understanding of the rich and evocative combination of poetry and music that the work encapsulates. Indeed, this is a work where voice and orchestration are balanced in such a way, harmonically and in repetitive response, that a voice as pure and sophisticated as that of Lisa della Casa becomes a fluid, instrumental extension to the rich fabric of the score, neither voice nor orchestra denying the other its space or meaning but achieving a perfect integration. Della Casa soars powerfully but gently and with exquisite musicality to great heights through all of these songs and descends with perfect control. The strings rise with her, with the inevitable Straussian horns adding their wistful sonority to the final phrases in the first and second songs, Beimschlafgehen and September, while flutes mimic a pair of larks in the last song, Im Abendrot. The darker orchestral start to Fruhling again offers the singer a passionate, sensual tapestry of sound which she exploits with tremendous ardour and vocal control to a triumphant finish. All four songs are simply thrilling to hear but Beimschlafgehen (On going to sleep) surely sets off this song cycle superbly within its "magical circle of night" to which the poet refers. On the same recording we are treated to Lisa della Casa's mastery of leading roles in excerpts from the Strauss operas, Arabella, Ariadne auf Naxos and Capriccio with a delightful duet between her and Hilde Gueden from Arabella. Interesting to compare the voices. A fantastic bargain. The notes included explain the sequence of the Four Last Songs, preferred by Strauss, which we hear on this great recording.
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~ Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
~ Richard Strauss
~ Jessye Norman
~ Harald Proglhoff
~ Richard Strauss
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