Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Romances (Christianne Stotijn; Julius Drake)

Information

Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

1. At the Ball, op. 38 no. 3
2. None but the lonely heart, op. 6 no. 6
3. Over burning ashes, op. 25 no. 2
4. My genius, my angel, my friend!
5. Lullaby, op. 16 no. 1
6. Reconciliation, op. 25 no. 1
7. The sun has set, op. 73 no. 4
8. The Fearful Moment, op. 28 no. 6
9. Mild stars looked down, op. 60 no. 12
10. Had I only known, op. 47 no. 1
11. The lights were being dimmed, op. 63 no. 5
12. Not a word, my friend, op. 6 no. 5
13. Why?, op. 6 no. 5
14. The Bride's Lament, op. 47 no. 7
15. The Gypsy Song, op. 60 no. 7
16. Do not believe, my friend, op. 6 no. 1
17. It was in early spring, op. 38 no. 2
18. Cuckoo, op. 54 no. 8
19. Can it be day?, op. 47 no. 6
20. Again, as before, alone, op. 73 no. 6

Christianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano

Julius Drake, piano

Date: 2008

Label: Onyx

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

As the penultimate track on this very beautiful recital, Christianne Stotijn and Julius Drake perform “Can it be day?”, the song that was once known as “Pour toi”. This was recorded long ago by Grace Moore with a sumptuous Hollywood orchestration, and its surge of ecstatic, not to say erotic, melody comes as a welcome reminder that the Tchaikovsky of Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake could occasionally make himself felt in his songs. For the most part these are angst-ridden stories of death and lost love. The two best-known songs open proceedings: “At the Ball”, with its reminiscence of unrequited passion to the lilt of a sad waltz, and then “None but the lonely heart”. Everyone conceivable from Rosa Ponselle to Frank Sinatra has recorded this, but Stotijn loses nothing in comparison with ghosts from the past. Her voice is a full-blooded mezzo but steady and true, without a hint of that vibrato that can often disturb the line in Slavonic singers (Stotijn is from the Netherlands).

The emotional climax of the selection comes with “The Bride’s Lament”. This outpouring of grief (sometimes called “Was I not a blade of grass”) can seem over melodramatic but Stotijn and Drake find exactly the right mood. The piano parts are superbly done: in every sense these songs are duets. There are a couple of other light moments – “Cuckoo”, one of 16 children’s songs composed in the 1880s (this used to be a favourite of Elisabeth Söderström), and a “Gypsy Song” from around the same time. Tchaikovsky’s songs are not nearly well enough known and this superb recital should encourage more interest in them. A second volume, please, and soon! Highly recommended.

— Patrick O'Connor

-----------------------------------------------------------

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Romantic Russian composer. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, several symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin. Despite his many popular successes, Tchaikovsky's life was punctuated by personal crises and depression.

***

The Dutch mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn (born 1977 in Delft) studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. After obtaining her solo violin diploma, she continued her vocal studies with Udo Reinemann, Jard van Nes and Janet Baker. Stotijn is a passionate interpreter of art songs. Accompanied by the pianists Joseph Breinl and Julius Drake, with whom she has a longstanding duo partnership, she has appeared in the world’s leading concert venues. Stotijn regularly performs chamber music with musicians such as violist Antoine Tamestit and the Oxalys Ensemble. She also appears regularly on the operatic stage.

***

Julius Drake (born 5 April 1959) is an English pianist who works as a song recital accompanist and chamber musician. He was educated at the Purcell School and the Royal College of Music, and now is Professor of Collaborative Piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and visiting professor at the Royal Northern College of Music. Drake's many recordings include a widely acclaimed series with Gerald Finley for Hyperion Records, with Ian Bostridge and Alice Coote for EMI, with Joyce DiDonato, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Matthew Polenzani for Wigmore Live, and with Anna Prohaska for Alpha. 

-----------------------------------------------------------