Renée Fleming - Sacred Songs
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Artist: Renée FlemingBrand: RP
Composer: George Frideric Handel
Composer: Franz Schubert
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Composer: Gabriel Faure
Composer: Francis Poulenc
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Composer: Charles Gounod
Conductor: Andreas Delfs
Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-09-27
Music Label: Decca
Soundtracks:
- Ave Maria
- Jesu bleibet meine Freude
- Dank sei dir, Herr
- Ave Maria, D839
- Laudamus te
- Panis Angelicus
- Air: "He shall feed his Flock"
- Simple Song
- Pie Jesu
- Domine Deus
- Laudate Dominum omnes gentes
- Air: Rejoice greatly, o daughter of Zion
- Abends will ich schlafen gehn
- L'Adieu des bergers
- Mariä Wiegenlied, Op.76/52
- Amazing Grace
Music reviews of Sacred Songs
Music Review: People Are Sure Divided About This Disc
Rating: 3 Stars
I'm taking liberty here, but Dante once said something along these lines: the hottest spot in hell is reserved for those who remain neutral on controversial issues. Therefore my review that could be interpreted as favorable and unfavorable may be damning me, if not eternally, at least as far as the very vocal opera fans who seem to frequent the Amazon reviews and vote for their favorite reviews. Well, here it goes.
I have been an opera lover for about thirty years (I'm forty three) and I started my record collection the way many young people do: I purchased what I could afford. Many of my early recordings were budget copies of live performances with the likes of Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Maria Caniglia and Rosanna Carteri as sopranos. I had no idea they were great. All I knew is that there were budget recordings I could afford and I purchased them. These recordings may have been of somewhat poor quality, but I was spoiled by the performances great sopranos who had heart and soul and seemed to overcome bad recordings that were issued before the age of remastering. I came to expect this was the norm. When I began earning money, I started purchasing more recently recorded works that boasted critical editions of scores and singers who "did what the composer intended" which was performed exactly as written even though the composers often encouraged personal interpretations if it would excite the audience. Wagner is probably the one exception. The result is that we have wonderful performances from a technical point of view but lackluster as far as entertainment so concerned. Renee Fleming would be in this category.
Overall, Renee Fleming can be an electrifying performer. Whenever I hear her on live broadcasts from New York's Metropolitan Opera, I am impressed. Yet when I purchase studio recordings, if she's performing a work that's not standard, as many of the selections of her BEL CANTO recording are, I am impressed, but if she performs standards, as she does on the collection titled RENEE FLEMING, which was supposed to be "by request" the cynic in me wondered if the opera public requested it or did studio executives hoping to cash in on hype. She can be less inspiring in the standard repertoire.
In SACRED SONGS, Fleming treads on waters chartered by the likes of Sutherland and Te Kanawa but it is not free and easy sailing. It's not choppy water either. There are some enjoyable selections here. I loved her interpretation of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and her Gounod "Ave Maria." I liked the soprano/choral juxtaposition in "The Shepherd's Farewell" from LE ENFANCE DU CHRIST. For the most part her performance in the other selections is not bad, it's just a bit bland, especially compared with others who have recorded these works. I'm not sure I felt the "Evening Prayer" from HANSEL AND GRETEL belonged on the recording. She does a good job and it is a prayer, but it's more cute that spiritual. If she wanted to include the world of opera, Santuzza's Easter prayer outside the Church as the people inside are singing Alleluia, one of the greatest moments of CAVALERIA RUSTICANA, a heartfelt and spiritual moment in opera if there ever was one, would work. A better choice that would probably be more suited to her voice, is Desdemona's "Ave Maria" from OTELLO where she is praying for the man she loves, a true act of faith. Now while I chide Fleming for not being creative and too much by the book, one selection I wish she did stick by the book is "Amazing Grace." Ms. Fleming, you are not Leontyne Price, nor are you Kathleen battle or Jesse Norman. You are also not B.B.King and with the wonderful performances you have given from the stage, I'm not sure you have a right to sing the blues. The spiritual, bluesy rendition of "Amazing Grace" does not work and since it's the last piece on the disc, it does leave a bit of an after taste.
This collection is one of the best selling classical discs, the reason being people enjoy religious music sung beautifully, and if that is what you are looking for, you will enjoy this disc. Opera fans, who are looking for a new interpretation of these standards, will not find a performance that matches or surpasses some of the greats who have tackled this same repertoire and while there are some wonderful moments, there will also be some disappointments. A sampling of friends who have listened to this recording seems to back up my statement. People who just enjoy a beautiful voice love it. Opera fands, and even a few Fleming fans, are disappointed. Now, if you are looking at the other Amazon reviews and wonder how there can be so many who praised and so many who want to put poor Renee in front of a moving train, well that's opera. World wars have nearly started in debating who is the greatest of the three tenors, there have probably been martyrs in the fight about the superiority of Callas and Tebaldi, the worst battles of all are the Wagnerians who contend that Solti and Karajan have ruined the reputation of the master and the last great conductor was Furtwangler. Compared to these battles, the Amazon reviews are tame.
Description of Sacred Songs
Renee Fleming, the most celebrated American soprano, presents an inspiring collection from her favorite sacred and spiritual repertoire. Violinist Mark OConnor joins her for a special performance of Amazing Grace. Fleming is accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Produced by Decca Music Group. 16 tracks: 1. Ave Maria 2. Jesu bleibet meine Freude 3. Dank sei dir, Herr 4. Ave Maria Schubert 5. Laudamus te 6. Panis Angelicus 7. Air: He shall feed his Flock 8. Simple Song 9. Pie Jesu 10. Domine Deus 11. Laudate Dominum omnes gentes 12. Air: Rejoice greatly, o daughter of Zion 13. Abends will ich schlafen gehn 14. L Adieu des bergers 15. Maria Wiegenlied, Op.76/52 16. Amazing GraceThis lovely CD features Renée Fleming singing religious music in an unaffected, lovely manner. Many favorites are here: both the Bach/Gounod and Schubert versions of "Ave Maria," each offered with long breaths and soft tone; "Rejoice Greatly" from Messiah, delivered with virtuosity and gleaming sound, and "He Shall Feed His Flock," also from Messiah, sung in a smooth, laid-back manner. Bits of the Fauré Requiem and Poulenc Gloria are welcome, as is the gorgeous "L'Adieu des Bergers" from L'Enfance du Christ. In the prayer from Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel, Fleming is joined by the splendid Susan Graham, and a version of "Amazing Grace" features Mark O'Connor on violin. Two excerpts from Mozart's Mass in C Minor, pieces by Reger and Franck, and a few surprises round out this devotional CD. --Robert Levine
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