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| Site review by mwagner1962 July 26, 2006
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Let's get right to the point...this SACD was a real walk on the wild side for me, as I am now just reacquainting myself with the music of Sibelius. I never used to care for Sibelius back in my trumpet jock days as an undergrad and then as a graduate student. However, I am now starting to really like the music.
This disc is a total joy and a surprise! I have never heard of Soile Isokoski nor any of the songs featured. Needless to say, I am quite glad to have made this fine singer's acquaintance. A lovely voice, rich, smooth, powerful...something to listen to during serious listening sessions or pleasant music to have playing while one works.
This is my third Ondine SACD (the first is the very interesting Rautavaara Book of Vision and the second, the slightly boring and not so peachy Philly Bartók) and the sound is excellent with tons of space, air and imaging. Transparency is nice and it is quite easy to hear well into the orchestra. Soile Isokoski is nicely placed in front of the orchestra and she seems to be right in my listening room!!
A very fine addition to the library of vocal fans as well as a nice introduction to the vocal music of Sibelius!
Recommended!!
Cheers,
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| Review by Edvin June 19, 2006
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This is pure gold, sprinkled with a diamond.
Sibelius´ native language was Swedish and almost all his songs are set in that language. My first encounter with the marvellous Luonnotar was with Gwyneth Jones and Antal Dorati on an EMI LP. It made a great impression on me and Jones was audibly strained by the writing. This actually made the piece even more exciting and original and Dorati´s conducting was inspired. Anyway, for Soile Isokoski there are no problems whatsoever. She delivers a performance so effortlessly gorgeous, to my ears, and so full of natural insight. A Finnish writer wrote about Isokoski that she couldn´t sing an ugly note even if she tried. I couldn´t agree more. And Leif Segerstam is a most sensitive partner. But I doubt that Swedish is Isokoski´s mother language.
The rest is a selection of songs, some orchestrated by other people as the previous reviewer observed. Anyone familiar to Sibelius will recognize the melodic material, the orchestral sparseness, the genius of it all. You will be reminded of the Scenes Historiques, The Tempest and other pieces. But most of all you will be charmed by the quasi lullaby "Men min fågel märks dock icke", no 3. Or no 6, "Våren flyktar hastigt" which reminds me of Puccini´s La Boheme - what a gem!
Sibelius composed songs and minor pieces for piano all through his career as a way to make money. He also kept arranging works for different ensembles for the same purpose. Whatever he did his genius shined through the every day work. I have just read his diaries and I wish they will be translated for your sake.
Negative? No, only a slight translation into English that was wrong. But we cannot blame Ondine since they used the publishers editions. Poetic license maybe.
I listened to Luonnotar first and initially I thought the voice was too forward. Soon I realized that it was Sibelius´ sparse orchestration that made feel so. The balance is perfect and the sound is utterly enjoyable. I came to this SACD after hearing the Ondine Roussel RBCD which sounded close and congested in less than inspired performances. So this came as a sea breeze, a cooling mountain air after a sirocco. Treat yourself to this, you won´t be disappointed.
Now, Ondine, if you are reading this. Some years ago I heard the most fantastic Nielsen fourth symphony ever from Leif Segerstam and I urge you to make a Nielsen symphony cycle on SACD with this genius of a conductor. In my opinion that would be a much more valuable contribution than another Tchaikovsky symphony from Eschenbach.
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| Review by JJ June 5, 2007 (3 of 7 found this review helpful)
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En 1994, sous le même label, avec le baryton Jorma Hynninen, Leif Segerstam dirigeait l’orchestre philharmonique de Tampere, pour nous offrir un disque exceptionnel, comportant quasiment le même programme que celui-ci, sans Luonnotar bien sûr. La puissance et la chaleur de la voix du baryton donnaient alors à ces lieder une réelle épaisseur aux accents souvent bouleversants. Douze ans plus tard, Segerstam revient à Sibelius avec une tout autre approche. D’abord le choix de la soliste. Soile Isokoski est certainement l’une des plus grandes voix du moment et son implication dans l’univers du compositeur finlandais est toujours d’une vérité émue. Ensuite, Segerstam donne aux œuvres choisies, une réelle finesse interprétative, quelque peu absente de son précédent enregistrement. Et c’est là que le miracle se produit. En élargissant les tempos, en soutenant par d’infimes harmonies le chant de sa complice, en refusant toute emphase, Segerstam nous offre tout simplement un Super Audio CD incontournable. A la fois tendre, sensuelle, épique, Soile Isokoski ouvre l’écrin de sa voix d’où des couleurs envoûtantes s’évadent pour notre plus grande joie. Son interprétation de Luonnotar est un moment d’une beauté ineffable. Car ce qui semble évident ici, c’est avant tout l’osmose parfaite entre un compositeur, un chef et une interprète. Précipitez-vous sans hésiter sur ces moments de grâce absolue où le mystère de Sibelius semble, tout à coup, faire partie de nous.
Jean-Jacques Millo
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