Dmitri Hvorostovsky: In This Moonlit Night

Hvorostovsky's lyric baritone never disappoints. In this collection of lieder he is accompanied only by piano which allows his voice to ring out even more clearly.

An outstanding album in every respect. The program is carefully chosen. Differently from Hvorostovsky's recent song-albums this one builds on two closely-knit cycles: Tchaikovsky's Six Romances and Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death. The third block contains six songs by Taneyev but these, too, touch the dominant themes of the cycles: love and death. Hvorostovsky's voice is in perfect shape, it is as fresh as new, flies up to the high regions with ease, its unique timbre , its shining darkness is as if the voice was the embodiment of the title. His characteristic deep emotionality comes through best in the Tchaikovsky songs, and his signature song 'Again, as before, alone' gets new dimensions as the closing piece of the cycle which carries the listener from regret and loss (You and I were sitting together) through dreaming and desire (In this moonlit night) to hymnic heights of love (The sun has set) , then back to loneliness and unutterable anguish again in the last song. Then a bit longer pause - and the ultimate surprise comes. The Mussorgsky cycle is performed usually with orchestration (Hvorostovsky himself made earlier records of it with Gergiev and with Temirkanov) so the turnback to the piano-version was a bit risky, to put it mildly. But the result convinces that this is the right form! Much-much more intense than even the best orchestral version. Ivari Ilja's congenial piano playing sets the scene perfectly for each song, and what Hvorostovsky does is more than fantastic singing. His voice changes with the characters, he creates dramatic scenes so different in the four songs but equally chilling the blood in an omnipresent danse macabre. His singing Death is tender and amorous, sarcastic and triumphant. At the end of Serenade one feels almost embarrased by the intimacy of his loving whisper: '...slushay...molchi...' . In Trepak the ghostly passages of the blizzard run and howl under the fingers of Ilja, Hvorostovsky's voice turns deadly playful, Death amuses himself ...The Taneyev songs seem to be of a lighter character, the magic voice is filled with warmth now and evokes fairy tales (Winter path) and tender love. But in Menuet the foreboding of death appears again. I've listened to the album many times, first from the beginning to the end ,then separately to the three blocks, then to each song, again and again. It always gives new pleasures to the ear and to the soul.Please, note the cover, too - a really artistic portrait (the work of Pavel Antonov).I warmly recommend the album to everybody who loves beautiful deep voices and who loves art songs.

Very good

I love it

Dmitri Hvorostovsky is quite simply one of the most amazing baritones performing today. In this recording of lieder by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Taneyev he demonstrates not only his ability to deliver strong, powerful vocals, but sensitivity as well – he inhabits the pieces and the music just burns out of him as if it simply cannot be contained. And in the case of the Tchaikovsky works (Six Songs, Op. 73), this is quite apt indeed.For those unfamiliar with Mussorgsky’s “Songs and Dances of Death”, the music is very demanding and full of energy, while at the same time possessing a somber, hard edge that is so very Russian it is inescapable. This is not “pretty music”, but if all you know of Mussorgsky is “Pictures at an Exhibition” then you owe it to yourself to hear these pieces. There is truth and a sense of forlorn expectation here that is palpable, and Mr. Hvorostovsky does amazing work here.My favorites were the pieces from Taneyev, particularly “Not the wind from on high” – here Mr. Hvorostovsky shows the more sensitive and introspective side of his interpretive abilities, which in some ways is even more powerful that when he lets loose at full power. These six pieces were worth the price of the CD, and will certainly have a frequent place on my music playlist.I must also compliment Ivari Ilja’s piano playing. Accompanying someone with as much presence and commitment as Mr. Hvorostovsky is daunting to say the least, but he really holds his own and provides a melodic base that certainly must have given Dmitri a sense of having a strong partner to make this music with. If you like Russian vocal music (sung in Russian, of course) and are open to the emotions present therein, then you will enjoy thoroughly enjoy this recording. Strongly recommended.

This is a brilliant album. Dmitri Hvorostovsky's interpretations of these songs is beautiful and the piano accompaniment is first class. As non- Russian speaker I appreciated the lyrics in Russian and English that accompanied the album and was able to follow them easily because of the singer's superb diction and expression.

Warum wird dieser einmalige Sänger so selten auf unseren Sendern (z.B. NDR Kultur) gebracht? Deshalb habe ich mir einige schöne CDs mit diesem sehr guten Bariton gekauft. Eine wundervolle Stimme. Kann ich nur empfehlen!!!!

What a great CD. A whole CD of vocal and piano can sometimes be too much but this is wonderful music.

こんなに素晴らしいバリトン歌手がどうしてこんな早く地球からいなくなってしまったのだろう。とても悲しいし、惜しいし、残念でならない。でも、彼が全身で歌い上げる魂の曲を聴ける幸いがまだ残されている。それは何という慰めであり、喜びだろう。聴いていると彼のチャーミングな気高い容姿も眼前に現れてくるようではないか。このCDはピアノのみの伴奏であり、真摯な歌唱の魅力がより際立っているように思える。彼のいろいろな違った魅力が堪能できる作品が、これからまだまだ多く出現することを私は期待している。

Nor the best of Hvorostovsky, if you ask me.

今から10年くらい前、初めてホロストフスキーの歌を聞き、オペラやCDの名演を見てミーハー・ファンになった。鴨川の清流を流れる友禅流しのような、あるいはアメリカのオペラ・レビューでよく使われる「クリームシチューのような」、本物のなめらかなレガートと繊細な歌心の虜になってしまったからだった。それ以来、まだ有名になる前に録音したロシア歌曲やオペラのCDを聞いて、ここに声の成熟が加わったら最高の歌手だと思っていたものだった。さて、このCDは最新の録音でロシア歌曲を歌ったものである。以前に同じようなロシアン・ロマンスのCDを出しているが、それに比べて明らかに不出来である。曲への理解が足りず、楽譜を追っかけて歌っている。いちばん問題なのは、発声が悪くなったこと。鳴りが悪くて響きがついていない。クリームシチューと評されたレガートはいったいどこへ行ってしまったのか。言葉の陰影に忠実な繊細な表現はいったいどこへ行ったのか。スターになってから、ホロストフスキーはテレビのトーク番組に出演したり、バカ広い野外ステージでマイクを使って歌ったり、ポップスと共演したり八面六臂の大活躍だが、結局それが発声の基本的な体の使い方を忘れさせたとしか思えない。マイクを使って歌ってしまうと、生声で歌うときの体の使い方がわからなくなるという。声楽家は自分の肉体のみを武器に戦うという意味で、アスリートとまったく同じである。一流のアスリートがマネージャーやコーチはもとより、トレーナーや栄養士、人によってはカウンセラーまで帯同して世界を転戦しているのに対し、声楽家でボイス・トレーナーを帯同してくる人はほとんどいない。自分のステージを客観的に聞いて、厳しくダメだしをしてくれるコーチなしには、正しい声の状態を保っていくのは至難の技である。かくして歌手の命は短くて、スターになって10年もたたずに声ががたがたになってくる。あんなにいい声だったのに、なんともやるせない…………。