This final volume in an exploration of the art of Irmgard Seefried, encompasses selections (arias and duets) from her oratorio recordings (Bach’s ‘St. Matthew Passion’, Haydn’s ‘Creation’ and Gounod’s ‘St. Cecilia Mass’) as well as the first issue on CD of her recording of Bach’s ‘Wedding’ Cantata. Seefried’s tonal purity, grace of phrase and care for a true, ‘bound’ legato made her a sought-after Bach singer. With her fresh, smiling tone and innate vivacity, Seefried was a natural for Haydn’s Creation, a work in which joy is of the essence. The disc concludes with the rapt ‘Gloria in excelsis’ from Gounod’s ‘Messe solennelle de Ste Cécile’.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Cantata, ‘Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten’, BWV 202*
Festival Strings Lucerne
Rudolf Baumgartner
St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244 (selections)
Münchener Bach-Chor
Münchener Chorknaben
Münchener Bach-Orchester
Karl Richter
JOSEPH HAYDN
Die Schöpfung, Hob. XXI:2 (selections)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Igor Markevitch
CHARLES GOUNOD
Messe solennelle de Ste Cécile: Gloria in excelsis
Czech Philharmonic Chorus & Orchestra
Igor Markevitch
Irmgard Seefried, soprano
*FIRST RELEASE ON CD
Executive Producer: Prof. Dr. Hans Hickmann (Bach: St. Matthew Passion)
Recording Producers: Hans Ritter (Bach: Cantata, BWV 202); Karl-Heinz Schneider (Bach: St. Matthew Passion); Wolfgang Lohse (Haydn); Hans Weber (Gounod)
Balance Engineers: Gerhard Henjes (Bach: Cantata, BWV 202); Werner Wolf (Bach: St. Matthew Passion); Alfred Steinke (Haydn); Günter Hermanns (Gounod)
Recording Locations: Schloss Klessheim, Salzburg, Austria, 2 August 1959 (Bach: Cantata, BWV 202); Herkules-Saal, Munich, Germany, June–August 1958 (Bach: St. Matthew Passion); Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, Germany, 6–11 May 1955 (Haydn); Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic, June 1965 (Gounod)
‘This is a sumptuously produced recording of the ‘St. Matthew Passion’ … Seefried’s fresh and clear soprano is invaluable in her arias’ (Bach: St. Matthew Passion) Gramophone
‘a grand performance … I cannot too highly recommend this splendid issue’ (Haydn) Gramophone
‘downright exquisite’ (Gounod) Fanfare