Rating: - From Wagner to Gone With the Wind
If you've delved as far down Amazon.com's sales ranks as this, presumably you're looking for something new to listen to and are perhaps wondering what Notre Dame is like.
Schmidt seems to have been one of a number of highly competent composers working in Vienna in the early 20th century but eclipsed somewhat by Mahler and the second Viennese school. Notre Dame is a compact (in length; the forces required are considerable), well-crafted work. Its sound-world runs from Wagner and Bruckner to Mahler, Strauss and Korngold. Oddly, it also brings Respighi to mind. There is a deliberate contrast between the gorgeously schmaltzy Hungarian gypsy music associated with Esmeralda, and (more Lutheran than Catholic) chorale-like themes and organ for the cathedral and Grégoire.
This is, then, a work for those who know their Wagner, Bruckner, Strauss and Mahler by heart, who've "done" Korngold and are looking ... Read More
Rating: - Another voice of German Romanticism
Here is a chance to hear another voice of German Romanticism. Schmidt's opera is lush and tuneful, Esmerelda's theme especially falls gratefully on the ear. Hugo's sprawling novel is reduced to 2 acts and 5 locales. No Charles Laughton, Lon Chaney or Disney gargoyles here. The emphasis is on Esmerelda and the effect she has on the men she encounters. The recording boasts the talents of Gwyneth Jones, James King, Kurt Moll, Horst Laubenthal and Helmut Welker under the direction of Cristof Perick (I mention this only because there are no artists listed for the recording) They do a just representation of the work, although there is nothing to compare it to. One should be grateful that artists of this caliber have made this piece available, and it is certainly worth hearing. My only quibble is that Ms. Jones and Mr. King were captured at the tail end of their careers. While their interpretive talents survive, the voices ... Read More
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- From Wagner to Gone With the Wind
- Another voice of German Romanticism
