Jessye Norman - R.Strauss - Im Abendrot

[dagadbm]

:)

[ericbelify]

it gets no better than this

[castroosvaldo08]

Excelta

[kerawelt2008]

That unparalleled heavenly - black - voice singing like - maybe - no other a gem of the German repertoire gives the finger to the Nazis assholes and their devilish racist junk. 

[kalitheamare]

SUBLIME

[AleksandraPlamenac]

I want to marry Jessye I want to marry Jessye I want to marry Jessye I want to marry Jessye I want to marry Jessye I want to marry Jessye I want to marry Jessye I want to marry Jessye I want to marry Jessye I want to marry Jessye I want to marry Jessye !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MrAndredekock]

I have this CD and love it, but I also have Dame Kiri's CD and love it even more as her tempo is just a little faster and not dragged as this tempo is, yet despite the too slow tempo (for me) Ms Norman works a poignant magic here. Brava.

[carlolamberti1]

quNDO SI SENTE QUESTO LIED, SOFFUSO E PROFUSO NEL TEMPO LONTANO DI UN'EPOCA SENZA TEMPO, SI VORREBBE NON FINISSE MAI...

CARLO LAMBERI

[paulostroff99]

Awesome. TY menkhar for posting

[JCccny]

Poignant, languid and yet glimmers of hope shine through...truly a transfiguration from the quotidian into the divine.

[tshirt747]

beautiful

[manthasagittarius]

There is such tenderness in this. The majestic vastness of voice she is capable of (listen to her "Es gibt ein' Reich" from Ariadne auf Naxos, to be shaken to your bones) is transmuted here into the sweet spreading vastness of that evening sky: "O weiter, stiller Frieden . . . "

Matchless intelligence and integrity to the poetry.

[TheVaughan5]

Richard Strauss' farwell to this world has to be the greatest ever written and this performance in a special class of it's own - sublime.

[miguelmuelle]

I've heard many versions of this song, but this one captures the essence of evening, of the end of things, of the red glow of the sunset. The pacing is almost glacial, but that's how it slips into timelessness. Norman & Mazur will always be my desert island version of this.

[jamesfreeman96]

It should be everyone's dream to die with this rendition slowly filling their mind while the synapses of the brain shut down, like the stars in the sky winking out one by one (as in Arthur C. Clarke, "the Nine Billion Names of God")

[grizzelpuss]

@jamesfreeman96 What a beautiful idea, may you be granted this dream

[manthasagittarius]

@jamesfreeman96 I think quite a few of us have a wish something like this, though it may not be quite the same music. "Im Abendrot" is certainly a noble choice; I might also suggest Mahler's "Ich bin der Welt Abhanden gekommen." Or, for myself, the slow movement of his 6th symphony.

[MingnonDunn]

The best of all exant recordings of this, I believe. Jessye Norman-paced and exquisite, in this instance. Brava!

[MademoiselleGore]

she´s from other world!

[yschoi77]

what a moving portrait of his flickling life

[Napoleontas]

But she has a nice voice

[rustablejan]

What a voice !!!!!!

[annemarieclaudia]

Quand j'entends ceci, je sais que le paradis existe, c'en est un tout petit morceau mais quelle beauté, quel bien-être!

[algernon4444]

Motorcycling through the Malvern hills, I stopped to get out of the rain. The Oxfam shop had a cassette of Strauss's Four Last Songs, which I bought on impulse. One of my best buys ever. I've heard many excellent versions but still prefer this one by Miss Norman.

[bronxboy47]

If only death could be this gentle and peaceful for everyone.

[ripollbrucs]

Es la millor cantant Strauss.

[2Dawgz]

Astonishing breath control. This version, to my knowledge is the slowest to have been recorded.

[lamusicahera]

B R A V A!

[tremeluzir]

Sublime!

[lammiepie1]

I am pleased that someone else wants this played at their funeral other than me.

I am a big macho truck driver and this still brings tears to my eyes.

Oh well thats my street cred gone but what the heck

[AmericanEvita]

I want this played at my funeral; Jessye Norman singing Im Abendrot in this Kurt Masur recording for Phillips label made in 1982. It is by far the best. Masur's slow pacing is Zen and spiritual; as it should be. These 4 Last Songs were Strauss as he was slowly dying and looking back over life and musing about the meaning of life and the universe. This is Heavenly. Norman can sing you to the Gates of Heaven. I cry every time I listen to how unimaginably beautiful this is.

[MOGGS1942]

@AmericanEvita I fully concur with your evaluation.This is,for me,the best version of this fantastic "Song".

Ms.Norman is on top form,and Mr. Masur has wrung every shred of emotion out of singer and song.Simply sublime.

[MrLibraryfan]

@AmericanEvita:

truth, only truth and nothing but the truth what you said. if i could choose my way of dying, this would be it.

on the other hand, it's amazing how two people with such different backgrounds as norman and masur could bring the whole, the integrity of the music so far.

[otorino9o9]

THIS IS MAJESTIC,THE VOICE SO WONDERFULL AGAIN A VERY TOUCHING WORK OF PURE ART SHE REALLY MAKES ME FEEL PEACEFULL,WHAT A DISCOVERY THANKS YOU HAVE MADE MY DAY A BIOUTIFUL ONE,,,,,

[mizofan]

This really is superb. Such heavenly music! One unheralded version i like is Margaret Price

[sundancer77]

at this very moment i am looking out the window, staring at the smoke coming out of the chimney as it is playing with the cool-cold winds in the mid-november sun. today is the day when an irreplaceable person has passed away. may rest in peace and am wishing her all the beauties that this masterpiece is about. vom Wandern ruhen wir nun überm stillen Land.

[debsong10]

I have heard and seen many performances of Strauss' Four Last Songs over the years and hers is still my favorite. It was this recording that inspired me to pursue a singing career when I was younger. In my mind, this is one of the most perfect recordings of the Four Last Songs ever! It is absolutely breathtaking and her phrasing is impeccable. It gives me goose bumps every time!

[nfsutton]

The definitive version of Vier letzte Lieder....

[chihanontempo]

only strauss owns strauss,but hers is the best version i have heard so far

[thaliamassie]

This is the first time I've heard her and she made me feel alive today. Thank you so much for posting this.

[Petrokwstas]

Only Jessye Norman knows how to sing Staruss

[langleywil]

Her "Last Four Songs" are the definitive versions. Whether live or recorded.

[henkvanwinkel]

@langleywil

it is all a matter of taste...

I do not state lady Norman has a beautiful voice

but I think she has

I will not state that lady Norman is overdoing it...

but I definitely think she is

I do not state there are better, more natural,  interpretations of this song

but I think there are...

[rustablejan]

For Shana

[mlongpre17]

Comment peut-on écouter ça et apprécier les chansons populaires à la Lady Gaga ensuite?

[rostovgorki]

No one should be permitted to sing this piece of than Ms. Norman........Strauss himself would have been tearful at the listening.....

[FindsLoveInAllThings]

She has a beautiful voice.

[Toine60goa]

One of the best, if not the best performance of this song.

[Toine60goa]

One of the best, if not the best performance of this song.

[Toine60goa]

One of the most touching songs and performances I know.

[MOGGS1942]

THE best interpretation of this most wonderful song.Sumptuous orchestration,and sublime singing from Ms Norman.

[putzilutzi]

I´ve heard many performances of this song, but this one still makes my getting tears in my eyes.

When she sings ...So tief im Abendrot..I feel as if cosmos opens...wish I could here this - the moment I die....

thank you for uploading

[putzilutzi]

@putzilutzi

sorry

...makes me ! getting...

[v1x4g2]

This woman is a true artist. What must it be like to be blessed with such a gift?!

[hedleyclive]

Only one word will do, sublime, thank you.

[KrisKNL2705]

I've listened to most of the interpretations of this song on you tube and must say that Miss Norman's is the finest, in my opinion. She is just beyond amazing.

[MastersoftheOpera]

Jessye Norman's 4 Last Songs with Masur is a legendary album and many consider it Norman's best work. I do love her voice and the album's "eternal"-themed slow pace but I must admit that Martina Arroyo's simple, heart felt version of the Last Songs are equally good; in fact probably much better for being simplistic and warm. But I do love Jessye Norman's album as well. It is truly heavenly.

[JoeForMusic]

What a beautiful presentation.

The score is of sublime acceptance of the journey's end, in gratitude and peace.

Jessye gives it tenderness and dignity.

No more could be asked of music.

Thank you for adding the pictures. They convey Jessye's spirit and depth of her humanity. That's where the song comes from, inside her.

She sings as our heart sings.

[Miracle67]

David Lynch used this song in the beginning of WILD AT HEART

[gttiger59]

Good God Almighty, what a powerful voice and performance of this magnificent song.

[henkvanwinkel]

@gttiger59

it is all a matter of taste, of course

I do not state lady Norman has a beautiful voice

but I think she has

I will not state that lady Norman is overdoing it...

but I definitely think she is

I do not state there are better, more natural, interpretations of this song

but certainly do think there are...

:-)

[calafsdream]

@henkvanwinkel accepting it's a matter of taste, but the subject is death after all.... can the deepest, most profound, esoteric, eternal subject in life be overdone? :-)

[henkvanwinkel]

@calafsdream yes

[alentejaneiro]

@gttiger59 Can you believe some despize this for some cold unhearted Madame Schwartzkopf's interpretation ? It makes me ... well.

[StanGay]

Schwartzkopf's voice is lighter - these songs call for something with more weight and Norman is just the ticket. Also this is the most protracted of any other version of Im Abendrot and effectively so.

[geecubic]

thank you.

[earthaspop]

I turn to Jessye Norman's cover of this beautiful piece whenever I need to feel connected to God, my Creator. It never fails to heal my soul.

[LazlosPlane]

@earthaspop "Cover?" Don't you mean, "performance."

This is not a garage band.

[v1x4g2]

@LazlosPlane Come on LazlosPlane, lighten up. You know very well what earthaspop meant.

[83ayan]

Amongst so many great singers, you are the greatest for me, Miss Jessy Norman.

[rustablejan]

Beautifull music....Superbe Voice........So Healing, So Sacral.........