Orchestral songs

"Recommended: Norwegian mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland has tended to specialise in the baroque and early Romantic, but she also recorded and performed what we might call a lot of "Nordic" repertoire and has here turned her attention to eighteen of Sibelius' finest orchestral songs ... The songs are in themselves unfailingly melodic and easily assimilated. Kudos to the Czech conductor Petr Popelka, the soloists and the ensemble of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra for effortlessly encompassing the wide range of moods, textures and the sonorities here, from the lush to the spare ... This recital will open up a new world for many a Sibelius enthusiast unfamiliar with these lovely songs".

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"Mezzo Marianne Beate Kielland dazzles in orchestral versions of Sibelius's songs ... Kielland's even tone, flexibility and brilliant sensitivity to the text make this a rewarding collection, the intensity and drama of each song powerful and impassioned".

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"Presto disc of the week: Rautavaara's orchestrations are so convincingly Sibelian that on first hearing I completely forgot I wasn't listening to the The Real Thing ... Finley is in magnificent voice throughout: though it's relatively uncommon to find non-Finnish singers tackling this repertoire, he seems completely at home with both the sound-world and the texts".

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"The title of this disc refers to a selection of Sibelius songs that the late Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara orchestrated specifically for Gerald Finley. Rautavaara made the selection himself, choosing songs which suited Finley's voice ... Gerald Finley is in splendid voice and seems perfectly matched to the music in these songs ... This disc deserves a place on the shelves of all Sibelius devotees and fans of Gerald Finley alike".

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"Today [the voice] is a little more worn but still lovely, firm and ample in range ... The are limitations even so, some of them technical ... Yet the recital always gives pleasure, and the challenge of Luonnotar itself is joyfully met. The orchestra play with full appreciation of the richly coloured scores, and since Flagstad in the 1950s there have been few recordings which provide these genuinely enhancing accompaniments as an alternative to the piano".

"This neat compilation of orchestral songs comes from a bright-voiced Norwegian mezzo I have long admired ... exceptionally conducted by Petr Popelka, who points up the Nordic Noir in these gloomy poems ... Attractive singing, good musicianship and general sensitivity help make up for that, and create an album whose constituent parts might not beat others but do endear as a whole".

"Fjorton sånger inalles, interfolierade av tre vackra orkesterverk gör detta till en sällsynt attraktiv och generös Sibeliusutgåva ... Och som han [Gerald Finley] sjunger dem! Denne kultiverade kanadensare har länge varit en barytonfavorit; nu imponeras jag även av hans svenska uttal. Behöver inget texthäfte till det".

"Vurdering: Diapason d'or".

"Winningly sung ... Gardner ... is persuasive too, enhancing this impressive if idiosyncratic programme".