Track Listing

1. Love Songs (Písne milostmé) (8) for voice & piano, B. 160 (Op. 83) (revision of Cypresses, B. 11): 1. Oh, our love does not bloom
2. Love Songs (Písne milostmé) (8) for voice & piano, B. 160 (Op. 83) (revision of Cypresses, B. 11): 2. Death dwells in so many a heart
3. Love Songs (Písne milostmé) (8) for voice & piano, B. 160 (Op. 83) (revision of Cypresses, B. 11): 3. Now I stumble past the house
4. Love Songs (Písne milostmé) (8) for voice & piano, B. 160 (Op. 83) (revision of Cypresses, B. 11): 4. I know that in sweet hope
5. Love Songs (Písne milostmé) (8) for voice & piano, B. 160 (Op. 83) (revision of Cypresses, B. 11): 5. Gentle slumber reigns over the
6. Love Songs (Písne milostmé) (8) for voice & piano, B. 160 (Op. 83) (revision of Cypresses, B. 11): 6. Here in the forest by a brook
7. Love Songs (Písne milostmé) (8) for voice & piano, B. 160 (Op. 83) (revision of Cypresses, B. 11): 7. In the sweet power of your eyes
8. Love Songs (Písne milostmé) (8) for voice & piano, B. 160 (Op. 83) (revision of Cypresses, B. 11): 8. Oh, dear matchless soul
9. Nový Spalícek (New Chap-Book), song cycle for voice & piano, H288: 1. The Rich Sweetheart
10. Nový Spalícek (New Chap-Book), song cycle for voice & piano, H288: 2. The Forsaken Lover
11. Nový Spalícek (New Chap-Book), song cycle for voice & piano, H288: 3. Longing
12. Nový Spalícek (New Chap-Book), song cycle for voice & piano, H288: 4. The Inquisitive Girl
13. Nový Spalícek (New Chap-Book), song cycle for voice & piano, H288: 5. The Cheerful Girl
14. Nový Spalícek (New Chap-Book), song cycle for voice & piano, H288: 6. The Unhappy Lover
15. Nový Spalícek (New Chap-Book), song cycle for voice & piano, H288: 7. The Request
16. Nový Spalícek (New Chap-Book), song cycle for voice & piano, H288: 8. The Tall Tower
17. Songs (4) for a Friend of My Country, for voice & piano: 1. Ponies on the Fallow Land
18. Songs (4) for a Friend of My Country, for voice & piano: 2. The Lost Little Slipper
19. Songs (4) for a Friend of My Country, for voice & piano: 3. A Religious Song
20. Songs (4) for a Friend of My Country, for voice & piano: 4. An Invitation
21. Songs (4) for voice & piano (arr. from Cypresses, B. 11), B. 124 (Op. 2): 1. You heartfelt songs
22. Songs (4) for voice & piano (arr. from Cypresses, B. 11), B. 124 (Op. 2): 2. Oh, that was a beautiful, golden dream
23. Songs (4) for voice & piano (arr. from Cypresses, B. 11), B. 124 (Op. 2): 3. In pain, my heart often broods
24. Songs (4) for voice & piano (arr. from Cypresses, B. 11), B. 124 (Op. 2): 4. Silence on the mountains
25. Lullaby, song on Negro Folk-Poetry for voice & piano, H. 226/1
26. Songs (7) on One Page for voice & piano, H. 294: 1. Dew
27. Songs (7) on One Page for voice & piano, H. 294: 2. Unlocking with a single word
28. Songs (7) on One Page for voice & piano, H. 294: 3. Journey to the Beloved
29. Songs (7) on One Page for voice & piano, H. 294: 4. The Footpath
30. Songs (7) on One Page for voice & piano, H. 294: 5. At Mother's
31. Songs (7) on One Page for voice & piano, H. 294: 6. The Virgin Mary's Dream
32. Songs (7) on One Page for voice & piano, H. 294: 7. Rosemary
33. New Slovak Songs (30) for voice & piano, H. 126: 2. So tell me
34. New Slovak Songs (30) for voice & piano, H. 126: 8. I had a blouse
35. Komu kytka 'Sedelo devca' (Who's the posy for? 'The girl was sitting'), folk song for voice & piano, JW 5/2/17
36. Obrázek milého 'Sla devecka do hajecka' (A lover's picture 'The girl went into the wood'), folk song for voice & piano, JW 5/2/5
37. Pérecko 'Stójí sohaj pod nasím okénkem' (The little feather 'The lad is standing'), folk song for voice & piano, JW 5/2/19
38. Stálost 'Zelené sem sela' (Constancy 'I have sown green), folk song for voice & piano, JW 5/2/16
39. Láska 'Ej, lasko, lasko' (Love 'O, love, love!'), folk song for voice & piano, JW 5/2/1
40. Loucení 'Pocuvaj, pocuvaj' (Parting 'Listen, listen'), folk song for voice & piano, JW 5/2/38
41. Konícky milého 'Dybych já vedela' (My lover's horses 'If only I knew'), folk song for voice & piano, JW 5/2/18
42. Good night, my darling (Dobrú noc, má mila), song for voice & piano (In Folk Tone), B. 146/1 (Op. 73/1)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #152061 in Music
• Released on: 2000-08-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Amazon.com
The composers Antonín Dvorák, Leos Janácek, and Bohuslav Martinu might not be the names that first spring to mind when love songs are mentioned, yet this fascinating collection gives us a taste of what delights we have been missing. They range from seven Moravian folk songs, collected by Janácek at the turn of the century, to songs written by Martinu in the U.S. in 1942. There's also early Martinu--including songs he collected in Slovakia in 1920--plus the world-premiere recording of Songs for a Friend of My Country, a cycle he wrote in France in 1940 on his way to America. All of these songs are of interest in giving us another aspect of each composer's work; most have much more to offer. Many are achingly lovely, especially those by Dvorák--including his Op. 2, a reworking of four songs from a cycle he had written almost 20 years earlier, and Love Songs, a revision of eight songs from the same cycle. "Good night, my darling," from his 1886 cycle In Folk Tone, is worth the price of this CD alone. Czech mezzo Magdalena Kozená, who put together the program, sings with pure, attractive tone. Graham Johnson is her excellent accompanist. --Richard Fawkes

Customer Reviews

Nice voice, fascinating repertoire
One can only welcome a disc of little-heard Czech songs sung in the original language (not the more frequently encountered German) by a native speaker. And on DG! All hope is not lost. This is beautiful, often touching music that relies heavily on folk melodies. Czech composers preserve the rhythms of their spoken language in their music; it lends Czech song an immediate, unmistakeable sound that you'll recognize from the first track. The neglected Dvorak "Love Songs" are elegantly passionate. I also particularly liked the unusual Martinu selections. His are refereshingly direct and brief songs, often structured on a single melodic idea, and they keep your attention. This disc (along with others, particularly a recent Dvorak song disc by Eva Urbanova and some older recordings by Lucia Popp) should awaken any song lover's interest in the Czech tradition.

I have reservations, however, about the singer. Her voice is accomplished enough on its own terms: bright, tight vibrato, forwardly placed, and pretty in a pale sort of way. But's she's awfully young (27) and the voice has not matured enough to sustain interest over some 70 minutes of music. It is small in scale and lacks low notes and a strong middle voice, although her upper register is beautiful. Most damagingly, her voice's colors haven't developed, resulting in a tonal monotony that is not the music's fault. Neither has she matured as an interpreter. She sings all forty-two of these songs with more or less the same emotional face: youthful eagerness. The song texts suggest that a more varied set of responses is in order. I also wonder if this voice is best described as a mezzo; she actually sounds uncannily like Lucia Popp. Johnson is excellent, although it's hard to notice since the piano is distressingly recessed. Perhaps the disc is better heard in twenty-minute sessions than in one long sitting.

I would recommend this disc for the repertoire and for a chance to year a nice young voice. But find Urbanova and Popp in this repertoire to hear sounds that bring the full palette of colors this repertoire to vivid life.

Wow! What a beautiful voice and charming songs!
This is the 2nd album of Magdalena Kozena. Her 1st album is Bach Arias from Archiv, and I have noticed her since this 1st album released. I guessed her 2nd album would be a lieder album, but I never dream of lieder by Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu. However, I found them very interesting. I've never heard of these songs because there is few recordings of them. So all of them were new to me. Although each of them are not longer (the longest one is about 4 minutes!), they are beautiful and charming. If you love lieder, I'm sure you'll love it. And there is also world premiere recording. ("Melodies pour une amie de mon pays", that is to say, "Melodies for my friend in my homeland" by Martineau)

Speaking of Kozena, I just love her voice. It reminds me of the lovely Frederica von Stade's voice. And it's hard to believe she was 25 years old when she recorded it. Somebody, wrote a review below, said her voice had not so matured that it's too early for her to record them. I agree with him in that her voice had not matured. But I suppose it's lucky for us to hear her voice maturing year by year. So I'm looking foward to hearing her next solo album.

There are many mezzo-sopranos in our days: Cecilia Bartoli, Olga Borodina, Susan Graham, Angelika Kirschlager, Anne Sofie von Otter, to name but a few. Now we must keep an eye to: Magdalena Kozena.

Well done, Ms. Kozena and Mr. Johnson!

A stunning burst onto the world stage
Magdalena Kozena is suddenly known around the world, thanks to this stunning disc of 42 lieder from her Czech homeland. Most of the songs are short - some come in under a minute, the longest 3-4 minutes. Each is a little gem and many have never been recorded before.

Kozena's voice is sheer delight. She does have resonances in her voice which are reminiscent of her compatriot, Lucia Popp, but is certainly a mezzo - although she has chosen her repertoire well so we hear no strain at the top. Her low resonances are delightful and consistent with her head voice. To compare Kozena's voice to that of the late diva (Popp), it is more pure, more consistent in tone from top to bottom, and doesn't have so much of the `squeezey' quality which Popp used to great effect in evincing the passion of her characters. Kozena can empty her voice of vibrato or let it out rich and full, and uses all her vocal resources to great effect in contrasting the individual songs. She has astoundingly mature lieder-singer's technique for such a young singer.

This recording rightly won a Gramophone award this year. Kozena deserves all the accolades she receives for this - doubtless all listeners will develop their own favourites from these delightful miniatures.