Margarita Alaverdian, Alexander Gergalov, Lyubov Sokolova & Georgy Seleznev - Balakirev: Complete Romances (2012)

12 Aug, 11:11
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Artist: Margarita Alaverdian, Alexander Gergalov, Lyubov Sokolova, Georgy Seleznev
Title: Balakirev: Complete Romances
Year Of Release: 2012
Label: Delos
Genre: Classical
Quality: FLAC (tracks + booklet)
Total Time: 1:43:34
Total Size: 348 MB
WebSite: Album Preview

Tracklist:

Disc 1

1. Margarita Alaverdian – 3 Zabitikh romansa (3 Forgotten Songs): No. 1, Tï plenitel'noy negi polna [Thou art so captivating] (01:34)
2. Margarita Alaverdian – 3 Zabitikh romansa (3 Forgotten Songs): No. 2, Zveno [the Link] (02:31)
3. Margarita Alaverdian – 3 Zabitikh romansa (3 Forgotten Songs): No. 3 Ispanskaya pesnya [Spanish Song] (01:35)
4. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 1, Pesnya razboynika (Brigand's Song) (01:53)
5. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 3, Barkarola (Barcarolle) (02:05)
6. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 2, Oboymi, potseluy (Embrace, Kiss) (02:22)
7. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 7, Ritsar (the Knight) (02:00)
8. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 10, Pridi ko mne (Come to me) (02:29)
9. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 4, Kolibel'naya pesnya (Cradle Song) (02:55)
10. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 11, Pesnya Selima (Song of Selim) (02:21)
11. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 9, Tak i rvyotsya dusha (My heart Is torn) (01:08)
12. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 8, Mne li, molodtsu razudalomu (I'm a fine fellow) (02:15)
13. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 6, Kogda bezzabotno, ditya, ti rezvish'sya (When thou Playest, Carefree Child) (02:29)
14. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 5, Vzoshol na nebo mesyats yasniy (the Bright Moon) (02:58)
15. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 12, Vvedi menya, o noch', taykom (Lead me, o night) (01:15)
16. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 14, Isstupleniye (Rapture) (01:25)
17. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 13, Yevreyskaya melodiya (Hebrew melody) (02:13)
18. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 16, Pesnya zolotoy ribki (Song of the Golden Fish) (03:16)
19. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 15, Otchego (Why) (01:32)
20. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 17, Pesnya starika (Old Man's song) (01:50)
21. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 19, Gruzinskaya pesnya (Georgian song) (05:22)
22. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 18, Slishu li golos tvoy (When I Hear thy Voice) (01:07)
23. Margarita Alaverdian – 20 Songs: No. 20, Son (the Dream) (02:44)

Disc 2

1. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1896): No. 1, Nad ozerom [Over the Lake] (02:33)
2. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1896): No. 2, Pustinya [the Wilderness] (02:56)
3. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1896): No. 5, Ya lyubila yego [I loved him] (02:32)
4. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1896): No. 8, Kak naladili: Durak [the Putting-Right] (01:17)
5. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1896): No. 6, Sosna [the Pine Tree] (01:49)
6. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1896): No. 3, Ne penitsya more [the sea does not foam] (02:22)
7. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1896): No. 7, Nachtstuck [Nocturne] (04:29)
8. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1896): No. 9, Sredi tsvetov pori osenney [Mid Autumn Flowers] (01:39)
9. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1896): No. 10, Dogorayet rumyaniy zakat [the rosy sunset fades] (02:33)
10. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1896): No. 4, Kogda volnuyetsya zhelteyushchaya niva [When the Yellow Cornfield Waves] (03:14)
11. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1904): No. 1, Zapevka [Prologue] (03:21)
12. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1904): No. 2, Son [the Dream] (03:28)
13. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1904): No. 5, Ya prishyol k tebe s privetom [I came to thee with greeting] (02:11)
14. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1904): No. 6, Vzglyani, moy drug [Look, my friend] (02:21)
15. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1904): No. 7, Shepot, robkoye dikhan'ye [a Whisper, a Timid Breath] (01:56)
16. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1904): No. 8, [Pesnya: Zholtiy list] [Song. The yellow leaf trembles] (02:48)
17. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1904): No. 9, Iz-pod tainstvennoy kholodnoy polumaski [Under the Mysterious Cold Half-Mask] (01:43)
18. Margarita Alaverdian – 10 Songs (1904): No. 10, Spi! [Sleep!] (04:31)
19. Gheorghi Seleznev – Zarya (Dawn) (02:07)
20. Lyubov Sokolova – Utyos (the Rock) (02:07)

The fiery piano work Islamey and some orchestral pieces are all that is known of Russian composer Mily Balakirev in the West, but these Romances -- short art songs with a personal, sometimes over-the-top romantic expression -- are quite familiar in Russophone areas, even among general listeners. They date mostly from the very beginning and very end of Balakirev's career, with the first of this two-disc U.S. release devoted to the former and the second to the latter. The style remains generally consistent throughout. Balakirev suffered a major breakdown in the 1870s, after which he became immersed in an idiosyncratic and fundamentalist brand of Orthodox worship, reportedly refusing to kill insects, even bedbugs. He returned to composing, but he was no longer in the forefront of Russian nationalism. The songs deserve to be better known, and this release, with ideal notes by accompanist Yuri Serov, makes a good introduction to them for the target non-Russian audience; the texts are given in transliterated Russian and English, but not in the original Cyrillic alphabet. The poetry is of generally high quality, with Mikhail Lermontov and the "Russian Burns," Alexy Koltsov, the most frequently represented. Most of it falls into clear stanzas, and the musical structures are correspondingly simple. But there's a great variety of song types, and they suggest something of the essence of the approach of this self-trained composer, who tended to study the styles of other composers, domestic and foreign, and swallow them whole. Some of the songs, even those from Balakirev's teenage years, reflect the composer's attempt to write characteristically Russian music, while others are faithful renditions of the styles of Schubert, Schumann, and French models. There is a rich expressiveness to many of these songs, and the four singers, all graduates of the St. Petersburg or Odessa conservatories, are strong interpreters; baritone Alexandr Gergalov is a real standout in his delightful control over the hints of Russian melodic contour that show up in many of the songs. An excellent effort from the innovative U.S. label Delos, and one that expands the vocal repertoire.

Margarita Alaverdian, Alexander Gergalov, Lyubov Sokolova & Georgy Seleznev - Balakirev - Complete Romances.rar - 348.3 MB