Barbara Bonney - Diamonds in the Snow (Nordic Songs) / Pappano

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Not many of today's leading singers can manage the transition from opera stage to lieder recital with the grace and undiminished charisma of Barbara Bonney. The American lyric soprano is a marvelous interpreter of Mozart and Strauss and has also recorded compelling accounts of Schumann. Yet even within the realm of the art song, Bonney shows remarkable versatility. Diamonds in the Snow is a deliciously performed, thoroughly engaging compilation of Scandinavian songs by Grieg, Sibelius, Stenhammar, and others. These songs are for the most part simply structured and direct. Yet Bonney's emotional connection and her outstandingly focused tone and shading invariably paint a convincing and intimate atmosphere. She sings the familiar melody of "Solveig's Song" from Grieg's Peer Gynt with a uniquely moving blend of purity and poignancy. The beauty of another Grieg song, "Dereinst, Gedanke mein"--which features a hauntingly repeated "Tristan chord"--is so intense that you don't want to let go of the mood it evokes, while Bonney displays a girlish charm in "Lauf der Welt" and Sibelius's "Vilse." Acclaimed opera conductor Antonio Pappano is a deeply sensitive partner at the keyboard; he gives the rippling accompaniment, for example, to the Sibelius's "Sav, sav, susa" its full measure of suspense and doom. Listening to the whole disc is as pleasurable as sipping white wine before a winter fire. --Thomas May

Tracks:

Varen (Op.33 No.2)
Jeg elsker Dig (Op.5 No.3)
Peer Gynt, Op.23: Solveigs sang
Med en vandlilje (Op.25 No.4)
Prinsessen
En svane (Op.25 No.2)
Fra Monte Pincio (Op.39 No.1)
Sechs Lieder, Op.48: Gruss
Sechs Lieder, Op.48: Dereinst, Gedanke mein
Sechs Lieder, Op.48: Lauf der Welt
Sechs Lieder, Op.48: Die verschwiegene Nachtigall
Sechs Lieder, Op.48: Zur Rosenzeit
Sechs Lieder, Op.48: Ein Traum
Diamanten pa Marssnon (Op.36 No.6)
Vilse (Op.17 No.4)
Sav, sav, susa (Op.36 No.4)
Var det en drom? (Op.37 No.4)
Flickan kom ifran sin alsklings mote (Op.37 No.5)
Flickan kom ifran sin alsklings mote (Op.4b No.1)
Adagio (Op.20 No.5)
Sverige (Op.22 No.2)
Fylgia (Op.16 No.4)
I skogen
Sa tag mit hjerte
Skogen sover (Op.28 No.6)
Tonerna

Amazon.com

Not many of today's leading singers can manage the transition from opera stage to lieder recital with the grace and undiminished charisma of Barbara Bonney. The American lyric soprano is a marvelous interpreter of Mozart and Strauss and has also recorded compelling accounts of Schumann. Yet even within the realm of the art song, Bonney shows remarkable versatility. Diamonds in the Snow is a deliciously performed, thoroughly engaging compilation of Scandinavian songs by Grieg, Sibelius, Stenhammar, and others. These songs are for the most part simply structured and direct. Yet Bonney's emotional connection and her outstandingly focused tone and shading invariably paint a convincing and intimate atmosphere. She sings the familiar melody of "Solveig's Song" from Grieg's Peer Gynt with a uniquely moving blend of purity and poignancy. The beauty of another Grieg song, "Dereinst, Gedanke mein"--which features a hauntingly repeated "Tristan chord"--is so intense that you don't want to let go of the mood it evokes, while Bonney displays a girlish charm in "Lauf der Welt" and Sibelius's "Vilse." Acclaimed opera conductor Antonio Pappano is a deeply sensitive partner at the keyboard; he gives the rippling accompaniment, for example, to the Sibelius's "Sav, sav, susa" its full measure of suspense and doom. Listening to the whole disc is as pleasurable as sipping white wine before a winter fire. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

A necklace of diamonds for never-ending delight.......2006-03-25

Barbara Bonney's voice has never sounded more delightfully radiant than in this beautiful collection of Nordic songs. I found her detailed word-painting and subtle touches with the resonance between lyrics, melody and harmony to be like the fine work of a great miniaturist.

Her German is very good indeed; Scandinavian language seems to pose few problems for her; perhaps her Finnish is a little accented, but that's a tricky language in which to sing for a non-native singer.

The Sibelius songs are particularly beautifully interpreted. A delicate richness given by Ms Bonney matches the rich fairy-tale colorisation of the snow in which these "diamonds" are birthed.

In short... beautiful. Truly beautiful.

I can also recommend the complete Sibelius songs sung by Elizabeth Söderström - another artist who sings with the heart as well as the voice.

A true work of art.......2002-09-29

Well, what else can be said... I will only say that this CD was my best friend at every possible place: at home, on the buss, vacations abroad... It has never ceased to amaze me, and as an opera student I heard it- admiringly- over and over again, trying as much as I could to learn from this ever so intelligent singer. For as you know, good voices are all around the place but being able to use them wisely while making a real difference - now that is not as common.
2 songs which entered my Lieder-hall-of-fame are the 2 versions of "Flickan komm...". I was never so deeply touched as I was, listening to those two, ever so different from eachother, yet both so moving. the Grieg cycle (op.48) is a favourite of mine as well.
I HIGHLY recommend it! Enjoy .

A very apt and appropriate title for these gems.......2002-07-18

Barbara Bonney's voice and interpretive skills truly showcase these songs of Grieg, Sibelius, and the others. Her tone is clear, radiant and she exhibits warmth and stylistic versatility. The interpretation is really the main thing here. She communicates the subtleties of the poetry in these songs.

Grieg is, of course, the best known, on an international scale, for his songs, and some of these are indeed familiar.

Sibelius wrote over a 100 songs, but his reputation for symphonic works has overshadowed these songs...they are well worth our acquaintance.

The other composers are unfamiliar to those outside the Nordic countries and again we are rewarded by becoming acquainted with them.

This is a beautiful, exquisitely delivered compilation which is sure to please those who love the art song.

Bonney is divine.......2001-03-25

I was introduced to Barbara Bonney at a Boston Symphony performance of Barber's "Knoxville" and was knocked out. I've heard her several times since and decided to purchase "Diamonds in the Snow" on a lark. This amazing collection has since replaced my "marooned on a desert island" choice from Dawn Upshaw's "Songs of the Auvergne" (although I would beg to please take both). Bonney's smooth, supple voice and lyrical interpretation of Grieg and Sibelius soothes me in the darkest hours.

A rare and beautiful duet.......2001-01-20

This disc joins my Cecilia Bartoli/James Levine recital cd in a tie for most perfect blending of singer and acompanist. This is just a poetic blending of talents and the music on this cd isn't just pretty or interesting-- it is-- in the words of another reviewer on this site-- "music to dream by." These songs inhabit their own spaces-- intimate and pure. Barbara Bonney's tone is beautiful and Pappano seems to understand her mind and intentions in a deep way. At first, its obscure songs (read: not Schubert or Schumann) made me question buying this cd. As soon as I pressed play though, my hesitancy evaporated and there was only intimate music. Terrific.

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