Nellie Melba - Aria and Song 1904-1921

 

Dame Nellie Melba GBE (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 1861 – 23 February 1931) was an Australian operatic lyric coloratura soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th century, and was the first Australian to achieve international recognition as a classical musician. She took the pseudonym "Melba" from Melbourne, her home town.

Melba studied singing in Melbourne and made a modest success in performances there. After a brief and unsuccessful marriage, she moved to Europe in search of a singing career. Failing to find engagements in London in 1886, she studied in Paris and soon made a great success there and in Brussels. Returning to London she quickly established herself as the leading lyric soprano at Covent Garden from 1888. She soon achieved further success in Paris and elsewhere in Europe, and later at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, debuting there in 1893. Her repertoire was small; in her whole career she sang no more than 25 roles and was closely identified with only ten. She was known for her performances in French and Italian opera, but sang little German opera.

During the First World War, Melba raised large sums for war charities. She returned to Australia frequently during the 20th century, singing in opera and concerts, and had a house built for her near Melbourne. She was active in the teaching of singing at the Melbourne Conservatorium. Melba continued to sing until the last months of her life and made a large number of "farewell" appearances. Her death, in Australia, was news across the English-speaking world, and her funeral was a major national event. The Australian $100 note features her image.

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This title attempts to convey the distinctive voice of Dame Nellie Melba, re-recorded and mastered by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia utilising an innovative process. The original disc recordings were played using archival Gramophone equipment, and the music recorded through ambient microphones. The recordings took place in the Senate Chamber of Old Parliament House in Canberra - a location already associated with Melba as she sang in person at the opening of Parliament House in 1927.

PART 1 - Arias from Operas (15 tracks)

1. God Save the King (Trad)

2. Puccini: LA BOHÈME: Mi chiamano Mimi

3. Puccini: LA BOHÈME: O soave fanciulla

4. Puccini: LA BOHÈME: Donde lieta uscì al tuo grido d'amore

5. Mozart: IL RE PASTORE: l'amero saro costante

6. Mozart: LE NOZZE DE FIGARO voi che sapete

7. Mozart: LE NOZZE DE FIGARO porgi amor

8. Massenet: DON CÉSAR DE BAZAN: À Séville, belle Señoras (Sevillana),

9. Lalo: LE ROI D'YS: Puisqu'on ne peut fléchir… Vainement, ma bien aimée (Aubade)

10. Verdi: RIGOLETTO: Caro nome

11. Verdi LA TRAVIATA: Ah! Fors'è lui… Follie! Follie!... Sempre libera

12. Donizetti: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: Del ciel clemente un riso (Mad Scene)

13. Charpentier: LOUISE: Depuis de jour

14. Wagner: LOHENGRIN: Sola ne miei prim anni (Elsa's Dream)

15. Rimsky-Korsakov: SADKO: Les diamants chez nous… (Chanson Hindoue)

PART 2 - Songs (16 tracks)

1. Arditi: Se saran rose

2. Hahn: Si mes vers avaient des ailes

3. Bemberg: Sur le lac

4. Bemberg: Chant hindou

5. Bemberg: Les anges pleurent

6. Lottie: Pur dicesti, o bocca, bocca bella

7. Bizet: Pastorale

8. Hahn: D'une prison

9. Hue: Soir paiën

10. Debussy: (i) Romance (ii) Mandoline

11. Duparc: Chanson triste

12. Chausson: Le temps des lilas

13. Ronald: The White Sea Mist

14. White: Andersen. My Jo

15. Lehmann: Magdalen at Michael's Gate

16. Dvorak: Songs my mother taught me

Nellie Melba - Aria and Song 1904-1921

Recomposed Vivaldi The Four Seasons....music pioneer Max Richter continues to reinvent

Max Richter is a trailblazer in the world of contemporary music. Continuously re-imagining the possibilities and blurring the lines between genres, Richter has made a career of opening doors that once never existed. Recently, he has chosen the task of revitalizing a masterpiece of nearly three hundred years. Inspired greatly by the piece himself, Max used this project as an opportunity to bring The Four Seasons to the attention of 21st-century music lovers, and the result is a beautiful contemporary work with the spirit of 18th-century Vivaldi beaming throughout. 

"...[Recomposed] goes to the soul of the piece and as a result we learn 
not just about a new concerto, but we learn about Vivaldi as well." 
- Daniel Hope, violinist 
  
Richter picked his favorite bits of the score and reshaped them into "new objects", layering and looping familiar fragments to reinvigorate a work diminished by overuse in elevators, TV ads and as telephone "holding music". "I only kept about 25 percent of the notes but there's Vivaldi DNA in all of it," says Max. 

Follow the links below to hear for yourself:

Spotify                 Youtube                  iTunes                   Amazon

       

A few things you need to know about Max:

Composer, musician, producer, remixer and collaborator extraordinaire, Richter defies definition. An enigma he may be; what is beyond argument is that he is one of the most prolific musical artists of his generation. 

Inspired as much by Tri Angle Records as Renaissance Polyphony, Richter blends baroque beauty with minimalist methodology, classical orchestration with modern technology.

The result is a monumental body of work encompassing concert music, operas, ballets, art and video installations, multiple film, theatre and television scores and a series of acclaimed solo albums incorporating poetry and literature.

In March 2014, Max Richter signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. 

The next chapter of his extraordinary career is now set to unfold...Listen for him on HBO's new show, The Leftovers.