Illalle Op 17 No 6 Oi, terve! tumma, vieno tähtiilta Den judiska flickans sang Hur kan jag le, hur kan jag vara glad? (Song from Belsazars gästabud, Op 51) Svarta rosor Op 36 No 1 Säg hvarför är du sa ledsen i dag Men min fagel märks dock icke Op 36 No 2 Svanen speglas re’ni sundet Bollspelet vid Trianon Op 36 No 3 Det smattrar prat och slar boll och skrattar Säv, säv, susa Op 36 No 4 Marssnön Op 36 No 5 Den svala snön därute faller Demanten pa Marssnön Op 36 No 6 Pa drivans snö där glimmar Jag är ett träd Op 57 No 5 Näcken Op 57 No 8 Djup stod färgen pa fura pa sten Den första kyssen Op 37 No 1 Pa silvermolnets kant satt aftonstjärnan Lasse liten Op 37 No 2 Världen är sa stor, sa stor Soluppgang Op 37 No 3 Under himlens purpurbrand Var det en dröm? Op 37 No 4 Flickan kom ifran sin älsklings möte Op 37 No 5 Vem styrde hit din väg? Op 90 No 6 Langt bortom fjärdens vag Norden Op 90 No 1 Löfven de falla Lenzgesang Op 50 No 1 Seid gegrüßt, ihr grünen Hallen Sehnsucht Op 50 No 2 Oft am langen Tage Im Feld ein Mädchen singt Op 50 No 3 Aus banger Brust Op 50 No 4 Die rosen leuchten immer noch Die stille Stadt Op 50 No 5 Liegt eine Stadt im Tale Rosenlied Op 50 No 6 Wir senkten die Wurzeln in Moos und Gestein Varen flyktar hastigt Op 13 No 4 Under strandens granar Op 13 No 1
Robert Layton, who has provided the booklet notes for this album, describes the treasure-trove of Sibelius’s songs as one of music’s best-kept secrets. The composer wrote a surprisingly large number of songs throughout his life, and anybody who responds to the Nordic spirit and subject-matter of the symphonies and other orchestral music will ?nd much to please them here. They are tuneful, passionate and evocative of the northern latitudes. Virtually all of them are in Swedish which, although he was Finnish, was Sibelius’s ?rst language, but the Opus 50 set is in German. There are no fewer than seven settings of the composer’s favourite poet of the northern landscapes, Johan Runeberg, including two of Sibelius’s best-known songs, ‘The tryst’ and ‘The ?rst kiss’.
Our singer is the delightful Swedish soprano Katarina Karnéus, sometime winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE PICK OF THE MONTH · THE DAILY TELEGRAPH BEST OF THE YEAR · THE SUNDAY TIMES BEST OF THE YEAR
‘Inspired performances …it is a magic partnership, giving fresh insights in every song’ (The Guardian)
‘Highly recommended to lovers of Sibelius’s music who, like me, were unaware of this treasure’ (The Sunday Times)
‘If you want a single disc to demonstrate the richness and variety of Sibelius’s songs, you will not do better than this. Karnéus’s voice is glorious’ (The Daily Telegraph)
‘A wonderful, thoroughly recommendable album …this disc receives my highest recommendation’ (Fanfare, USA) ‘Compellingly shaped and hugely accomplished recital’ (BBC Music Magazine)
‘Rich in variety and entirely satisfying as a recital’ (International Record Review)
‘Enveloppée dans le piano généreux et coloré de Julius Drake, Katarina Karnéus interprete ces Mélodies avec émotion et simplicité’ (Classica, France)
