Vassily Savenko bass-baritone/Alexander Blok - piano Hyperion Records Russian Images
Volume 1 CDA67105 [1993 & 1998 60 mins] Dargomyzhsky The Night Zephyr; The Miller; I remember Borodin For the shores of your far homeland Balakiriev Embrace, kiss Rimsky-Korsakov On the hills of Georgia Cui The Fountain Statue of Tsarkoye Mussorgsky Forgotten; Mephistopheles' Song of the Flea Tchaikovsky I bless you, forests; In the midst of the ball; Don Juan's Serenade Arensky Autumn Medtner I have outlived my aspirations; Spring Solace Gretchaninov The Prisoner Lyatoshinsky Dawn Rachmaninov She is as beautiful as noon ; It is time
Volume 2 CDA67205 [1999 71 mins]
Tchaikovsky A tear trembles; My genius, my angel, my friend; Frenzied Nights Arensky A Dream; I have seen death; Was it so long ago to enchanting strains Taneyev Dense Forests; And the foes stood trembling; Winter Journey Medtner Twilight; Unexpected Rain; Invocation Rachmaninov Do not sing, my beauty; The Muse; Arion Mosolov Three Romances: Recollection; Desire; To the Sea
These two wide ranging recitals are a must for any admirer of Russian music. Alongside one or two staple favourites are a host of wrongfully-neglected rarities to be discovered and enjoyed.
The songs on each disc are arranged in roughly chronological sequence Glinka and Dargomyzhsky, the fathers of Russian music leading on to the Mighty Handful and their students who in turn became teachers to the following generation.
A wide variety of poets are also represented, though unsurprisingly Pushkin gets the lion's share, and full texts and translations are included.
The songs are too numerous to analyse individually, and each listener will have their own favourites. So, I'll confine myself to picking out a few which were new to me and caught my particular fancy.
Balakirev's Embrace, kiss has an especially charm, with the piano waltzing gently in the background as the singer encourages his mournful lover to cheer up and put on a more colourful pretty dress.
Gretchaninov's The Prisoner brings out every inch of the drama in Pushkin's poem, imagining a captive eagle's dreams of the chance to just fly away.
The second collection includes two interesting musical journeys Glinka's Travel Song unexpectedly reveals a train chuffing cheerfully along and Taneyev's Winter Journey is more predictably a sleigh ride although the passenger dreams of riding a wolf to a magic kingdom where the firebirds sing by night.
Vassily Savenko is a singer of the greatest sensitivity, and he is well matched by his pianist, Alexander Blok. This is recital making of the highest order, and recommended accordingly.
Serena Fenwick
[These CDs, neither new nor re-releases, were kindly supplied in connection with Joan Rodgers' 2006 City of London Festival recital, in which some rarely heard and unassertive songs by Medtner grabbed our attention. PGW]
|