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10-29-2013, 12:15 AM
Dmitri Shostakovich - Complete Songs Vol. 1-2-3-4-5 (2002/2003/2004/2005, FLAC)
Dmitri Shostakovich - Complete Songs Vol. 1(Biryukova, Evtodieva, Kuznetsov, Lukonin, Serov) (2002, FLAC)
(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/12/ti4z.jpg/)
Tracks:
01. TWO ROMANCES, Op.84 (Lermontov): A Morning in the Caucasus [0:03:13.69]
02. -- Ballad [0:05:53.11]
03. FOUR SONGS, Op.86 (Dolmatovsky): The Motherland hears [0:02:36.29]
04. -- Rescue me [0:02:11.45]
05. -- Loves - or loves not [0:02:12.63]
06. -- Lullaby [0:02:52.31]
07. FOUR MONOLOGUES, Op.91 (Pushkin): A Fragment [0:05:54.15]
08. -- What's in my name to you?� [0:02:30.25]
09. -- In the depth of Siberian mines� [0:03:04.21]
10. -- Parting [0:02:33.19]
11. GREEK SONGS: Forward! [0:02:19.08]
12. -- Penthosalis [0:01:42.02]
13. -- Zolongo (folk song) [0:03:42.45]
14. -- The Hymn of ELLAS [0:01:14.72]
15. FIVE SONGS, Op.98 (Dolmatovsky): The Day of Meeting [0:02:16.60]
16. -- The Day of Declaration [0:02:16.29]
17. -- The Day of Grievances [0:03:27.14]
18. -- The Day of Joy [0:02:07.33]
19. -- The Day of Memories [0:02:24.22]
20. SPANISH SONGS, Op.100: Farewell to Granada [0:03:43.17]
21. -- Little Stars [0:02:07.48]
22. -- The First Time I Met You [0:03:36.42]
23. -- Ronda [0:01:59.54]
24. -- Black-Eyed Girl [0:02:44.38]
25. -- Dream [0:02:13.64]
This first volume of a five CD collection that will be the first ever complete survey devoted to the composer's songs offers a substantial amount of previously unrecorded material. Shostakovich's vocal works were written during a turbulent and poignant time for the composer. The Communist Party Committee's cataclysmic decree in 1948 forced him to write music accessible to the broad masses of working people, a devastating blow that he did not feel strong enough to resist. The result is a group of song cycles written in a simple and direct musical language, far from the complex and modern chamber and symphonic music for which Shostakovich was known, but that at the same time reveals a little-known facet of his genius.
Shostakovich's song cycles are set to the extraordinary lyrics of three of Russia's greatest poets - Pushkin, Lermontov and Dolmatovsky. Pushkin is represented by four unusually tragic and mournful "monologues" matched by the composer's rather depressed and anxiety-laden music, written in 1952 towards the end of Stalin's horrible regime. By contrast are Two Romances to Lyrics by M. Lermontov, Shostakovich's only settings of the Russian poet known as a rebel romantic, a "Russian Lord Byron." The heroic lyrics are offset by the well-measured and emotional restraint of the music which recalls the 19th vocal works of Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Mussorgsky, and Balakirev. Shostakovich developed a friendship with Evgeny Dolmatovsky after a chance meeting on a Moscow - Leningrad train journey. The Four Songs, Op. 86, includes one of Russia's most popular songs of the era, "Motherland Hears," which for decades was a theme tune for the All Union Radio. It was also sung to a broadcast audience of millions by Yuri Gagarin during the first manned space flight. The simple, clear and touching "romances" based on five Dolmatovsky lyrical poems of love and friendship were influenced by Shostakovich's second wife who had recognized the soft side of her husband's character. In addition to addressing native folk themes in his songs, Shostakovich turned to other cultures popular in Russia at the time - those of Spain and Greece. Spanish Songs, Op. 100 were inspired by a soulful tape recording of a Spanish orphan, many of whom arrived in Moscow after the Communist resistance was defeated by Franco's regime. Greek Songs reveal the composer's sympathy with the heroes of the Greek resistance.
Dmitri Shostakovich - Complete Songs Vol. 2 (Kuznetsov, Evtodieva, Kovalenko, Molokina, Sokolova, Serov) (2002, FLAC)
(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/43/a7cx.jpg/)
Tracks:
01. PREFACE TO THE COMPLETE EDITION OF MY WORKS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS PREFACE, Op.123 [0:02:57.36]
02. FIVE ROMANCES ON TEXTS FROM KROKODIL MAGAZINE, Op.121: Autographic Evidence [0:03:36.13]
03. -- A Hard Wish to Fulfil [0:01:16.13]
04. -- Discretion [0:01:29.27]
05. -- Irinka and the Shepherd [0:01:22.61]
06. -- Exaggerated Delight [0:01:44.39]
07. SEVEN SONGS ON POEMS BY ALEXANDER BLOK, Op.127: Ophelia's Song [0:03:13.02]
08. -- Gamauyn the Soothsaying Bird (Picture by V. Vasnetsov) [0:03:46.48]
09. -- We were together [0:02:58.74]
10. -- The city sleeps [0:03:13.48]
11. -- The Tempest [0:02:19.28]
12. -- Secret Signs [0:05:01.20]
13. -- Music [0:04:59.18]
14. SIX POEMS OF MARINA TSVETAYEVA, Op.143: My Verses [0:02:58.63]
15. -- Whence all this tenderness? [0:03:24.10]
16. -- Dialogue between Hamlet and his conscience [0:02:55.24]
17. -- The Poet and the Czar [0:01:38.60]
18. -- No, the drum did beat [0:02:56.23]
19. -- To Anna Akhmatova [0:05:33.30]
20. FOUR VERSES BY CAPTAIN LEBYADKIN, Op.146: Captain Lebyadkin's Love [0:04:15.65]
21. -- The Cockroach [0:03:48.00]
22. -- A costume ball for the benefit of governessess [0:02:07.47]
23. -- A luminous personality [0:02:02.39]
Delos continues its unparalleled Russian Romances Series with Dmitri Shostakovich: Vocal Cycles of the Last Years, the second release in a five-volume series encapsulating the first complete recorded survey of the songs of the great Russian composer. Two of the five works on Vocal Cycles of the Last Years are CD premieres. The five vocal cycles presented here were written during the last decade of Shostakovich's life when the composer was experiencing unprecedented success and prosperity. He had achieved international fame and finally found favor with the Soviet authorities. Contemplating his harrowing life and career from a new perspective, he gained the ability to speak his mind without fear. The result was a collection of utterly poignant, passionate and personal vocal music expertly integrating poetical, literary and musical expression. A Foreword to my Complete Works and a Brief Contemplation with Respect to this Foreword, which appears on CD for the first time, was written by Shostakovich for a concert dedicated to his own 60th anniversary. The text enumerates the many and varied titles lavished upon the composer by the Soviet state, masterfully manipulated by painfully ironic music. Five Romances to Words from Krokodil Magazine mocks the mundane vulgarity and stupidity inherent in the letters of common folk submitted to the popular comic publication. Rather than a simple musical adaptation of hideous human absurdities, Shostakovich creates a vibrant and vivid theatrical piece. The multilayered poetry of Alexander Blok are matched by Shostakovich's instrumentation in Seven Poems by A. Blok - A Vocal and Instrumental Suite for Soprano, Violin, Cello and Piano. The songs' simplicity and austerity belie the poet's passionate verse. In the smoky Six Poems by Marina Tsvetayeva, Shostakovich must have felt slightly smug at setting the Tsvetayevan prophecy in the opening poem My Verses - "My verses, like vintage wines, will have their time." For his final song cycle, Shostakovich found inspiration in Dostoyevsky's novel The Demons, for which the author was condemned by Soviet literary critics and which echoed many of the composer's own private trials and reflections. The subject of Four Poems of Captain Lebyadkin, is a rather repulsive character whose traits Shostakovich masterminds into a miniature magnum opus of mockery, at the same time allowing the composer to liberate himself of the inner pains experienced over the previous decades. Here Shostakovich fuses literature, ideology, satire, parody, theater and music into an absolutely new genre of vocal art.
Dmitri Shostakovich - Complete Songs - Volume 3 (2003, FLAC)
(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/62/3no6.jpg/)
Tracks:
01. Two fables by Ivan Krylov - The Dragon Fly and the Ant [0:02:42.49]
02. Two fables by Ivan Krylov - The Donkey and the Nightingale [0:04:54.15]
03. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - Love [0:02:44.42]
04. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - Before the Suicide [0:02:08.32]
05. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - An Immodest Glance [0:00:54.26]
06. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - The First and the Last Time [0:03:29.48]
07. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - Hopeless Love [0:02:20.56]
08. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - Death [0:02:22.52]
09. Four Romances to Words by A. S. Pushkin - Renaissance [0:02:24.74]
10. Four Romances to Words by A. S. Pushkin - Weeping Bitterly [0:01:39.20]
11. Four Romances to Words by A. S. Pushkin - Anticipation [0:02:45.07]
12. Four Romances to Words by A. S. Pushkin - Stanzas [0:05:51.42]
13. Hamlet- Ophelia's Song [0:01:53.49]
14. King Lear - Cordelia's Ballad [0:02:23.18]
15. King Lear - The Fool's Song [0:09:38.72]
16. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - Sir Walter Raleigh to his Sonne [0:04:08.06]
17. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - Oh Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast [0:02:36.09]
18. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - Macpherson's Farewell [0:02:18.16]
19. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - Jenny [0:01:34.72]
20. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - Sonnet LXVI by W. Shakespeare [0:02:51.29]
21. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - The King's Campaign [0:00:48.09]
Delos adds to its acclaimed Russian Songs Series with the third volume of the Shostakovich Complete Song Collection, Dmitri Shostakovich Early Works, 1922-1942. Critical responses to the first two installments of this series have been unprecedented. Gramophone magazine called the new series "A winner!" BBC Magazine awarded the first two releases four stars for both performance and sound. International Record Review concluded that the Shostakovich series adds up to "a true testament to a musician who remained his own man despite the worst the state might threaten him with." The twenty one song entries in this third volume were all composed between 1922 and 1942, the first when Shostakovich was only 16, the last during the second World War when he was still a relatively youthful 36. During this twenty year period Shostakovich had experienced post-revolution near-starvation, had triumphed in the mid '30s with his early symphonies and his daring opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, had been denounced by Stalin, ostracized by his colleagues, restored to favor with his 5th Symphony, and finally succeeded in achieving an uneasy balance between his own integrity as an artist and the compromises he had to make to meet the state's demands for conformity. Then came World War II and the German invasion of Russia in 1941... certainly a kaleidoscopic two decades reflected to some degree in the diversity of these songs. The first songs, Two Fables by Ivan Krylov, were ideal material for the youthful Shostakovich's use of irony, narrative utterance and his unique contrasting of musical images. The teen-aged artist was surely amused, filling these tiny musical scores with donkey braying, nightingale trills, and with abrupt leaps in harmony and rhythm. The Six Romances on Lyrics by Japanese Poets, composed at the same time Shostakovich was working on his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, are dedicated to his soon-to-be wife Nina Varza, and reflect his youthful passion. It has been said "he desired to deliver the love theme in a new way... a love that knew no bounds." These songs do not contain anything superficial or showy. Though outspokenly erotic, the love messages more often than not are permeated with motives of despair and death. Four Romances on Words by Alexander?Pushkin are a tribute for the 100th anniversary of the poet's death (Jan. 10, 1937). The use of Pushkin's harmonious, wise and classically perfect poetry served Shostakovich as a kind of creative refuge during the terrible period of his persecution by the government and betrayal by even close friends. Indirectly, through Pushkin's verse, he was able to speak out concerning the true aims of art and eternal questions of life and death. Shostakovich's theater music has artistic value and importance far exceeding its popularity. Much of it remains little known, some of it is lost forever. Ophelia's Song from a 1932 production of Hamlet and two selections from a 1941 production of King Lear are vivid examples of Shostakovich's theatrical style of the thirties and forties. To quote Shostakovich himself, "Shakespeare's tragedies are amazingly musical in themselves... music is born out of the very poetry and dynamic of these tragedies." Shostakovich's unique individuality is manifest in the dramatic sculpturing of the images and in the animated vocal intonations. The final group of Six Romances on Verses of Walter Raleigh, Robert Burns, and William Shakespeare date from 1942 wartime, a period when it seemed quite appropriate for a Russian composer to use English verse - Great Britain being an ally in the war against Hitler. The fatherly advice in the Raleigh poem, the populist sentiments in the Burns, and the profound thoughts embedded in Shakespeare's Sonnet LXVI, are capped by the final two-line King's Campaign (a folk song adaptation), lightening with a momentary bright sparkle the darkness of the preceding Sonnet.Delos adds to its acclaimed Russian Songs Series with the third volume of the Shostakovich Complete Song Collection, Dmitri Shostakovich Early Works, 1922-1942. Critical responses to the first two installments of this series have been unprecedented. Gramophone magazine called the new series "A winner!" BBC Magazine awarded the first two releases four stars for both performance and sound. International Record Review concluded that the Shostakovich series adds up to "a true testament to a musician who remained his own man despite the worst the state might threaten him with." The twenty one song entries in this third volume were all composed between 1922 and 1942, the first when Shostakovich was only 16, the last during the second World War when he was still a relatively youthful 36. During this twenty year period Shostakovich had experienced post-revolution near-starvation, had triumphed in the mid '30s with his early symphonies and his daring opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, had been denounced by Stalin, ostracized by his colleagues, restored to favor with his 5th Symphony, and finally succeeded in achieving an uneasy balance between his own integrity as an artist and the compromises he had to make to meet the state's demands for conformity. Then came World War II and the German invasion of Russia in 1941... certainly a kaleidoscopic two decades reflected to some degree in the diversity of these songs. The first songs, Two Fables by Ivan Krylov, were ideal material for the youthful Shostakovich's use of irony, narrative utterance and his unique contrasting of musical images. The teen-aged artist was surely amused, filling these tiny musical scores with donkey braying, nightingale trills, and with abrupt leaps in harmony and rhythm. The Six Romances on Lyrics by Japanese Poets, composed at the same time Shostakovich was working on his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, are dedicated to his soon-to-be wife Nina Varza, and reflect his youthful passion. It has been said "he desired to deliver the love theme in a new way... a love that knew no bounds." These songs do not contain anything superficial or showy. Though outspokenly erotic, the love messages more often than not are permeated with motives of despair and death. Four Romances on Words by Alexander?Pushkin are a tribute for the 100th anniversary of the poet's death (Jan. 10, 1937). The use of Pushkin's harmonious, wise and classically perfect poetry served Shostakovich as a kind of creative refuge during the terrible period of his persecution by the government and betrayal by even close friends. Indirectly, through Pushkin's verse, he was able to speak out concerning the true aims of art and eternal questions of life and death. Shostakovich's theater music has artistic value and importance far exceeding its popularity. Much of it remains little known, some of it is lost forever. Ophelia's Song from a 1932 production of Hamlet and two selections from a 1941 production of King Lear are vivid examples of Shostakovich's theatrical style of the thirties and forties. To quote Shostakovich himself, "Shakespeare's tragedies are amazingly musical in themselves... music is born out of the very poetry and dynamic of these tragedies." Shostakovich's unique individuality is manifest in the dramatic sculpturing of the images and in the animated vocal intonations. The final group of Six Romances on Verses of Walter Raleigh, Robert Burns, and William Shakespeare date from 1942 wartime, a period when it seemed quite appropriate for a Russian composer to use English verse - Great Britain being an ally in the war against Hitler. The fatherly advice in the Raleigh poem, the populist sentiments in the Burns, and the profound thoughts embedded in Shakespeare's Sonnet LXVI, are capped by the final two-line King's Campaign (a folk song adaptation), lightening with a momentary bright sparkle the darkness of the preceding Sonnet.
Dmitri Shostakovich - Complete Songs - Volume 4 (2004, FLAC)
(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/547/wlwx.jpg/)
Tracks:
01. The Counter-Plan Song (Kornilov, from the film The Counter-Plan) [0:02:07.17]
02. Tender Girl Song (Vasillev, from the film The First Train) [0:02:37.10]
03. The Dawn is Rising (Dolmatovsky, from the film Meeting at the Elbe) [0:01:40.09]
04. The Song of Peace (Dolmatovsky, from the film The Fall of Berlin) [0:03:04.61]
05. TWO SONGS, Op.72 (Svetlov): Lullaby [0:02:53.17]
06. -- The Little Lantern Song [0:02:10.61]
07. WE HAD KISSES (Dolmatovsky) [0:02:22.41]
08. SPRING, SPRING�, Op.128 (Pushkin) [0:02:25.02]
09. SATIRES, Op.109 (Pictures of The Past) (Chorny): To a Critic [0:01:27.56]
10. -- The Awakening of Spring [0:02:48.25]
11. -- Descendants [0:02:12.15]
12. -- Confusion [0:05:11.64]
13. -- Kreutzer Sonata [0:04:14.36]
14. RAYOK (Anti-Formalist Peep-Show - Shostakovich) [0:19:51.51]
This is the fourth volume of the complete edition of Shostakovich Songs: The Unknown Shostakovich, which includes songs from motion pictures, Satires to Words by Sasha Chorny and the soloist-with-chorus work Anti-Formalistic Raree Show. As with the previous series offerings, Volume Four: The Unknown Shostakovich features impressive and impassioned performances by Victoria Evtodieva, Fyodor Kuznetsov, Liudmila Shkirtil and the piano and direction of Yuri Serov. Volume Four is made up of pieces that are quite varied. The remarkable and evocative song cycle Satires To Words By Sasha Chorny mixes ironic lyrics with folk themes, dances and musical theater. 'Spring, Spring' allows the listener to explore the lyric beauty of Pushkin's lyrics just as the single-act satiric opera/cantata Anti-Formalistic Raree Show (Shostakovich's creative response to the repressive Resolutions passed by the Communist Party Central Committee in 1948) illustrates and comments satirically on the political and artistic worlds that Shostakovich had to balance.
The music of Shostakovich cannot be viewed apart from the times in which he lived. This significant point continues to intrigue his listeners and promotes timely reflections on the current turbulent world climate. Critics and consumers alike have always been drawn to the genius and relevance of Shostakovich's music and that is why this release belongs in every serious classical collection.
Dmitri Shostakovich - Complete Songs - Volume 5 (2005, FLAC)
(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/7/w6vi.jpg/)
Tracks:
01. FROM JEWISH FOLK POETRY, Op.79: Lament For A Dead Baby (Russian trans. by T. Spendiarova) [0:02:50.51]
02. -- Caring For Mum And Auntie (Russian trans. by A.Globa) [0:01:56.47]
03. -- Lullaby (Russian trans. by V. Zvyagintseva) [0:03:52.66]
04. -- Before A Long Separation (Russian trans. by A. Globa) [0:02:54.73]
05. -- Warning (Russian trans. by N. Ushakov) [0:01:07.60]
06. -- Father Abandoned (Russian trans. by S. Mar) [0:02:06.37]
07. -- Poverty Song (B. Shafir, Russian trans. by B. Semionov) [0:01:30.12]
08. -- Winter (Russian trans. by B. Semionov) [0:02:51.34]
09. -- Good Life (Russian trans. by S. Olender) [0:01:38.39]
10. -- A Girl's Song (Russian trans. by S. Olender) [0:02:30.52]
11. -- Happiness (Russian trans. by L. Dligach) [0:01:45.67]
12. SUITE ON VERSES BY MICHELANGELO BUONARROTTI, Op.145 (Russian trans. by A. Efros): I. Truth [0:04:11.25]
13. II. Morning [0:02:48.18]
14. III. Love [0:04:09.63]
15. IV. Separation [0:02:05.67]
16. V. Anger [0:01:35.54]
17. VI. Dante [0:03:31.15]
18. VII. To the Exile [0:04:12.63]
19. VIII.Creativity [0:02:58.26]
20. IX. Night [0:03:55.33]
21. X. Death [0:04:45.20]
22. XI. Eternity [0:03:46.58]
The fifth volume in Delos' series of recordings dedicated to the songs of Shostakovich masterminded by series pianist Yury Serov is as absolutely essential for anyone who loves the music of Shostakovich. On this disc, Serov has programmed two of the composers' greatest song cycles: From Jewish Folk Poetry and Suite to Words by Michelangelo Buonarroti. For vocalists, Serov has wisely chosen to retain bass Fyodor Kuznetsov from the previous issues for the Michelangelo songs, but daringly recruited a new trio of singers for the Jewish songs. While Kuznetsov has heavy competition in the Michelangelo songs, including the premiere recording by Nesterenko and the more recent recording by Fischer-Dieskau, he acquits himself with enormous dignity and passionate intensity. The trio of soprano Svetlana Sumatchova, mezzo soprano Miranna Tarassova, and tenor Konstantin Pluzhinikov acquits itself with equal intensity, if not quite with as much dignity but then with perhaps even more terror. Delos' sound is dry and close but honest. Anyone who loves the music of Shostakovich will love this disc, just like he/she would love the four previous discs in this series.
James Leonard @ AllMusic.com
https://mega.co.nz/#!q9IxXaBA!X3do7Eq_m3iUcOjvziaUFxJBPU0hidyC6deh8Mt TzxU
Dmitri Shostakovich - Complete Songs Vol. 1(Biryukova, Evtodieva, Kuznetsov, Lukonin, Serov) (2002, FLAC)
(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/12/ti4z.jpg/)
Tracks:
01. TWO ROMANCES, Op.84 (Lermontov): A Morning in the Caucasus [0:03:13.69]
02. -- Ballad [0:05:53.11]
03. FOUR SONGS, Op.86 (Dolmatovsky): The Motherland hears [0:02:36.29]
04. -- Rescue me [0:02:11.45]
05. -- Loves - or loves not [0:02:12.63]
06. -- Lullaby [0:02:52.31]
07. FOUR MONOLOGUES, Op.91 (Pushkin): A Fragment [0:05:54.15]
08. -- What's in my name to you?� [0:02:30.25]
09. -- In the depth of Siberian mines� [0:03:04.21]
10. -- Parting [0:02:33.19]
11. GREEK SONGS: Forward! [0:02:19.08]
12. -- Penthosalis [0:01:42.02]
13. -- Zolongo (folk song) [0:03:42.45]
14. -- The Hymn of ELLAS [0:01:14.72]
15. FIVE SONGS, Op.98 (Dolmatovsky): The Day of Meeting [0:02:16.60]
16. -- The Day of Declaration [0:02:16.29]
17. -- The Day of Grievances [0:03:27.14]
18. -- The Day of Joy [0:02:07.33]
19. -- The Day of Memories [0:02:24.22]
20. SPANISH SONGS, Op.100: Farewell to Granada [0:03:43.17]
21. -- Little Stars [0:02:07.48]
22. -- The First Time I Met You [0:03:36.42]
23. -- Ronda [0:01:59.54]
24. -- Black-Eyed Girl [0:02:44.38]
25. -- Dream [0:02:13.64]
This first volume of a five CD collection that will be the first ever complete survey devoted to the composer's songs offers a substantial amount of previously unrecorded material. Shostakovich's vocal works were written during a turbulent and poignant time for the composer. The Communist Party Committee's cataclysmic decree in 1948 forced him to write music accessible to the broad masses of working people, a devastating blow that he did not feel strong enough to resist. The result is a group of song cycles written in a simple and direct musical language, far from the complex and modern chamber and symphonic music for which Shostakovich was known, but that at the same time reveals a little-known facet of his genius.
Shostakovich's song cycles are set to the extraordinary lyrics of three of Russia's greatest poets - Pushkin, Lermontov and Dolmatovsky. Pushkin is represented by four unusually tragic and mournful "monologues" matched by the composer's rather depressed and anxiety-laden music, written in 1952 towards the end of Stalin's horrible regime. By contrast are Two Romances to Lyrics by M. Lermontov, Shostakovich's only settings of the Russian poet known as a rebel romantic, a "Russian Lord Byron." The heroic lyrics are offset by the well-measured and emotional restraint of the music which recalls the 19th vocal works of Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Mussorgsky, and Balakirev. Shostakovich developed a friendship with Evgeny Dolmatovsky after a chance meeting on a Moscow - Leningrad train journey. The Four Songs, Op. 86, includes one of Russia's most popular songs of the era, "Motherland Hears," which for decades was a theme tune for the All Union Radio. It was also sung to a broadcast audience of millions by Yuri Gagarin during the first manned space flight. The simple, clear and touching "romances" based on five Dolmatovsky lyrical poems of love and friendship were influenced by Shostakovich's second wife who had recognized the soft side of her husband's character. In addition to addressing native folk themes in his songs, Shostakovich turned to other cultures popular in Russia at the time - those of Spain and Greece. Spanish Songs, Op. 100 were inspired by a soulful tape recording of a Spanish orphan, many of whom arrived in Moscow after the Communist resistance was defeated by Franco's regime. Greek Songs reveal the composer's sympathy with the heroes of the Greek resistance.
Dmitri Shostakovich - Complete Songs Vol. 2 (Kuznetsov, Evtodieva, Kovalenko, Molokina, Sokolova, Serov) (2002, FLAC)
(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/43/a7cx.jpg/)
Tracks:
01. PREFACE TO THE COMPLETE EDITION OF MY WORKS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS PREFACE, Op.123 [0:02:57.36]
02. FIVE ROMANCES ON TEXTS FROM KROKODIL MAGAZINE, Op.121: Autographic Evidence [0:03:36.13]
03. -- A Hard Wish to Fulfil [0:01:16.13]
04. -- Discretion [0:01:29.27]
05. -- Irinka and the Shepherd [0:01:22.61]
06. -- Exaggerated Delight [0:01:44.39]
07. SEVEN SONGS ON POEMS BY ALEXANDER BLOK, Op.127: Ophelia's Song [0:03:13.02]
08. -- Gamauyn the Soothsaying Bird (Picture by V. Vasnetsov) [0:03:46.48]
09. -- We were together [0:02:58.74]
10. -- The city sleeps [0:03:13.48]
11. -- The Tempest [0:02:19.28]
12. -- Secret Signs [0:05:01.20]
13. -- Music [0:04:59.18]
14. SIX POEMS OF MARINA TSVETAYEVA, Op.143: My Verses [0:02:58.63]
15. -- Whence all this tenderness? [0:03:24.10]
16. -- Dialogue between Hamlet and his conscience [0:02:55.24]
17. -- The Poet and the Czar [0:01:38.60]
18. -- No, the drum did beat [0:02:56.23]
19. -- To Anna Akhmatova [0:05:33.30]
20. FOUR VERSES BY CAPTAIN LEBYADKIN, Op.146: Captain Lebyadkin's Love [0:04:15.65]
21. -- The Cockroach [0:03:48.00]
22. -- A costume ball for the benefit of governessess [0:02:07.47]
23. -- A luminous personality [0:02:02.39]
Delos continues its unparalleled Russian Romances Series with Dmitri Shostakovich: Vocal Cycles of the Last Years, the second release in a five-volume series encapsulating the first complete recorded survey of the songs of the great Russian composer. Two of the five works on Vocal Cycles of the Last Years are CD premieres. The five vocal cycles presented here were written during the last decade of Shostakovich's life when the composer was experiencing unprecedented success and prosperity. He had achieved international fame and finally found favor with the Soviet authorities. Contemplating his harrowing life and career from a new perspective, he gained the ability to speak his mind without fear. The result was a collection of utterly poignant, passionate and personal vocal music expertly integrating poetical, literary and musical expression. A Foreword to my Complete Works and a Brief Contemplation with Respect to this Foreword, which appears on CD for the first time, was written by Shostakovich for a concert dedicated to his own 60th anniversary. The text enumerates the many and varied titles lavished upon the composer by the Soviet state, masterfully manipulated by painfully ironic music. Five Romances to Words from Krokodil Magazine mocks the mundane vulgarity and stupidity inherent in the letters of common folk submitted to the popular comic publication. Rather than a simple musical adaptation of hideous human absurdities, Shostakovich creates a vibrant and vivid theatrical piece. The multilayered poetry of Alexander Blok are matched by Shostakovich's instrumentation in Seven Poems by A. Blok - A Vocal and Instrumental Suite for Soprano, Violin, Cello and Piano. The songs' simplicity and austerity belie the poet's passionate verse. In the smoky Six Poems by Marina Tsvetayeva, Shostakovich must have felt slightly smug at setting the Tsvetayevan prophecy in the opening poem My Verses - "My verses, like vintage wines, will have their time." For his final song cycle, Shostakovich found inspiration in Dostoyevsky's novel The Demons, for which the author was condemned by Soviet literary critics and which echoed many of the composer's own private trials and reflections. The subject of Four Poems of Captain Lebyadkin, is a rather repulsive character whose traits Shostakovich masterminds into a miniature magnum opus of mockery, at the same time allowing the composer to liberate himself of the inner pains experienced over the previous decades. Here Shostakovich fuses literature, ideology, satire, parody, theater and music into an absolutely new genre of vocal art.
Dmitri Shostakovich - Complete Songs - Volume 3 (2003, FLAC)
(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/62/3no6.jpg/)
Tracks:
01. Two fables by Ivan Krylov - The Dragon Fly and the Ant [0:02:42.49]
02. Two fables by Ivan Krylov - The Donkey and the Nightingale [0:04:54.15]
03. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - Love [0:02:44.42]
04. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - Before the Suicide [0:02:08.32]
05. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - An Immodest Glance [0:00:54.26]
06. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - The First and the Last Time [0:03:29.48]
07. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - Hopeless Love [0:02:20.56]
08. Six Romances on lyrics by Japanese Poets - Death [0:02:22.52]
09. Four Romances to Words by A. S. Pushkin - Renaissance [0:02:24.74]
10. Four Romances to Words by A. S. Pushkin - Weeping Bitterly [0:01:39.20]
11. Four Romances to Words by A. S. Pushkin - Anticipation [0:02:45.07]
12. Four Romances to Words by A. S. Pushkin - Stanzas [0:05:51.42]
13. Hamlet- Ophelia's Song [0:01:53.49]
14. King Lear - Cordelia's Ballad [0:02:23.18]
15. King Lear - The Fool's Song [0:09:38.72]
16. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - Sir Walter Raleigh to his Sonne [0:04:08.06]
17. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - Oh Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast [0:02:36.09]
18. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - Macpherson's Farewell [0:02:18.16]
19. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - Jenny [0:01:34.72]
20. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - Sonnet LXVI by W. Shakespeare [0:02:51.29]
21. Six Romances to verses of W. Raleigh - The King's Campaign [0:00:48.09]
Delos adds to its acclaimed Russian Songs Series with the third volume of the Shostakovich Complete Song Collection, Dmitri Shostakovich Early Works, 1922-1942. Critical responses to the first two installments of this series have been unprecedented. Gramophone magazine called the new series "A winner!" BBC Magazine awarded the first two releases four stars for both performance and sound. International Record Review concluded that the Shostakovich series adds up to "a true testament to a musician who remained his own man despite the worst the state might threaten him with." The twenty one song entries in this third volume were all composed between 1922 and 1942, the first when Shostakovich was only 16, the last during the second World War when he was still a relatively youthful 36. During this twenty year period Shostakovich had experienced post-revolution near-starvation, had triumphed in the mid '30s with his early symphonies and his daring opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, had been denounced by Stalin, ostracized by his colleagues, restored to favor with his 5th Symphony, and finally succeeded in achieving an uneasy balance between his own integrity as an artist and the compromises he had to make to meet the state's demands for conformity. Then came World War II and the German invasion of Russia in 1941... certainly a kaleidoscopic two decades reflected to some degree in the diversity of these songs. The first songs, Two Fables by Ivan Krylov, were ideal material for the youthful Shostakovich's use of irony, narrative utterance and his unique contrasting of musical images. The teen-aged artist was surely amused, filling these tiny musical scores with donkey braying, nightingale trills, and with abrupt leaps in harmony and rhythm. The Six Romances on Lyrics by Japanese Poets, composed at the same time Shostakovich was working on his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, are dedicated to his soon-to-be wife Nina Varza, and reflect his youthful passion. It has been said "he desired to deliver the love theme in a new way... a love that knew no bounds." These songs do not contain anything superficial or showy. Though outspokenly erotic, the love messages more often than not are permeated with motives of despair and death. Four Romances on Words by Alexander?Pushkin are a tribute for the 100th anniversary of the poet's death (Jan. 10, 1937). The use of Pushkin's harmonious, wise and classically perfect poetry served Shostakovich as a kind of creative refuge during the terrible period of his persecution by the government and betrayal by even close friends. Indirectly, through Pushkin's verse, he was able to speak out concerning the true aims of art and eternal questions of life and death. Shostakovich's theater music has artistic value and importance far exceeding its popularity. Much of it remains little known, some of it is lost forever. Ophelia's Song from a 1932 production of Hamlet and two selections from a 1941 production of King Lear are vivid examples of Shostakovich's theatrical style of the thirties and forties. To quote Shostakovich himself, "Shakespeare's tragedies are amazingly musical in themselves... music is born out of the very poetry and dynamic of these tragedies." Shostakovich's unique individuality is manifest in the dramatic sculpturing of the images and in the animated vocal intonations. The final group of Six Romances on Verses of Walter Raleigh, Robert Burns, and William Shakespeare date from 1942 wartime, a period when it seemed quite appropriate for a Russian composer to use English verse - Great Britain being an ally in the war against Hitler. The fatherly advice in the Raleigh poem, the populist sentiments in the Burns, and the profound thoughts embedded in Shakespeare's Sonnet LXVI, are capped by the final two-line King's Campaign (a folk song adaptation), lightening with a momentary bright sparkle the darkness of the preceding Sonnet.Delos adds to its acclaimed Russian Songs Series with the third volume of the Shostakovich Complete Song Collection, Dmitri Shostakovich Early Works, 1922-1942. Critical responses to the first two installments of this series have been unprecedented. Gramophone magazine called the new series "A winner!" BBC Magazine awarded the first two releases four stars for both performance and sound. International Record Review concluded that the Shostakovich series adds up to "a true testament to a musician who remained his own man despite the worst the state might threaten him with." The twenty one song entries in this third volume were all composed between 1922 and 1942, the first when Shostakovich was only 16, the last during the second World War when he was still a relatively youthful 36. During this twenty year period Shostakovich had experienced post-revolution near-starvation, had triumphed in the mid '30s with his early symphonies and his daring opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, had been denounced by Stalin, ostracized by his colleagues, restored to favor with his 5th Symphony, and finally succeeded in achieving an uneasy balance between his own integrity as an artist and the compromises he had to make to meet the state's demands for conformity. Then came World War II and the German invasion of Russia in 1941... certainly a kaleidoscopic two decades reflected to some degree in the diversity of these songs. The first songs, Two Fables by Ivan Krylov, were ideal material for the youthful Shostakovich's use of irony, narrative utterance and his unique contrasting of musical images. The teen-aged artist was surely amused, filling these tiny musical scores with donkey braying, nightingale trills, and with abrupt leaps in harmony and rhythm. The Six Romances on Lyrics by Japanese Poets, composed at the same time Shostakovich was working on his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, are dedicated to his soon-to-be wife Nina Varza, and reflect his youthful passion. It has been said "he desired to deliver the love theme in a new way... a love that knew no bounds." These songs do not contain anything superficial or showy. Though outspokenly erotic, the love messages more often than not are permeated with motives of despair and death. Four Romances on Words by Alexander?Pushkin are a tribute for the 100th anniversary of the poet's death (Jan. 10, 1937). The use of Pushkin's harmonious, wise and classically perfect poetry served Shostakovich as a kind of creative refuge during the terrible period of his persecution by the government and betrayal by even close friends. Indirectly, through Pushkin's verse, he was able to speak out concerning the true aims of art and eternal questions of life and death. Shostakovich's theater music has artistic value and importance far exceeding its popularity. Much of it remains little known, some of it is lost forever. Ophelia's Song from a 1932 production of Hamlet and two selections from a 1941 production of King Lear are vivid examples of Shostakovich's theatrical style of the thirties and forties. To quote Shostakovich himself, "Shakespeare's tragedies are amazingly musical in themselves... music is born out of the very poetry and dynamic of these tragedies." Shostakovich's unique individuality is manifest in the dramatic sculpturing of the images and in the animated vocal intonations. The final group of Six Romances on Verses of Walter Raleigh, Robert Burns, and William Shakespeare date from 1942 wartime, a period when it seemed quite appropriate for a Russian composer to use English verse - Great Britain being an ally in the war against Hitler. The fatherly advice in the Raleigh poem, the populist sentiments in the Burns, and the profound thoughts embedded in Shakespeare's Sonnet LXVI, are capped by the final two-line King's Campaign (a folk song adaptation), lightening with a momentary bright sparkle the darkness of the preceding Sonnet.
Dmitri Shostakovich - Complete Songs - Volume 4 (2004, FLAC)
(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/547/wlwx.jpg/)
Tracks:
01. The Counter-Plan Song (Kornilov, from the film The Counter-Plan) [0:02:07.17]
02. Tender Girl Song (Vasillev, from the film The First Train) [0:02:37.10]
03. The Dawn is Rising (Dolmatovsky, from the film Meeting at the Elbe) [0:01:40.09]
04. The Song of Peace (Dolmatovsky, from the film The Fall of Berlin) [0:03:04.61]
05. TWO SONGS, Op.72 (Svetlov): Lullaby [0:02:53.17]
06. -- The Little Lantern Song [0:02:10.61]
07. WE HAD KISSES (Dolmatovsky) [0:02:22.41]
08. SPRING, SPRING�, Op.128 (Pushkin) [0:02:25.02]
09. SATIRES, Op.109 (Pictures of The Past) (Chorny): To a Critic [0:01:27.56]
10. -- The Awakening of Spring [0:02:48.25]
11. -- Descendants [0:02:12.15]
12. -- Confusion [0:05:11.64]
13. -- Kreutzer Sonata [0:04:14.36]
14. RAYOK (Anti-Formalist Peep-Show - Shostakovich) [0:19:51.51]
This is the fourth volume of the complete edition of Shostakovich Songs: The Unknown Shostakovich, which includes songs from motion pictures, Satires to Words by Sasha Chorny and the soloist-with-chorus work Anti-Formalistic Raree Show. As with the previous series offerings, Volume Four: The Unknown Shostakovich features impressive and impassioned performances by Victoria Evtodieva, Fyodor Kuznetsov, Liudmila Shkirtil and the piano and direction of Yuri Serov. Volume Four is made up of pieces that are quite varied. The remarkable and evocative song cycle Satires To Words By Sasha Chorny mixes ironic lyrics with folk themes, dances and musical theater. 'Spring, Spring' allows the listener to explore the lyric beauty of Pushkin's lyrics just as the single-act satiric opera/cantata Anti-Formalistic Raree Show (Shostakovich's creative response to the repressive Resolutions passed by the Communist Party Central Committee in 1948) illustrates and comments satirically on the political and artistic worlds that Shostakovich had to balance.
The music of Shostakovich cannot be viewed apart from the times in which he lived. This significant point continues to intrigue his listeners and promotes timely reflections on the current turbulent world climate. Critics and consumers alike have always been drawn to the genius and relevance of Shostakovich's music and that is why this release belongs in every serious classical collection.
Dmitri Shostakovich - Complete Songs - Volume 5 (2005, FLAC)
(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/7/w6vi.jpg/)
Tracks:
01. FROM JEWISH FOLK POETRY, Op.79: Lament For A Dead Baby (Russian trans. by T. Spendiarova) [0:02:50.51]
02. -- Caring For Mum And Auntie (Russian trans. by A.Globa) [0:01:56.47]
03. -- Lullaby (Russian trans. by V. Zvyagintseva) [0:03:52.66]
04. -- Before A Long Separation (Russian trans. by A. Globa) [0:02:54.73]
05. -- Warning (Russian trans. by N. Ushakov) [0:01:07.60]
06. -- Father Abandoned (Russian trans. by S. Mar) [0:02:06.37]
07. -- Poverty Song (B. Shafir, Russian trans. by B. Semionov) [0:01:30.12]
08. -- Winter (Russian trans. by B. Semionov) [0:02:51.34]
09. -- Good Life (Russian trans. by S. Olender) [0:01:38.39]
10. -- A Girl's Song (Russian trans. by S. Olender) [0:02:30.52]
11. -- Happiness (Russian trans. by L. Dligach) [0:01:45.67]
12. SUITE ON VERSES BY MICHELANGELO BUONARROTTI, Op.145 (Russian trans. by A. Efros): I. Truth [0:04:11.25]
13. II. Morning [0:02:48.18]
14. III. Love [0:04:09.63]
15. IV. Separation [0:02:05.67]
16. V. Anger [0:01:35.54]
17. VI. Dante [0:03:31.15]
18. VII. To the Exile [0:04:12.63]
19. VIII.Creativity [0:02:58.26]
20. IX. Night [0:03:55.33]
21. X. Death [0:04:45.20]
22. XI. Eternity [0:03:46.58]
The fifth volume in Delos' series of recordings dedicated to the songs of Shostakovich masterminded by series pianist Yury Serov is as absolutely essential for anyone who loves the music of Shostakovich. On this disc, Serov has programmed two of the composers' greatest song cycles: From Jewish Folk Poetry and Suite to Words by Michelangelo Buonarroti. For vocalists, Serov has wisely chosen to retain bass Fyodor Kuznetsov from the previous issues for the Michelangelo songs, but daringly recruited a new trio of singers for the Jewish songs. While Kuznetsov has heavy competition in the Michelangelo songs, including the premiere recording by Nesterenko and the more recent recording by Fischer-Dieskau, he acquits himself with enormous dignity and passionate intensity. The trio of soprano Svetlana Sumatchova, mezzo soprano Miranna Tarassova, and tenor Konstantin Pluzhinikov acquits itself with equal intensity, if not quite with as much dignity but then with perhaps even more terror. Delos' sound is dry and close but honest. Anyone who loves the music of Shostakovich will love this disc, just like he/she would love the four previous discs in this series.
James Leonard @ AllMusic.com
https://mega.co.nz/#!q9IxXaBA!X3do7Eq_m3iUcOjvziaUFxJBPU0hidyC6deh8Mt TzxU