LEONTYNE PRICE SAMUEL BARBER - LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 19: PRICE & BARBER CD

SKU/Barcode: 090404915628

This Bridge release, Leontyne Price & Samuel Barber: Historic Performances 1938 & 1953, is the 19th volume in Bridge's Great Performances from the Library of Congress series. Unlike a prior RCA Victor package including part of this concert, the Bridge disc contains the entire original recital as given by Price and Samuel Barber at the Library of Congress on October 30, 1953. Some striking additional material comes in the form of 12 previously inconceivable vocal performances by the 23-year-old Barber himself, taken from a radio broadcast from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1938. Price and Barber made a terrific team, in complete sympathy with one another and combining in an effort to go for the emotional jugular at every turn. The unexpected bonus of having the Library of Congress recital complete is the ability to hear the pair in songs other than those by Barber, namely Frenchmen Francis Poulenc, Henri Sauguet, and Gabriel Faur . Price and Barber perform these songs with such sensitivity, restraint, control, and charm that the live audience, in some cases so overcome with excitement, tries to applaud early! Bridge transfers this indispensable live recording with no additional sweetening and great care, and while the recording is not as bright and punchy as the old RCA disc, it is warmer and sounds more "real." One may find any number of better quality recordings of the Hermit Songs, but one would be hard pressed to find a better performance than this. Barber's singing, reminiscent of Lawrence Tibbett and accompanied by his own tidy, yet flexible piano accompaniment, is old-fashioned, as one might expect from the nephew of Louise Homer. But Barber's is a very human voice, eager to entertain and provide an impression in the relatively easy folk-song arrangements and lieder chosen for this program, which are unique to his own personality. The sound, taken from aged lacquers, is a little noisy and distorted at times. Barber possesses so much warmth and charisma, however, that no one who is genuinely interested in this is likely to turn it off due to the sound; it is a moving experience. Leontyne Price & Samuel Barber: Historic Performances 1938 & 1953 provides a fascinating glimpse into the inner world of one of America's greatest, and most intensely private, composers.