September Songs by Thomas Allen

Various composers

Thomas Allen

September Songs

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Champs Hill
UPC: 5060212591500
Catnr: CHRCD 144
Release date: 07 September 2018
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Label
Champs Hill

UPC
5060212591500

Catalogue number
CHRCD 144

Release date
07 September 2018

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

Sir Thomas Allen is an established star of great opera house around the world with a huge repertoire - with fifty roles at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden alone – who has now recorded something completely different for Champs Hill Records. ·

September Songs is a chance to explore songs he grew up with, loved then and loves still, but repertoire that’s not usually associated with him, the golden age of Broadway and Hollywood with its melodic beauty, lyrical inventiveness and emotional directness.

Allen has always hankered to ‘give it a go’ and to explore songs by the likes of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and Kurt Weill. This period of music has so much allure and fascination for singers and musicians from all backgrounds, and he’s upfront about the criticisms that can so often be levelled against classical singers performing the Great American Songbook – that performers don’t give it the respect it deserves: “my feeling is that these songs are every bit the equal of the standard repertoire that we sing, and one must find the way of singing them… there’s an intimacy to so many of them that, in these simple versions for voice and piano, I know I have to try to capture.” “There are one or two in particular that are little operatic scenas in themselves, and I love trying to find what that scene is – that’s my challenge.”

De beroemde Engelse lyrische bariton Sir Thomas Allen heeft er altijd van gedroomd om liederen van componisten als George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern en Kurt Weil op zijn repertoire te kunnen zetten. Maar dat betekende wel dat hij eerst moest uitzoeken hoe hij ze moest zingen. En dat is gelukt met dit fantastische album September Songs. Thomas Allen wordt vergezeld door sopraan Lucy Crowe en pianist Stephen Higgins.

Liederen waarvan hij houdt

Sir Thomas Allen is een grote operaster met een veelzijdig repertoire. Hij zong alleen al vijftig rollen bij het Royal Opera House, Covent Garden en treedt overal ter wereld op in de grote operahuizen. En met dit album heeft hij dus totaal iets anders opgenomen. De September Songs zijn de liederen waarmee de zanger opgroeide waarvan hij hield en waar hij nog steeds heel veel van houdt. Maar het is wel repertoire dat gewoonlijk niet met hem geassocieerd wordt, de muziek uit het gouden tijdperk van Broadway en Hollywood met zijn melodische schoonheid, lyrische vindingrijkheid en emotionele openheid. Een muzikale periode die zoveel allure kent voor zangers en musici met diverse achtergronden.

Openhartig over kritiek

Thomas Allen is duidelijk over de kritiek die klassieke zangers zo vaak over zich heen krijgen, dat ze geen respect tonen voor het repertoire, als ze het Great American Songbook uitvoeren. “Ik vind dat deze liederen in alles gelijk zijn aan die uit ons standaardrepertoire, en dat we alleen de manier moeten zoeken waarop ze gezongen moeten worden … er zit in zoveel van deze liederen een intimiteit die ik wil proberen te vangen in deze eenvoudige versies voor stem en piano. Er zijn er een of twee in het bijzonder die op zich al kleine operateske scènes zijn, en ik houd ervan om erachter te komen wat die scène is – dat is mijn uitdaging.”

Artist(s)

Thomas Allen (baritone)

Sir Thomas Allen is an established star of the great opera houses of the world. At the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where in 2011 he celebrated the 40th anniversary of his debut with the company, he has sung over fifty roles. The same year he also celebrated the 30th anniversary of his debut at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. He returns to the Metropolitan Opera in 2017/2018 for his acclaimed portrayal of Baron Zeta (The Merry Widow). He’s particularly renowned for his Billy Budd, Pelléas, Eugene Onegin, Ulisse and Beckmesser, as well as the great Mozart roles of Count Almaviva, Don Alfonso, Papageno, Guglielmo and, of course, Don Giovanni. His recent engagements have included the title role in Gianni Schicchi for Los Angeles Opera and at the Spoleto Festival; the title role in Sweeney Todd, Beckmesser (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier), Prosdocimo (Il turco in Italia), Music Master (Ariadne auf Naxos), Peter (Hänsel und Gretel) and Don Alfonso at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Don Alfonso, Ulisse and Don Giovanni at the Bayerische Staatsoper; Faninal at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia; Eisenstein at the Glyndebourne Festival; Don Alfonso at the Dallas Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and at the Salzburg Easter and Summer festivals; Forester (The Cunning Little Vixen) at the San Francisco Opera and Beckmesser, Don Alfonso and Music Master at the Metropolitan Opera, New York.

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Lucy Crowe (soprano)

Soprano Lucy Crowe was born in Steffordshire. With repertoire ranging from Purcell, Handel and Mozart to Donizetti’s Adina and Verdi’s Gilda she has sung with opera companies throughout the world, including the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, the Glyndebourne Festival, English National Opera, the Teatro Real Madrid, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bavarian State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.

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Stephen Higgins (piano)

Stephen Higgins is a conductor and pianist who has worked extensively in major opera houses and festivals both in the UK and abroad.He spent his early professional career on the music staff of Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne and English National Opera and has worked on a wide variety of repertoire, ranging from Monteverdi, Mozart, Puccini, John Adams and Stephen Sondheim. Higgins also has an interest in music theatre, working with Sondheim on revivals of A little Night Music and Sunday in the park with George at the Châtelet theatre in Paris, and conducting Phantom of the Opera in London’s West End. He is also considerably in demand as a vocal coach and as guest chorus master for opera companies up and down the country. Since January 2016...

Higgins also has an interest in music theatre, working with Sondheim on revivals of A little Night Music and Sunday in the park with George at the Châtelet theatre in Paris, and conducting Phantom of the Opera in London’s West End.

He is also considerably in demand as a vocal coach and as guest chorus master for opera companies up and down the country.
Since January 2016 Higgins has been Head of Music at Bergen Nasjonale opera in Norway. He has conducted Hansel and Gretel and Carmen for the company and has assisted visiting conductors on productions of Madama Butterfly, Il Turco in Italia, Otello, Peter Grimes and Messiah.

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Composer(s)

George Gershwin

George Gershwin was an American composer, who is mostly known due to his combinations of classical and popular music genres. George Gershwin grew up in a poor neighbourhood in New York. His parents were Russian immigrants who had trouble making ends meet. They did, however, decide to purchase an old piano so Ira Gershwin could study to become a musician. Yet, it turned out not Ira, but his younger brother George showed remarkable talent. Ira applied himself to writing song lyrics and together the Gershwin brothers became absolute greats in the world of 20th century musicals. Nowadays, George's compositions are still relevant, as is evidenced by the many performances of his Rhapsody in Blue from 1924. But the best example is the ageless Summtertime,...

George Gershwin was an American composer, who is mostly known due to his combinations of classical and popular music genres.

George Gershwin grew up in a poor neighbourhood in New York. His parents were Russian immigrants who had trouble making ends meet. They did, however, decide to purchase an old piano so Ira Gershwin could study to become a musician. Yet, it turned out not Ira, but his younger brother George showed remarkable talent. Ira applied himself to writing song lyrics and together the Gershwin brothers became absolute greats in the world of 20th century musicals. Nowadays, George's compositions are still relevant, as is evidenced by the many performances of his Rhapsody in Blue from 1924. But the best example is the ageless Summtertime, which has been covered a countless number of times by a countless number of artists.

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Joseph Kosma

Kurt Weill

Kurt Weill was a German composer, active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht. With Brecht, he developed productions such as his best-known work The Threepenny Opera, which included the ballad 'Mack the Knife'. Weill held the ideal of writing music that served a socially useful purpose. He also wrote several works for the concert hall. He became a United States citizen on August 27, 1943.

Kurt Weill was a German composer, active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht. With Brecht, he developed productions such as his best-known work The Threepenny Opera, which included the ballad "Mack the Knife".
Weill held the ideal of writing music that served a socially useful purpose. He also wrote several works for the concert hall. He became a United States citizen on August 27, 1943.

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Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein was one of the most iconic American composers and conductors of the 20th century, and was among the first American musicians who gained worldwide recognition.
He actually made his breakthrough as a conductor by chance, when he suddenly had to stand in for the ailing Bruno Walter for a concert by the New York Philharmonic in 1943. The concert, which was broadcast live on radio, received critical acclaim from the press. Bernstein would soon become a sought-after guest conductor.
From 1958 till 1969, Bernstein was principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic, with which he performed amongst others the complete symphonies of Mahler, which sparked a renewed interest in the music of the Austrian composer in the United States. He was also an advocate of the music of American composers, in particular that of his close friend Aaron Copland. Bernstein recorded nearly all of his orchestral works, and paid much attention to his music in his popular television series Young People’s Concerts, in which he introduced a young audience to classical music.
As a composer, Bernstein is primarily known for his accessible theatre works such as Wonderful Town, Candide and The West Side Story, which still is his most popular work. He also composed three symphonies and several shorter chamber works. In his music he fused elements of Jewish music, theatre music and jazz with those of composers like Copland, Stravinsky and Gershwin.

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