A Song - For Anything: Songs by Charles Ives
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Music CD Cover
Performer: Gerald FinleyComposer: Charles Ives
Performer: Julius Drake
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2005-10-11
Music Label: Hyperion UK
Free Music Notes for A Song - For Anything: Songs by Charles Ives
Free Music Review: One of the best recitals of 2005
Hit: 5 Stars
Over the years, the sparkling, quirky, haunting songs of Charles Ives have been interpreted by many of the world's great singers. I first encountered many of them through Jan DeGaetani's still-moving recording with Gilbert Kalish, which remains one of the best ever of some of these gems.
But now we have a stunning new collection from baritone Gerald Finley, with his fine pianist Julius Drake. They have created not only one of the most definitive readings of Ives' songs to date, but one of the finest recitals of the year, period. The pleasures and surprises are almost too many to list, beginning with Finley's mellifluous voice, immaculate diction, and theatricality that helps shape these songs with unusual clarity. As just one example, consider the first part of "Memories" called "Very Pleasant," evoking the anticipation of sitting in the audience, waiting for a performance to begin. As the final word, the singer blurts out, "Curtain!" and Finley is the only one I've heard who throws his voice far away, as if the shout is coming from one of the stagehands, waiting in the wings. Not only does this make the ending more prototypically "Ives-ian," but the song makes more sense with the unexpected change in point of view.
Some of the quieter songs are just ravishing, such as "Ich Grolle Nicht" and "When stars are in the quiet skies," both with intimacy and control to spare. One of my personal favorites, "Like a sick eagle" (text by Keats), shows Finley's exquisite precision in navigating quarter-tones, creating a languid image of a dying bird slowly circling in the air. Drake is more than just an accompanist in all of these, in piano parts that are often fiendishly complex, such as "General William Booth Enters into Heaven" or the marvelous "The Cage."
The winsome "Ann Street" and poignant "The Greatest Man" both end abruptly, with tiny offhand phrases that Finley nails perfectly. And there are treasures such as the rarely recorded "Slugging a Vampire" -- as swift as the title might indicate -- and the equally delightful "1,2,3."
One could go on and on in endless detail about the entire array of 31 songs (chosen from the 114 available), but the best thing is just to get to the most pleasant part: listening. If I have a small quibble (and make no mistake, it is very small), it is that Hyperion's gorgeous, rather tranquil cover art gives no clue to Ives' wild imagination, and to the blazing work by his two outstanding interpreters here. (It looks more like a cover for something by Delius.) But it hardly matters, when both of these artists are in such rapturous form -- and captured so effectively by Hyperion's engineers. The sound, recorded in All Saints Church, East Finchley (London) is a model for projects of this kind. A release that is sure to go down as one of the finest Ives recordings ever.
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