Nachtigall

The arpeggione, invented in 1823 by the Viennese luthier Johann Georg Stauffer, had a curious destiny. As its alternative names ‘guitar violoncello’ and ‘guitare d’amour’ suggest, it is in fact a guitar fitted with a bridge, held between the knees like a cello and played with a bow. The instrument enjoyed some success for around a decade, but, oddly enough, almost nothing has survived from its specific repertory except one supreme masterpiece: the sonata Franz Schubert wrote for it in 1824. The guitar was very popular in Vienna at that time, and Schubert was also fond of it; the original version of Die schöne Müllerin was published with guitar accompaniment! Guido Balestracci and the musicians of L’Amoroso have built a delightful Schubertiad around this famous sonata, combining the arpeggione and the piano with voice and guitars to appropriate a rich selection of the Viennese composer’s lieder.

Gundula Janowitz possessed one of those voice which provoke in the listener an instant thrill of recognition. Her sound is pure, true and fluting, of extraordinary power and penetration and enormous ease of production - which you can see if you watch a film of her singing; there is no sign of extraneous tension anywhere. Apparently not everyone responds to the almost unearthly beauty of her timbre - some seem to find it cold - but for me she is one of the very greatest sopranos, with a range spanning Bach to Wagner and equal facility in opera and Lieder. There are two DG double CD volumes of Schubert Lieder in which she is accompanied by her long-term artistic partner, American pianist Irwin Gage and both are indispensable.

German conductor, arranger, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, whose hits included the chart-topper "Wonderland by Night." Stars like Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey, Caterina Valente, Engelbert, Dean Martin, Nat "King" Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Duke Ellington and Count Basie were successful with Kaempfert's compositions. Bert Kaempfert had almost too much talent, ability, and good luck rolled into one career to be fully appreciated, even by his own chosen audience, the lovers of fine orchestral pop music. He was one of the most successful conductors, arrangers, and recording artists in the latter field, but was also a major producer and played a key (if indirect) role in the roots of the British beat boom of the early '60s, which evolved into the British Invasion of America in 1964.

So this is, on the whole, a fine performance. The only other commercial recording of Die Meistersinger to come along in the last couple of decades has been Sawallisch's (for my review see Fanfare 18:3). And that one, despite its many virtues, is seriously disfigured by Weikl's Sachs. So if you want a Meistersinger in up-to-the-minute digital sound, you would do better with Solti. I must add, however, that while the sound on this new recording is very full and clear, it lacks warmth.

The soprano Kathrin Hottiger and her accompanist Edward Rushton have dedicated their new album to the much-sung about earth satellite. You can hear compositions by Theodor Kirchner, Claude Debussy, Edvard Grieg and the little-known Vaudois composer Pierre Maurice. A delightful compilation of songs and piano compositions that revolve around the themes of night and moon.