|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review: ( 9 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
A Voice to Bring Peace to the World Jan 05, 2000
By DaveBo
As a parent of a new baby and a classical music afficionado, I was delighted to find When Night Falls; it is now a favorite of my daughter and myself. Kirschlager's phrasing is nothing short of phenomenal, making even the simple Brahm's lullaby (#3 on the CD) more compelling and emotional. Her warm tones are especially complimented where the viola and cello are present (try #s 4 and 5). Can German lyrics be light and lilting? Yes, when Kirchschlager sings them. This CD is a great way to expose your baby to classical music, AND get him/her off to dreamland.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Voice of an Angel May 02, 2000
By William Thacker
I was first introduced to Ms. Kirchlager three years ago and was instantly impressed. Her sumptuous voice and incredible beauty make her a delight to listen to, time and time again. When Night Falls, is only the most recent of what promises to be a long and impressionable career. From the ever popular "Edelweiss" to the easily recognizable "Wiegenlied", Ms. Kirchschlager approaches each song with the same heart-felt emotion as if she were singing to her own child. I have often listened to her CD late at night to help myself fall into my own sweet dreamland of "The Little Horses".
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Lullabies for Young and Old Mar 21, 2000
By Giselle E. Whitwell
This recording of lullabies stands out because of the exquisite musical sensibility it brings to each song. Angelika Kirschschlager's voice is so transparent and pure, so expressive, it delights both children and adults. The diverse instrumentation adds variety to the otherwise well known repertoire, even if the balance is not always a happy one as for example the Brahms "Gestillte Sehnsucht". The artist has succeeded in presenting the well known form of "lullabies" to a wider audience through her high artistic vision and execution.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
An Example of When Crossover Works Jan 09, 2006
By Grady Harp
Angelika Kirchschlager is well known on the operatic stage and in chamber and orchestral programs where her forte is Mozart and Bach. Hers is a voice creamy rich and produced with incredible intelligence. She is also a communicator - in recital, in opera, in anything she does. It comes as no surprise then that an artist of this caliber (or her agent....!) is able to set the standard for the now ubiquitous 'crossover album' that most of the major singers find it necessary to make to gather in more admirers.
Selecting a wide variety of lullabies with varying settings feels so natural in Kirchschlager's elegant mezzo-soprano voice. Other artists have produced recitals of lullabies: Dawn Upshaw and Richard Goode immediately come to mind. But in this album, though not all of the works are of genius quality, Kirchschlager gives each her considerable talent and the result is a little night music that is equally as lovely for adults as for the intended audience of children (and of course their parents...).
With fine support from the London Metropolitan Ensemble, pianists Roger Vignoles and Helmut Deutsch, guitarist John Williams and violist Yuri Bashmet among others, Kirchschlager offers a rich variety of songs from Mozart, von Weber, Haydn, Brahms, Schubert, Canteloube, de Falla, Copeland, Sondheim, Rogers and Hammerstein and Zelimsky. And no matter the language or the setting they all work. This is an album to cherish and share and raises the respect for Angelika Kirchschlager even higher. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, January 06
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Gentle crossover that gets a bit sleepy Jun 01, 2006
By Santa Fe Listener
When Sony's artist executives were German, they tried to promote the young Austrian mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager, but because of her difficult name (I am guessing) and the slackening classical music market, she never caught on. Today Kirchschlager is a star in Europe, and one sees her name on the Met roster. This, her second CD, is a gentle recital of lullabies, made more varied by adding Broadway tunes into the mix and bringing in star musicians like John Williams on guitar and Yuri Bashmet on viola.
The result is winning and thoroughly professional. Kirchschlager sings especially well in English, with a hybrid British-American accent but almost no German mannerisms. The closest comparison in terms of high mezzos would be with von Otter, and Kirchschlager's voice is at least as beautiful. But she lacks von Otter's imaginaiton, and after a while everything sounds a bit too square and placid--after all, these songs may be for babies, but the intended audience is also adults who go to lieder recitals, isn't it?
See all 9 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| | |
