[ Warner Classics / EMI Icon / 7 CD Box Set ]
Release Date: Saturday 1 November 2008
This item is only available to us via Special Order. We should be able to get it to you in 3 - 6 weeks from when you order it.
"Seven discs well-filled with 'The Voice of an Angel' may seem a daunting prospect. However with beauty of tone, charming delivery and the singer's communicative personality there isn't a dull moment."
(Bargain of the Month MusicWeb April 2009)
"Seven discs well-filled with 'The Voice of an Angel' may seem a daunting prospect. However with beauty of tone, charming delivery and the singer's communicative personality there isn't a dull moment. There is anyway no need to play it through from beginning to end. This box is a treasure-trove to pick and choose from and as such it should last a lifetime."
(Bargain of the Month MusicWeb April 2009)
The distinguished Spanish soprano Victoria de los Angeles (1923-2005) was one of the best-loved classical singers of the second half of the 20th century. With a voice of exceptional beauty, she sang a wide range of operatic roles, a surprisingly large repertoire of German and French songs as well as the music of her native Spain, which she always included in her concerts. She made many recordings for EMI, with whom she had an exclusive contract for the major part of her career, and this collection brings together some of the finest of her recorded performances.
Each of the 7 CDs covers a separate part of the singer's repertory, beginning with her early recordings of operatic arias, Spanish songs and Bachianas brasileiras No.5, for which the composer Villa Lobos specially chose de los Angeles for his authoritative recording in 1956. Among the items on CD 1 are two arias from Falla's opera La vida breve, in which the singer caused a sensation in the UK when she first sang it on the BBC in 1948.
CD 2 covers Italian opera and includes de los Angeles' exquisite Mimì from a famous recording of La bohème under Sir Thomas Beecham. Her partner in La bohème, the inimitable Jussi Björling, also appears with her in Pagliacci and Madama Butterfly, and the disc ends with de los Angeles as Violetta in La traviata.
CD 3 is devoted to French opera, including Massenet's Manon and Gounod's Faust and concludes with a generous selection from Bizet's Carmen featuring Nicolai Gedda as Don José and conducted by Beecham.
CD 4 begins with a selection of popular songs with German, French, English, Italian and Spanish words, performed in orchestral arrangements by Douglas Gamley. These are followed by an attractive group of arias from zarzuelas, the Spanish form of light opera.
CD 5 is devoted entirely to a selection of Canteloube's Chants d'Auvergne.
CD 6 begins with French Art Songs, followed by duets with the German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau covering compositions by Purcell, Haydn, J. C. Bach, Beethoven, Dvorák and Tchaikovsky. It concludes with two pieces recorded live at the concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London on 20 February 1968 in which de los Angeles performed with Fischer-Dieskau and the soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf to pay homage to that doyen of accompanists, Gerald Moore.
CD 7 is devoted to music of Spain, which was never absent from the singer's recitals, and to which her audiences looked forward with special anticipation. Near the end of the disc she is heard accompanying herself on the guitar in the song 'Adiós, Granada', which she often performed as the final encore at her recitals. The programme ends with two songs by Granados recorded live at a recital at Hunter College, New York, in 1971 in which the accompanist is the Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha.
CD 1
The Early Recordings
GIUSEPPE VERDI 1813-1901
1 Surta è la notte…Ernani! Ernani, involami (Ernani, Act I)
2 Era più calmo…Piangea cantando (Otello, Act IV)
3 Ave Maria (Otello, Act IV)
GIOACHINO ROSSINI 1792-1868
4 Nacqui all'affano…Non più mesta (La Cenerentola, Act II)
PIETRO MASCAGNI 1863-1945
5 Voi lo sapete, o mamma (Cavalleria rusticana)
ALFREDO CATALANI 1854-1893
6 Ebben? ne andrò lontana (La Wally, Act I)
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART 1756-1791
7 Porgi, amor (Le nozze di Figaro, Act II)
RICHARD WAGNER 1813-1883
8 Dich teure Halle (Tannhäuser, Act II)
9 Einsam in trüben Tagen (Lohengrin, Act I)
Gianella Borelli mezzo-soprano (2)
Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma / Giuseppe Morelli
MANUEL DE FALLA 1876-1946
La vida breve (Shaw)
10 Vivan los que rien! (Act I)
11 Alli está! Riyendo (Act II)
Philharmonia Orchestra / Stanford Robinson
JOAQUÍN TURINA 1882-1949
12 Saeta en formas de Salve (S. & J. Quintero)
13 Poema en forma de canciones (Campoamor) -
III. Cantares
Philharmonia Orchestra / Walter Susskind
HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS 1887-1959
Bachianas brasileiras No.5
14 I: Aria (Cantilena) (1938)
15 II: Dança (Martelo) (1945)
Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française /
Heitor Villa-Lobos
CD 2
Great Italian Operas
GIACOMO PUCCINI 1858-1924
La bohème (Illica & Giacosa)
1 Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì (Act I)
2 O soave fanciulla (Act I)
3 Addio…D'onde lieta uscì (Act III)
Jussi Björling tenor · Robert Merrill baritone (2)
RCA Victor Orchestra / Sir Thomas Beecham
VERDI
4 Come in quest'ora bruna (Simon Boccanegra, Act I)
Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma / Gabriele Santini
RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO 1858-1919
5 Quel fiamma…Hui! Stridono lassù (Pagliacci)
RCA Victor Orchestra / Renato Cellini
PUCCINI
6 Senza mamma (Suor Angelica)
Orchestra del Teatro dell Opera di Roma / Tullio Serafin
PUCCINI
7 O mio babbino caro (Gianni Schicchi)
Orchestra del Teatro dell Opera di Roma / Gabriele Santini
ROSSINI
8 Una voce poco fa (Il barbiere di Siviglia, Act I)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Vittorio Gui
VERDI
La traviata (Piave)
9 Libiamo (Brindisi) (Act I)
10 È strano!…Ah, fors'è lui…Sempre libera (Act I)
11 Teneste la promessa…Addio del passato (Act III)
Carlo del Monte tenor (9 & 10)
Coro e Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma / Tullio Serafin
PUCCINI
Madama Butterfly (Illica & Giacosa)
12 Quanto cielo!…Ancora un passo or via (Act I)
13 Bimba dagli occhi (Act I)
14 Un bel dì vedremo (Act II)
15 Con onor muore (Act II)
Jussi Björling tenor (13 & 15) · Mario Sereni baritone (12)
Coro e Orchestra del Theatro dell'Opera di Roma /
Gabriele Santini
CD 3
Great French Operas
JULES MASSENET 1842-1912
Manon (Meilhac & Gille)
1 Allons !...Adieu, notre petite table (Act II) (O'Reilly)
2 Je marche sur tous les chemins…Obéissons (Act III) (O'Reilly)
Chœurs et Orchestre du Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique
Pierre Monteux
CHARLES GOUNOD 1818-1893
Faust (Barbier & Carré)
3 Un bouquet !…Ô Dieu ! que de bijoux !...Ah ! je ris (Act III)
4 Il se fait tard !... Ô nuit d'amour (Act III)
5 Ah ! c'est la voix du bien-aimé !...Anges pur (Act V)
Nicolai Gedda tenor (4 & 5) · Boris Christoff bass (4 & 5)
Orchestre du Théâtre National de l'Opéra / André Cluytens
MASSENET
Werther (Blau, Milliet & Hartmann)
6 Werther ! Werther ! …Ces letters (Act III)
7 Va ! laisse couler mes larmes !...Les larmes qu'on ne pleure pas (Act III)
Orchestre de Paris / Georges Prêtre
JACQUES OFFENBACH 1819-1880
8 Elle a fui, la tourterelle (Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Act IV)
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire /
André Cluytens
GEORGES BIZET 1838-1875
Carmen (Meilhac & Halévy)
9 Quand je vous aimerai ?...L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera) (Act I)
10 Près des ramparts de Séville (Seguédille) (Act I)
11 Les tringles des sistres tintaient (Chanson bohème) (Act II)
12 Voyons, que j'essaie à mon tour (Act III)
13 C'est toi ! C'est moi ! (Act IV)
Nicolai Gedda tenor (10 & 13) ·
Denise Monteil soprano (11 & 12)
Marcelle Croisier & Monique Linval mezzo-sopranos
(11 & 12)
Matrise, Chœurs et Orchestre National da la Radiodiffusion Française
Sir Thomas Beecham
CD 4
Popular Songs &
Zarzuela Arias
FELIX MENDELSSOHN 1809-1847
1 Auf Flügeln des Gesanges Op.34, No.2 (Heine)
EDVARD GRIEG 1843-1897
2 Ich liebe dich Op.5 No.3 (Andersen trnsl. Holstein)
JOHANNES BRAHMS 1833-1897
3 Wiegenlied Op.49 No.4 (Scherer)
ANTONÍN DVORÁK 1841-1904
4 Als die alte Mutter Op.55 No.4 (Heyduk)
JEAN-PAUL MARTINI 1741-1816
5 Plaisir d'amour (Florian)
REYNALDO HAHN 1875-1947
6 L'Enamourée (de Banville)
LÉO DELIBES 1836-1891
7 Les filles de Cadix (de Musset)
Traditional arr. Stanford 1852-1924
8 An Irish Lullaby (Graves)
GENI SADERO 1886-1961
9 Era la vo (Sicilian lullaby)
SEBASTIÁN IRADIER 1809-1865
10 La paloma
JAYME OVALLE 1894-1955
11 Azulão (Bandeira)
PABLO LUNA 1880-1942
12 De España vengo (El niño judío)
RUPERTO CHAPÍ 1851-1909
13 Carceleras (Las hijas del Zebedeo)
Sinfonia of London / Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
JERÓNIMO GIMÉNEZ 1854-1923
La tempranica
14 Zapateado
15 Canción de la tempranica
CHAPÍ
16 Canción de Pastora (La patria chica)
17 Canción de la gitana (La chavala)
FEDERICO CHUECA 1846-1908 ·
JOAQUÍN VALVERDE 1846-1910
La gran vía
18 Tango de la menegilda
19 Chotís del eliseo madrilène
JOSÉ SERRANO 1873-1941
20 Romanza de Gloria (Los de Aragón)
21 Canción de la gitana (La alegría del batallón)
22 Escena lírica (Los claveles)
VICENTE LEÓ 1870-1922
23 Couplets babilónicos (La corte del Faraón)
FERNÁNDEZ CABALLERO 1835-1906
24 Romanza de Pilar (Gigantes y cabezudos)
FRANCISCO BARBIERI 1823-1894
25 Canción de Paloma (El barberillo de Lavapiés)
Coro de Cámara del Real (15 & 19)
Profesores de la Orquesta Nacional de España
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
CD 5
Chants d'Auvergne
Chants d'Auvergne arr, Joseph Canteloube 1879-1957
1 La Pastoura als camps (Series I, No.1)
2 Baïléro (I/2)
Trois Bourrées (I/3)
3 1. L'aïo dè rotso
4 2. Ound' onorèn gorda
5 3. Obal, din lou Limouzi
6 L'Antouèno (II/2)
7 La Pastrouletta è lou Chibalié (II/3)
8 La Délaïssádp (II/4)
9 Lo Calhé (Bourrée)
10 Lo Fiolairé (III/1)
11 Passo pel prat (Grande) (III/2)
12 Lou Boussu (III/3)
13 Brezairola (III/4)
14 Malurous qu'o uno fenno (Bourrée) (III/5)
15 Oï, ayaï (IV/2)
16 Pour l'enfant (IV/3)
17 Chut, chut (IV/4)
18 Pastorale (IV/5)
19 Lou Coucut (IV/6)
20 Obal, din lo coumbèle (V/1)
21 Là-haut, sur le rocher (V/3)
22 Hé! beyla-z-y dau fé (Bourrée) (V/4)
23 Tè, l'co, tè! (V/6)
24 Uno jionto postouro (Regret) (V/7)
Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux / Jean-Pierre Jacquillat
CD 6
Art Songs and Lieder
MAURICE RAVEL 1875-1937
1 La Flûte enchantée (Shéhérazade)
HENRI DUPARC 1848-1933
2 L'Invitation au voyage
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire /
Georges Prêtre
CLAUDE DEBUSSY 1862-1918
Fêtes galantes (1er recueil)
3 En sourdine
4 Fantoches
5 Clair de lune
HAHN
6 Trois jours de vendange
7 Le Rossignol des lilas
GABRIEL FAURÉ 1845-1924
8 Tristesse, Op.6, No.2
9 Au bord de l'eau Op.8, No.1
10 Les Roses d'Ispahan Op.39, No.4
11 Toujours (No.2 de Trois Poèmes d'un jour Op.21)
Gonzalo Soriano piano
ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI 1660-1725
12 Le violette
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL 1685-1759
13 O! had I Jubal's lyre (Joshua)
FRANZ SCHUBERT 1797-1828
14 Der Tod und das Mädchen D531
15 Wohin? (No.2 from Die schöne Müllerin, D795)
16 An die Musik D547
BRAHMS
17 Dein blaues Auge Op.59, No.8
18 Vergebliches Ständchen Op.84, No.4
Gerald Moore piano
HENRY PURCELL 1659-1695
19 Let us wander (arr. Moffat)
20 Lost is my quiet (arr. Moffat)
JOSEPH HAYDN 1732-1809
21 Schlaf in deiner engen Kammer
JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH 1735-1782
22 Ah! lamenta, oh bella Irene
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 1770-1827
Irish Songs
23 Oh! would I were but that sweet linnet WoO154, No.9
24 He promised me at parting WoO154, No.12
25 They bid me slight my Dermot dear WoO152, No.18
DVORÁK
26 Möglichkeit Op.38, No.1
27 Der Apfel Op.38, No.2
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY 1840-1893
28 Schottische Ballade Op.46, No.2
Dietrich-Fischer Dieskau baritone
Eduard Drolc violin (21, 23 & 25) ·
Irmgard Poppen cello (21, 23 & 25)
Gerald Moore piano
BRAHMS
29 Sapphische Ode Op.94, No.4
MOZART
30 La Partenza K436
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf soprano (30) ·
Dietrich Fischer Dieskau baritone (30)
Gerald Moore piano
CD 7
Songs of Spain
FALLA
1 El sombrero de tres picos - Introduction
Philharmonia Orchestra with Chorus /
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
El amor brujo
2 Canción del amor dolido
3 Canción del fuego fatuo
4 Danza del juego de amor
5 Final: Las campanas del amanecer
Philharmonia Orchestra / Carlo Maria Giulini
Siete canciones populares españolas
6 El paño moruno
7 Seguidilla murciana
8 Asturiana
9 Jota
10 Nana
11 Canción
12 Polo
Gonzalo Soriano piano
XAVIER MONTSALVATGE 1912-2002
Cinco canciones negras (1946)
13 Cuba dentro de un piano (Alberti)
14 Chévre (Guillén)
15 Punto de habanera (Lujan)
16 Canción de cuna para dormer a un negrito (Valdes)
17 Canto negro (Guillén)
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Canciones Sefardíes arr. Manuel Valls 1920-1984
18 La rosa enflorece
19 Ven querida
20 Adió, querida
21 Durme, durme, hermozo hijico
22 Paxaro d'hermosura
23 Avrix, mi galanica
24 Irme quiero, la mi madre
25 Ya viene el cativo
26 Yo m'enamori d'un aire
27 Una matica de ruda
Jean-Claude Gérard flute · Oscar Ghiglia guitar
Canciones populares españolas arr.
Federico Garcia Lorca 1899-1936
28 Anda, jaleo
29 Los cuatro muleros
30 Las tres hojas
31 Los mozos de Monleón
32 Las morillas de Jaén
33 Sevillanas del siglo XVIII
Miguel Zanetti piano
EDUARDO TOLDRÁ 1895-1962
34 Cançó de grumet (A l'ombra del Leidoner)
Gonzalo Soriano piano
ENRIQUE GRANADOS 1867-1916
Colección de tonadillas, escritas en estilo antiguo (Periquet)
35 2 Callejeo
36 7 El tra la la y el punteado
JESÚS GURIDI 1886-1961
37 Jota (Seis canciones castellanas, No.5)
Gerald Moore piano
GRANADOS
38 La maja y el ruiseñor (Goyescas)
New Philharmonia Orchestra / Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
VALVERDE
39 Clavelitos! (Cadenas)
JOAQUÍN NIN 1879-1949
40 Granadina (Cantos populares españolas, No.7)
Gerald Moore piano
TOMÁS BARRERA 1870-1938 ·
RAFAEL CALLEJA 1874-1938
41 Adiós, Granada (Cases) (arr. Victoria de los Angeles)
Victoria de los Angeles guitar
GRANADOS
Canciones amatorias (Traditional)
42 Iban al pinar
43 Gracia mía
Alicia de Larrocha piano