THE BALLAD SINGER - GERALD FINLEY & JULIUS DRAKE

This latest release from the multi-award-winning partnership of Gerald Finley and Julius Drake features a literary and musical form which inspired the greatest voices of German Romanticism. The foremost poets and composers of the age saw the ballad as a direct link to the folk-minstrels of the past. Frequently ghoulish and sensational in character, ballads satisfied the popular taste for the Gothic. This disc contains some of the greatest examples of the form, including Schubert’s Erlkönig, as well as some fascinating and lesser-known works. The disc also includes selections from the ever-popular English ballad tradition.

Gerald Finley’s unrivalled gift for characterization and story-telling, honed both on the stages of opera houses around the world and through his extraordinary Lieder recordings, makes him the ideal performer of these works. This is a genuinely entertaining and original disc.

1
Aus Goethes Faust  Es war einmal ein König  (No 3 of Sechs Gesänge, Op 75)[2'16]Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
2
Edward Op 1 No 1  Dein Schwert, wie ist's von Blut so rot?[6'38]Carl Loewe (1796-1869)
3
Die wandelnde Glocke Op 20 No 3  Es war ein Kind, das wollte nie[2'02]Carl Loewe (1796-1869)
4
Erlkönig D328  Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?[4'22]Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Drei Gesänge Op 31Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
5
Die Löwenbraut  Mit der Myrte geschmückt und dem Brautgeschmeid[9'24]
Romanzen und Balladen I Op 45Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
6
Der Schatzgräber  Wenn alle Wälder schliefen[3'21]
49 Deutsche Volkslieder WoO33Anonymous - traditional, arr. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
7
Es war ein Markgraf überm Rhein[3'31]
Gedichte von Eduard MörikeHugo Wolf (1860-1903)
8
Der Feuerreiter  Sehet ihr am Fensterlein[5'44]
9
Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen  Wer ist denn draußen und wer klopfet an[7'44]Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
10
La belle dame sans merci  O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms?[6'06]Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
11
Lord Randall  O where hae ye been, Lord Randall, my son?[5'23]Anonymous - traditional, arr. Cyril Scott (1879-1970)
12
The Lost Chord  Seated one day at the organ[4'17]Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)
13
The Desert  Alone in the desert, alone, I'm alone[6'55]Louis Emanuel (1819-c1889)
14
The tale of the oyster  Down by the sea lived a lonesome oyster[3'43]Cole Porter (1891-1964)