Day 358: Songs X

BrahmsCD52A year ago, if someone had told me I’d be listening to 10 CDs in a row of Classical music songs sung in German I’d have laughed in her face.

But here I am, listening to 10 CDs in a row of Classical music songs sung in German.

But I’m not laughing.

Frankly, if I wanted to listen to this many CDs in a row that feature songs, I’d have picked The Eagles (granted, they only released seven studio albums; but I’m including their live albums and compilations) or The Beatles or Yes or even Grand Funk Railroad. (Okay. Now I’m laughing. Thinking about Grand Funk Railroad juxtaposed against Brahms’ songs gave me a hearty huckle.)

At least, the brilliant folks at Brilliant Classics have seen fit to alternate the CDs between male and female vocalists, even between vocal ranges, from CD to CD. That helps.

Today’s CD features 29 songs performed by baritone Michael Nagy and pianist Helmut Deutsch.

Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of both, 29 songs – over an hour! – of roughly the same tone and tempo can be tiring. It almost seems like I’ve been listening to the same track on repeat.

Again, that is not a reflection on Brilliant Classics, Mr. Nagy, or Mr. Deutsch. The recording is superb. The performances are remarkable. But I don’t speak German, and I’m not a fan of Classical vocal music.

Your mileage may vary.

Day 317: Cello Sonatas

BrahmsCD11I like things that are different.

Like most people who dig underground/alternative music, musicians, authors, books, or art, I like discovering stuff that’s a step or two outside the norm.

When it comes to music, I still flip out over Led Zeppelin, Rush, Queen, ELP, Yes, Bad Company, the Beatles, and Alice Cooper. But when I discover an obscure passage of music, or a quirky band – or rare instrument like the glass harmonica, which I discovered listening to Mozart’s compositions a few years back – I get all tingly.

That goes double for Classical music. Symphony after symphony after opera after opera bores me to tears. Especially if they all sound the same, which they often do.

That’s why I like piano sonatas, cello sonatas, and other compositions that open up the space between notes to let another instrument come forward, or a melody reveal itself. There’s usually an opportunity for the music to sound different, to be magical.

Usually.

Beethoven, for example, knew how to put air between notes, to let his compositions breathe. There’s no equivocation with Beethoven. His works are just powerful pieces of music that kick my ass.

Brahms, however, is another story.

In the case of Brahms’ cello sonatas (Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor Op. 38 and Cello Sonata No. 2 in F Op. 99), what we have is more notes, not necessarily something fundamentally different from everything else I’ve heard from him so far.

And that’s too bad, because the cello has the ability to dig really deep, to pluck emotional chords that can bring tears welling up in one’s eyes. It’s a mournful instrument. Combined with a piano – which can also be extremely emotional – such a sonata could be powerful stuff, indeed.

Although Movement I (“Allegro non troppo”) from Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor features Continue reading