Comments on: Songs Of War (CD):Keenlyside and Martineau SONY 2011

By: diana jones

diana jones — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 08:57:25 +0000

Thanks Jane for this excellent translation! Sylvain Fort’s comments that suggest Simon shouldn’t have bothered recording these songs because Bryn Terfel had already recorded them nearly 2 decades ago are a bit odd. It’s like saying no-one should record Schubert songs, or Dichterliebe now because they’ve already been done! Very strange!!
Diana.

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:26:21 +0000

Hello, it’s me again!!! I fully appreciate that opinions, especially of singers, are somewhat subjective, but I really do wish that Sylvain Fort had not made such an unfavourable comparison between Simon’s “Songs of War” and Bryn Terfel’s “The Vagabond”. I think it would have sufficed to mention that BT had very successfully recorded a number of the same songs and approached them in a different way and left it at that. And since 1995 is actually 17 years ago, it seems a bit pointless to make comparisons anyway!
~ Jane

By: Jane

Jane — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 19:28:02 +0000

Er…sorry, it isn’t in the blog at all. If you click on “Read review” in the section entitled “Solo Vocal”, which you come to when you click on the CD cover at the top of this thread, that is where the review is….which probably means that you have already read it. Apologies again, therefore, for wasting your time!

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 08:12:25 +0000

I haven’t listened to the podcast yet, but there is a very good review of it in the “blog” section.

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:33:08 +0000

Songs of War shortlisted for solo vocal Gramophone award.
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/solo-vocal-mark-padmore-roderick-williams-and-simon-keenlyside
However, inexplicable comment about Simon’s recital skills in the podcast. Nevertheless, a well-deserved appreciation of the CD and fingers crossed for a win.

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:46:03 +0000

What a fantastic CD this is! I can only agree with all the wonderful, positive comments that have already been made about it. I just wanted to say that according to radio 3 (Petroc T at 8:00am or thereabouts) it has come into the classical specialist chart at no.7, which is pretty encouraging! The annoying thing was that Petroc played one of the shortest tracks so we heard very little of Simon’s beautiful voice, not forgetting Malcolm’s marvellous piano playing.
I am looking forward to CD review a week on Saturday when Hilary Finch is apparently going to look at it in a bit more detail (i.e. more than last Saturday – which was another 5 second wonder!)

By: Bill Palik

Bill Palik — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:22:13 +0000

Well! Songs of War arrived today (Nov 12), and may well have gotten here on 11/11/11 except yesterday was a postal holiday. I was a bit worried looking at the recording dates in mid-February, barely a week after Simon was “SO sick in Paris” (his words), coughing during The Lads in Their Hundreds, etc. No matter. This recording is special, with a more flattering acoustic than the previous Sony disc of Schumann/Brahms, and really displays the range and tonal variety in the voice. At least 15 of the songs are new to me, and I shall have the joy of increasing familiarity with repeated listening. Whitman is not my poet (I’m an Emily Dickinson man), but Simon’s rendition of Weill’s Dirge setting had me in tears, as did at least one other song. What a wide range of music – the more conventional settings equally winning as the more adventurous ones. Impeccable diction and constantly imaginative musicality we take for granted with SK, but this is a splendid disc. I could go on, but would only dilute and not amplify my reaction – Bravo!

By: DK

DK — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:53:49 +0000

Third encore at the Herbst recital was Percy Grainger’s setting of A Sprig of Thyme which he sang for his son (an alternative interpretation of the “young man” of the last verse).

First three encores in Santa Monica were the same as in San Francisco but the fourth was Schubert’s Der Wanderer an den Mond (where I think Mr. Martineau expected An mein Klavier which must have been the fourth encore both in SFO and Vancouver).

By: Kew

Kew — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 04:53:48 +0000

Hello Janet,

I happened to be in the area and, more importantly, was fortunate enough to see Simon give a wonderful recital in San Francisco. As Shawn said, “A Shropshire Lad” was a very heart-felt part of the last night performance.
As per your question, he gave 4 encores as below. Although I am not quite sure of the third one, I think it may be one of the Vaughan Williams’s songs. Before singing it, Simon talked a bit about his son Owen. Seems that he likes hearing his father sing.
1. Der Einsame (Schubert)
2. Sea Fever (Ireland)
3. (English song)
4. An mein Klavier (Schubert)

Cheers
Kew

By: Janet

Janet — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:42:37 +0000

In reply to Shawn Ying. Hi Shawn - Hope you get Simon's CD soon. Do you know what the encores were last night? Janet