Ondine's compilation Essential Highlights of Jorma Hynninen, includes two complete earlier releases of Schubert song cycles, a 1989 version of Winterreise, and Die schöne Müllerin from 1988, both accompanied by Ralf Gothóni. Baritone Hynninen brings a voice with a warm, substantial tone capable of considerable power to these songs, but in Winterreise he uses it with great restraint. From start to finish, Hynninen's singing is absolutely gorgeous, beautifully produced, and achingly poignant. His use of his head voice in some ...
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Ondine's compilation Essential Highlights of Jorma Hynninen, includes two complete earlier releases of Schubert song cycles, a 1989 version of Winterreise, and Die schöne Müllerin from 1988, both accompanied by Ralf Gothóni. Baritone Hynninen brings a voice with a warm, substantial tone capable of considerable power to these songs, but in Winterreise he uses it with great restraint. From start to finish, Hynninen's singing is absolutely gorgeous, beautifully produced, and achingly poignant. His use of his head voice in some of the high-lying passages seems absolutely right both musically and as an expression of the songs' emotion. While his singing has the utmost sophistication and his shaping of the lines is finely nuanced, there is something a little too reserved about his approach to the psychology of the protagonist. In the quieter songs, his singing is ideally sensitive, and songs like "Gute Nacht" are a marvel of tenderness and desire held closely in check, but there are others, such as...
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