Even the most serious composers had their light moments, and the Italienisches Liederbuch (in German, not Italian) was Hugo Wolf's. This set of 46 brief songs, most between one and two minutes long, is a true songbook and wasn't necessarily meant to be sung at a stretch. Presentations like the one here from soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Jonas Kaufmann are reasonable and even desirable; they shape the songs into a little narrative of love, conflict, makeup, and breakup, with dialogue between the two principals at each stage ...
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Even the most serious composers had their light moments, and the Italienisches Liederbuch (in German, not Italian) was Hugo Wolf's. This set of 46 brief songs, most between one and two minutes long, is a true songbook and wasn't necessarily meant to be sung at a stretch. Presentations like the one here from soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Jonas Kaufmann are reasonable and even desirable; they shape the songs into a little narrative of love, conflict, makeup, and breakup, with dialogue between the two principals at each stage. The pair has often sung this cycle live, and some have felt that their stage business was overdone. There's little evidence of that on this recording, even though it was made live (in an appropriately sized and acoustically attractive recital hall at the Philharmonie in Essen). Indeed, the pair makes an appealing contrast, with Damrau's silvery, rather excitable soprano a fine foil to the honeyed tones of Kaufmann, here as sweet as ever. Both are attuned to the unique wit that...
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Seller's Description:
Fair. Ex-Library rental. Disc(s) are professionally cleaned and may contain only light scratches that do not effect functionality. Includes disc(s), case, and artwork. May be missing booklet. Disc(s), case, and artwork may contain library/security stickers and ink writing. ARTWORK IS UNORIGINAL AND PRINTED BY LIBRARY. Case and artwork may show some wear. Case may not be an original jewel case. All disc(s) are authentic.