In February 2014 Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Thomas Hampson made a tour of twelve European concert halls performing a unique programme. The heart of the programme consisted of new arrangements of songs by Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert and Hugo Wolf. Amsterdam Sinfonietta commissioned the English composer David Matthews to arrange this song repertoire for string ensemble and baritone. These intimate compositions were performed in this new version for the first time in large-scale concert halls.
The practice of orchestrating older, preexisting songs became the vogue in the nineteenth century, coinciding with the blossoming of a whole new genre; the orchestral song. Composers such as Mahler, Wolf, Berlioz, Liszt and Strauss wrote songs for piano and voice, which they later ‘emancipated’ by arranging them for voice and orchestra. A number of composers, including Brahms, Berlioz and later Weber and Reger, paid homage to their predecessors such as Schubert and Schumann by orchestrating their songs. On this recording only the version of Samuel Barber’s song Dover Beach remains close to the original. Composed for string quartet and baritone, the song is heard here in an arrangement for baritone and string orchestra
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 00:53:50
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | 38917 |
| Qualities | DSD 256 fs, DSD 128 fs, DSD 64 fs, DXD 24 Bit, FLAC 192 kHz, FLAC 96 kHz |
| Channels | 2ch Stereo, 5 Channel Surround Sound, 2ch Stereo & 5ch Surround |
| Artists | |
| Composers | |
| Genres | |
| Cables | van de Hul |
| Digital Converters | GRIMM A/D |
| Editing Software | Pyramix |
| Mastering Engineer | The recording was originally digitized using the Grimm AD1, which operates at DSD64. The original session tracks were edited and rebalanced (which meant going through the mixer) in the only available format for that purpose; the Pyramix 352.8KHz/24bit PCM (DXD). Prior to the advent of direct digital delivery, the next step in the production process from 352.8KHz/24bit PCM would be the DSD64 edited master for SACD production. What we have done now is also make a direct conversion to DSD128 and DSD256 from that original DXD edited master, without going through any interim processing steps. Those DXD to DSD conversions are not up-samplings, as they would be going from one PCM sampling rate to another, for they are different encoding systems. PCM is a digital value sample based system, and DSD is a digital bit density modulated system. Conversion from any PCM sample rate to any DSD bit rate system is a remodulation, not an up-sampling. We feel there is an audio advantage to this process in using the original files so we give you the choice and you can decide. Jared Sacks |
| Mastering Room | GRIMM LS1 |
| Microphones | Bruel & Kyaer, Schoeps |
| Mixing Board | Rens Heijnis custom made |
| Instruments | Double bass, Cello, Viola, Violin, Vocal |
| Original Recording Format | |
| Producer | Willem Bordes |
| Recording Engineer | Jared Sacks |
| Recording location | Vredenburg, Utrecht The Netherlands |
| Recording Software | Pyramix |
| Recording Type & Bit Rate | DSD64 |
| Release Date | January 13, 2017 |
Press reviews
Luister
Thomas Hampson zingt en Amsterdam Sinfonietta volgt hem – soms bijna als een tweede zanger – op de voet: dramatisch, lyrisch, breekbaar. Je hoort dat bariton en strijkorkest elkaar inspireren en meeslepen.
Klassik.com
(…) The introverted moments of which there are many succeed best and the culminating point ‘Dover Beach’ (…) is thus the natural soul of the production. However, another highlight is Wolf’s ‘Italian Serenade’ which shows the string orchestra in its best form. (…)
Klassieke Zaken ‘Aanbevolen’
Het unieke programma wordt sublime uitgevoerd door Hampson en Sinfonietta, aangevoerd door concertmeester Candida Thompson.
Pizzicato
Die verantwortliche Einbindung der Musiker führt zu einem sehr engagierten, feinsinnigen Spiel. Thomas Hampson singt charaktervoll mit viel Ausdruckskraft oder auch stimmungsvoll lyrisch. Auch stimmlich kann er seine Ansichten mühelos mit prächtigem Timbre und perfekter Textverständlichkeit begeistern.
Amadeus
Thomas Hampson (…) offre il suo talent interpretative con generosità; il timbre affascinante della sua voce si integra molto bene con il tessuto degli archi e la ricchezza della intenzioni e delle cure espressive riesce moltiplicata nel contest cameristico.
De Gelderlander
Solist en ensemble onderstrepen onder leiding van Candida Thompson de hoge mate van muzikale eensgezindheid die ze sinds de start van hun samen werking, precies twintig jaar geleden, gecultiveerd hebben.
een optimaal contrast tussen drama en lyriek
Hopelijk komt er nog een Tides of Life deel 2.
BBC Music Magazine
(…) the perfect foil for Hampson’s velvety sound.
4/5 performance
4/5 sound
Gramophone
(…) it makes for an enjoyable and often beguiling disc (…)
The playing of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta is brilliantly alive and responsive throughout, and their witty, rapier-sharp performance of Wolf’s Italian Serenade is guaranteed to raise a smile. Channel Classics’ engineering is immaculate.
The Guardian
It’s not only the singing of baritone Thomas Hampson, on top form, that makes this recital so enjoyable; it’s the affectionate new string arrangements, joyously played by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta – as leader Candida Thompson describes it, “a big string quartet” of two dozen players. All but one of the arrangements are by David Matthews, who adds texture and illumination to already radiant songs, refreshing these lilies without gilding them. Intertwining solo violins make the opening of Wolf’s song Anakreons Grab magical; squeaking strings conjure up the rodents in his Der Rattenfänger. Another highlight is Bob Zimmerman’s gossamer version of Schubert’s Ständchen (“Zögernd leise”), the echoes sung by a girls’ choir. Brahms’s Four Serious Songs find Matthews drawing on darker sonorities. Hampson, full of authority, ends on Barber’s masterly Dover Beach, which seems only to benefit from its quartet parts being lent the weight and security of a full string orchestra.
Opus Klassiek
Thomas Hampson lijkt een vanzelfsprekendheid: hij is inmiddels 61 en behoort nog steeds tot de beste liedzangers van dit moment. Zelfs als het er echt op aankomt (zoals in Wolfs ‘Rattenfänger’) zingt hij met zijn enorme ervaring in dit repertoire met gemak over de slijtplekken heen. Het Nationaal Vrouwen Jeugdkoor levert onder leiding van Wilma ten Wolde een kostelijke bijdrage aan Schuberts ‘Ständchen’, magisch bewerkt door Bob Zimmerman. (…) De opname is in de Jared Sacks-klasse. Wat dit betreft genoeg gezegd!
Dagblad van het Noorden
(…) eensgezind musiceren op hoog niveau (…)
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