**** The title of this cd could be twofold: not only Auf Flügeln des Gesanges, but also Auf Flügeln des Klaviers. A true art song singer together with a magical pianist, that delivers an original cd to be enjoyed twofold: of song and of piano transcription.
It is strange that no one had previously come up with this way of presenting lieder: pairing an original song with a piano arrangement of that song. Sometimes by a composer who is a born arranger of lieder or vocal music, such as Franz Liszt. But we also encounter lesser or even barely known names such as Leopold Godowsky, August Stradal, Eduard Schütt or virtuoso pianists and song accompanists such as Walter Gieseking and Gerald Moore. Theodor Kirchner and Richard Wagner are present as composers of lieder and piano works and fortunately Clara Schumann is not missing with an arrangement of a song by Robert Schumann from the Liederkreis.
As you can see, a colorful and especially valuable collection of lieder and piano pieces from the Romantic era. Christoph Prégardien is still a song singer with a remarkable flexibility and remarkably perfect diction, making every text comprehensible. Yet the voice has lost some of its lustre over the years, and the breath no longer flows endlessly smoothly. This is immediately apparent in the first song Die Forelle and in the somewhat stiff opening of Wagner's Träume. But he still manages well thanks to his technique as an experienced singer and his expressive content. Moreover, he has in Cyprien Katsaris a choice partner, who reveals himself as a magician at the piano and who conjures every nuance of the arranged song from the wordless keys. A supreme example is for instance the echo from Brahms' song Agnes, where the echo in each stanza of the song (Blieben treu, Tausendmal) is beautifully transformed into softened piano sound as an enhancement of the emotion. A unique song cd.
- WHAT: Auf Flügeln des Gesanges. Romantic songs and piano transcriptions
- WHO: Christoph Prégardien (tenor) & Cyprien Katsaris (piano)
- RELEASE: Challenge Classics CC 72787