Notes and Editorial Reviews
JUSSI BJÖRLING—RECITAL
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Jussi Björling (ten); Frederick Schauwecker (pn)
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MYTO 195 (78:42) Live: Atlanta
4/13/1959.
Broadcast: San Francisco 10/23/1949
1
HANDEL
Serse:
Ombra mai fu.
SCHUBERT
Frühlingslabue. Die Forelle. Ständchen.
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class="COMPOSER12"> R. STRAUSS
Traum durch die Dämmerung. Zueignung.
BIZET
Carmen:
La fleur que tu m’avais jetée.
GIORDANO
Fedora:
Amor ti vieta.
Andrea Chenier:
Come un bel dì di maggio.
RACHMANINOFF
Siren’. V molchan’I nochi taynoy.
ALFVÉN
Skogen sover.
SJÖRGREN
I drömmen du är mig nära.
PETERSON-BERGER
Jungfrun under lind.
GRIEG
En svane. En drom.
SJÖBERG
Tonera.
PUCCINI
La bohème:
Che gelida manina.
Turandot:
Nessun dorma
VERDI
Messa di Requiem:
Ingemisco
(Frieder Weissmann, cond).
PUCCINI
La bohème:
O soave fanciulla
(Ana-Lisa Björling, sop).
1
GOUNOD
Roméo et Juliette:
Va je t’ai pardonné.
1
MASSENET
Manon:
Ah! fuyez douce image
(Gaetano Merola, cond)
1
This is a re-release. Myto first issued it in 1991. Like all great singers, Björling was gifted with an utterly distinctive vocal sound. If one knows the voice, one note is all that is needed to identify it—no one else sounds like Björling. Few tenors or vocalists of any range, male or female, can produce such an effortless stream of brilliant tone. His voice pours out without the slightest hint of strain or effort. He achieves a technical purity that allowed him to produce a legato line that is unsurpassed.
This recording is an example of Björling’s versatility. He sings Lieder, opera, and songs with the same beautiful quality. Interestingly, the two Rachmaninoff songs are sung in English. The final three selections are from a Standard Hour radio broadcast in San Francisco and were first issued on a Voce LP featuring Jussi and Annalisa Björling.
The earlier issue of this recording by Myto had a better booklet, with notes and pictures. This one only has a list of the selections. The sound is fine. The recording of Verdi’s “Ingemisco” dates from 1939, and the San Francisco broadcasts from 1949, and yet in this concert from 1959 one can clearly hear how Björling preserved his voice. He was intelligent enough to confine himself to lyrico-spinto roles. In the concert, Björling announces his encores, and in the radio broadcasts an announcer introduces the selections.
One week later, on April 20, 1959, Björling gave a concert in the San Francisco Opera House. My wife and I had the good fortune to attend it. After a magnificent program and several encores, he held up his hand and said, “Because you have been so nice to me, I will sing for you “Because.” And so his voice rang out through the house, rousing the audience into a frenzied standing ovation. On September 9, 1960, that glorious voice was stilled forever. If you missed the first issue of this recording, run out and buy it!
FANFARE: Bob Rose
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Works on This Recording
1.
Serse, HWV 40: Frondi tenere e belle by George Frideric Handel
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1738; London, England
2.
Serse, HWV 40: Ombra mai fu "Largo" by George Frideric Handel
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1738; London, England
3.
Frühlingsglaube, D 686/Op. 20 no 2 by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1820; Vienna, Austria
4.
Die Forelle, D 550 by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1817; Vienna, Austria
5.
Schwanengesang, D 957: no 4, Ständchen by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1828; Vienna, Austria
6.
Lieder (3), Op. 29: no 1, Traum durch die Dämmerung by Richard Strauss
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Written: 1895
7.
Lieder (8), Op. 10: no 1, Zueignung by Richard Strauss
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1885; Germany
8.
Carmen: La fleur que tu m'avais jetée "Flower song" by Georges Bizet
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1873-1874; France
9.
Andrea Chénier: Come un bel dì di maggio by Umberto Giordano
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1896; Italy
10.
Songs (12), Op. 21: no 5, Lilacs by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1902; Russia
11.
Songs (6), Op. 4: no 3, In the silence of the night by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1890; Russia
12.
Songs (7), Op. 28/R 63: no 6, Skogen sofrer by Hugo Alfvén
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1908; Sweden
13.
I drömmen di är mig nära by Emil Sjögren
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
14.
Songs (3), Op. 10: no 1, Jungfrun under lind by Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1895; Sweden
15.
Songs (6), Op. 25: no 2, A swan by Edvard Grieg
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1876; Norway
16.
Songs (6), Op. 48: no 6, Ein Traum by Edvard Grieg
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1889; Norway
17.
Tonerna by Carl Sjöberg
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
18.
La Bohème: Che gelida manina by Giacomo Puccini
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1896; Italy
19.
Turandot: Nessun dorma! by Giacomo Puccini
Performer:
Jussi Björling (Tenor),
Frederick Schauwecker (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1926; Italy
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