Emma Shap

Among Handel's vocal works - from the early, operatic solo cantatas to the full-blown operas and the oratorios of his London years - the Nine German Arias hold a special place. Possibly composed around the time that the composer made a final journey to Germany to take leave of his ailing mother, they were Handel's last settings of texts in his native language. It seems likely that these circumstances contributed to the intimate character of these highly personal works, in combination with the texts themselves. Barthold Heinrich Brockes' poems point ahead towards the Enlightenment, establishing as their setting a harmonically organised world, in which benevolent Nature is the prime example of God's bounty.

Following the news that all three Lush albums are going to be reissued, Emma Anderson, the band’s co-founder, releases her debut solo album, Pearlies, via Sonic Cathedral.

The Finzi Clarinet Concerto has been particularly lucky on CD, with a whole series of fine versions issued, including those above. Yet Emma Johnson, spontaneous in her expressiveness, brings an extra freedom and often an extra warmth to make this in many ways the most winning of all. Finzi's sinuous melodies for the solo instrument are made to sound as though the soloist is improvising them, and with extreme daring she uses the widest possible dynamic range down to a whispered pianissimo that might be inaudible in a concert-hall.[[/quote]

Widely considered as one of the leading exponents in early music, Emma Kirkby is renowned for her purity of production, clarity of diction and extraordinary degree of vocal control. From this release it is obvious that Emma Kirkby's artistic vigour and sense of discovery are undiminished. Alongside her incomparable performances of well-loved works such as Bach's cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, she uses the esteem in which she is held by musicians and audiences alike to champion long-forgotten repertory such as William Hayes's The Passions. Emma is accompanied by Cantillation and the Orchestra of the Antipodes conducted by Antony Walker.

Emma Kirkby, doyenne of the Early Music scene, here shows that she's just as comfortable in music of a more recent vintage. Amy Beach was a woman ahead of her time, performing as solo pianist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra by the age of 18. The same year (1885), she married Henry Beach and, no longer able to perform publicly (it would have gone against her social status), she instead settled down to composing. And delightful stuff it is, too, as Kirkby and friends demonstrate in this charming recital. A number of the songs add violin, cello, or both to the piano and voice combination. "Ecstasy," for instance, has a most effective violin part that is an ideal foil to the purity of Kirkby's voice. Other highlights include the Schumannesque Browning Songs and the amiable Shakespeare Songs (the last of which, "Fairy Lullaby," is irresistible). The final item here, "Elle et moi," is an upbeat little number that suits Kirkby's lithe soprano to perfection. Occasionally, in some of the more lushly textured songs, such as "A Mirage" and "Stella Viatoris," perhaps a fuller voice would have been preferable, but then sample "Chanson d'amour" (written when Beach was only 21 and with a wonderful cello part in addition to the piano) and try to imagine it being better sung. The purely instrumental items are played with unfailing sensitivity and elegance. The Romance is straight out of the salon, while the much later Piano Trio (though actually based on early material) packs plenty of emotion and variety into its 14 minutes. The recording is exemplary, as are the concise notes and texts and translations.

Emma Eames - The Complete Victor Recordings, 1905-1911 (1993) {Romophone 81001-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 426 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 356 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 43 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1905-11, 1993 Victor / Romophone | 81001-2
Classical / Vocal / Historical

Before I start to write the review of Emma Eames complete victor recordings, I would like to say few words about her biography. Emma Eames(1865-1952) a native from Bath, Maine, made her debut on March 13, 1889 at the Paris Opera as Juliette in Gounod's opera Romeo et Juliette to Jean de Reszke's Romeo and became an overnight sensation. It is amazing,because she had no previous Stage experience. She later wrote, 'It was curious experience to go to the Opera as nobody, and to find oneself the next day the talk of two continents'.

The Franco-Swedish guitarist Paul Jarret’s project EMMA is inspired by the wave of Swedish immigration to the United States who happened during the second half of the 19th century. A theme that resonates with many of our contemporary issues. With his quartet, he creates a chamber-jazz that blurs the lines between improvised, minimalistic and repetitive musics, traditional Swedish music and liturgical musics, it’s also inspired by songs evoking exiles and Scandinavian melodies.