Antonín Dvořák - Cypresses (Timothy Robinson; Graham Johnson; Delmé Quartet)

Information

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

• Cypresses
• Echo of Songs

Timothy Robinson, tenor

Graham Johnson, piano

Delmé Quartet

    Galina Solodchin, violin

    John Trusler, violin

    John Underwood, viola

    Jonathan Williams, cello

Date: 2014

Label: SOMM Recordings

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Review

Brilliant idea, coupling Dvorák's Cypresses, the song cycle, with Dvorák's Cypresses, the string quartet transcription. This way, the listener gets the full Cypresses treatment: melodies of unbearable tenderness set to harmonies of ineffable beauty in both their original intimately emotional vocal version and in their equally blissfully sentimental transcription. Tenor Timothy Robinson has an impiously ardent way with Dvorák's melodies and pianist Graham Johnson supplies his usual simple, subtle, and sublime accompaniment. The Delme Quartet has a passionately sensuous way with Dvorák's shapes and forms, and its re-creation of the Cypresses in chamber music form is in its way just as effective as the original.

Somm's recordings are distinctly different. The Delme Quartet was recorded in Leiston Abbey, Suffolk, in 2002 and its acoustic is close, warm, and real. Robinson and Johnson were recorded in Champs Hill, West Sussex, in 2004 and their acoustic is thin, dry, and honest.

— James Leonard

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Antonín Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer. He was the second Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition, after Bedřich Smetana. Following Smetana's nationalist example, many of Dvořák's works show the influence of Czech folk music, such as his  two sets of Slavonic Dances, the Symphonic Variations, and the overwhelming majority of his songs. Dvořák wrote in a variety of forms: nine symphonies, ten operas, three concertos, several symphonic poems, serenades for string orchestra and wind ensemble, more than 40 works of chamber music, and piano music.

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Timothy Robinson (born 21 October 1958) is an English tenor. He studied at New College, Oxford, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has performed with leading UK and international orchestras under such conductors as Andrew Davis, Simon Rattle, and Charles Mackerras. His extensive discography spans works by Vaughan Williams, Beethoven, Mozart, and Bernstein. On the operatic stage, Robinson has sung key roles at English National Opera, Royal Opera House, Paris Opera, and Glyndebourne, with notable performances such as Captain Vere in Billy Budd and Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw.

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Graham Johnson (born 10 July 1950) is a British pianist and Lieder accompanists. Originally from Rhodesia, he studied in London and was mentored by Gerald Moore and Geoffrey Parsons. His early association with Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten solidified his path in vocal accompaniment. In 1976, he founded The Songmakers' Almanac to explore lesser-known vocal works. A long-time collaborator with top singers, he has recorded extensively for Hyperion, notably complete song cycles of Schubert and Schumann. Also an author and educator, Johnson has received numerous honors, including Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

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The Delmé Quartet, founded in 1962 by Granville Delmé Jones, Jurgen Hess, John Underwood, and Joy Hall, began as a group playing for personal enjoyment. Their career took off when the BBC invited them to perform at the Royal Festival Hall, launching them into the spotlight. Over the decades with multiple lineup changes, the ensemble has performed at major European festivals, including Salzburg and Prague. Renowned for their collaboration with composer Robert Simpson, they recorded much of his chamber music for Hyperion. They also worked with composers like Daniel Jones, John McCabe, and Wilfred Josephs.

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