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Label:
  MDG - http://www.mdg.de/
Serial:
  901 1444-6
Title:
  Martin: Die Weise von Liebe und Tod - Steen
Description:
  Frank Martin: Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke

Christianne Stotijn (contralto)
Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur
Jac van Steen (conductor)
Track listing:
 
Genre:
  Classical
Content:
  Stereo/Multichannel
Media:
  Hybrid
Recording type:
 
Recording info:
 

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Related titles: 5


 
Reviews: 3

Site review by Castor July 6, 2007
Performance:   Sonics:  
The text for this review has been moved to the new site. You can read it here:

http://www.HRAudio.net/showmusic.php?title=4661#reviews

Review by willemvoorneveld June 18, 2012 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:  
The Swiss Born Composer Frank Martin lived and worked the most part of his life in the Netherlands. His musical language definitely caries all the ingredients of 20th century composing styles; nonetheless his style is unique and individual and not easily comparable with other composers. Several of his works require unusual “staffing” combination. The work on this MDG SACD require A contralto, piano and small Orchestra and was composed in 1942/43 when he still lived in Switzerland. The lied cycle takes 57 minutes and entertains till the end. Not in the least because Christianne Stotijn (Contralto) and Conductor Jac van Steen account for a very entertaining performance of this rather serious piece of music. It’s the type of music you play in a single session in the evening with no family members around..

Christianne Stotijn’s handling of the German language is flawless and very convincing. (The piece is set in the German language based on a poem of Rainer Maria Rilke). The orchestra of Winterthur is in a supporting role in this piece and is not afraid of producing large sound when needed. The piano is often used to bring the atmosphere back to chamber music alike proportions. No dull moment.

Surprise: 2+2+2 recording:
The recording engineers of MDG have used this issue to promote their 2+2+2 recording and reproduction method. According to the information on the disc this recording is compatible with a standard 5.1 setup. I started with the standard 5.1 setup and found the sound very good, with good spatial information, realistic violin sound (As only SACD can reproduce) and solid low-end. I noticed that the .1 channel contained a lot of energy and also noticed that Miss Stotijns voice wandered a bit from mid to right as if she walked over the podium a bit.

After connecting and extra speaker above the Right front speaker (Connected on the .1 output channel) and moving the Center speaker to the left above the Left Front speaker I was able to listen to 2+2+2. The result was stunning. Suddenly Stotijns voice remained stable in space, more depth evolved from the orchestra and crescendi developed more realistically. There was a 3+db more output anyway. So in fact the recording is a 6.0 recording with no place for a subwoofer (hurray).

I do agree with the MDG team that 2+2+2 seems a great way to reproduce 3D sound, but I tend to disagree that this system can be produced on a single disc compatible with 5.1. Anyway this is a minor point.

Unfortunately The 2+2+2 system requires quite some tweaking because current available hardware seem to go the 7.1/9.1 route rather than 6.0. Switching on the fly between the two methods is not easily possible. The MDG website explains more about the 6.0 system.

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Review by JJ August 29, 2007 (2 of 4 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:    
La première du "Chant d'Amour et de Mort du Cornette Christoph Rilke" du compositeur suisse Frank Martin (1890-1974), d'après un poème de Rainer Maria Rilke, eut lieu en 1945. Pour voix d'alto et orchestre, l'œuvre se divise en vingt-trois lieder et offre probablement une des meilleures traductions musicales du texte du célèbre poète. Frank Martin résumait sa démarche ainsi : "J'étais à la recherche d'un texte qui puisse me servir de base à un cycle de lieder avec piano, lorsque ma femme me fit connaître l'admirable poème en prose de Rilke. Cette œuvre est très peu connue du public de langue française ; elle est quasi intraduisible et, de fait, les traductions que l'on peut trouver en librairie la défigurent gravement. Dès le premier contact, je m'enthousiasmai pour ce récit si fort et en même temps si bref et si délicat, mais je le repoussai tout d'abord ; il ne convenait pas à mon but : une suite de vingt et quelques lieder, n'est-ce pas un peu beaucoup ? En outre la nouvelle de Rilke, quoique divisée en petits tableaux, est une épopée, le récit d'évènements qui s'enchaînent et non pas l'exposé lyrique de l'évolution d'un sentiment, ce qui me semble la base littéraire nécessaire d'un cycle de lieder. Enfin, je redoutais fort de mettre en musique dans une langue qui n'est pas la mienne, ayant toujours eu pour but de retrouver dans la composition vocale, la forme et l'expression exactes du langage. Cependant la puissance et le charme de l'œuvre de Rilke ébranlèrent ces résistances". Le contralto Christianne Stotijn, soutenu par l'Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur que dirige Jac van Steen, offre ici la plus bouleversante incarnation de l'œuvre de Frank Martin. Dans une lecture inspirée, sa voix, à la fois profonde et sensuelle, retrouve toute la délicatesse et la grâce du poème de Rilke. Et le parfait équilibre entre voix et orchestre achève de faire de cette version un des plus grands disques de lieder avec orchestre de ces dix dernières années. Une splendeur !

Jean-Jacques Millo

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Works: 1  

Frank Martin - Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke