Track Listing

1. Se Florindo E Fedele
2. Begrussung
3. Die Flote Weich Gefuhl
4. Die Forelle
5. Der Doppelganger
6. Wohin?
7. Der Jungling Und Der Tod
8. Der Erlkonig
9. Denn Es Gehet Dem Menschen
10. Ich Wandte Mich Und Sahe
11. O Tod, Wie Bitter Bist Du
12. Wenn Ich Mit Menschen
13. Befreit
14. Im Feld Ein Madchen Singt
15. Var Det En Drom?
16. When I Am Laid In Earth
17. O Men From The Fields
18. When Night Descends (In The Silence Of Night)
19. Elegie
20. Let Us Break Bread Together
21. My Soul's Been Anchored In De Lord
22. Trampin'
23. Sinner, Please Doan Let Dis Harves' Pass
24. Honor, Honor
25. The Cuckoo
26. Will O' The Wisp

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21594 in Music
• Released on: 1999-11-30
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
The rich-toned, musically elegant, always dignified contralto Marian Anderson (1897-1993) is probably best known as the first African-American to sing at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, but by the time she did (in the mid '50s), her once burnished, glorious voice was no longer at its best. Years before, when she was not permitted to sing in the Daughters of the American Revolution's Constitution Hall (or any other hall in the U.S. capital), she gave a concert in the open air, in front of the Lincoln Memorial, which was attended by press, dignitaries, and a crowd of more than 75,000. Much of her late work is well known--arias from Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, spirituals, and the like--but this CD also allows us to hear the voice when it was young--in the 1930s and '40s. One can almost hear Schubert's trout ("Die Forelle") dancing around in the water, and an aria by Scarlatti shows Anderson's coloratura abilities--the big voice could be scaled down to intimate, chamberlike proportions. She brings her intelligence and textual insights to other songs by Schubert and Brahms as well. This is a marvelous collection and a fine tribute to an American original. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews

Marian Anderson - an outstanding collection
This CD with recordings of Marian Anderson between 1936 and 1952, should be heavily promoted. The CD gives listeners a fantastic opportunity to hear the singer in a variety of song styles and languages. I heard her sing live, once, in the 1960's and was stunned then by her vocal skills and musicality. This is the first record or CD which truly reflects her amazing talent.