Credits:

Hindemith (1895-1963)

Description:

German soprano Juliane Banse has a uniquely deep voice and can sing everything from contemporary to classical music. Her singing of a series of Romantic works and her strong presence in religious works leave an unforgettable impression once heard. On this album, Banse tackles Hindemith's 1923 song cycle "The Life of Mary. The collection of 15 poems by Rilke faithfully recounts the Virgin Mary from her birth to her death, and Hindemith composed music for these poems that combines the bewitching of Wagner and the delicacy of Debussy. Hindemith's style at the time was quite avant-garde, and both the piano accompaniment and the singing were difficult to perform, so Hindemith himself later revised the music in 1948. The first version is more often performed because it is more familiar to the ear, but the famous Glenn Gould appreciated the first version more highly, and this performance by Banse is also sung in the first version. Naxos Japan