The very first thing a dyed-in-the-wool Ivesian will note upon turning over baritone Gerald Finley's Hyperion disc Romanzo di Central Park is the nice selection of songs are listed. This isn't some chronologically based survey of Ives' songs or a program directed into one vein of his activity or another; Romanzo di Central Park -- it literally ranges from Ives' first song, "Slow March" (1888), to his last, "They Are There!" (1943), and seems to reflect both Finley's own favorites and the material he personally feels ...
Read More
The very first thing a dyed-in-the-wool Ivesian will note upon turning over baritone Gerald Finley's Hyperion disc Romanzo di Central Park is the nice selection of songs are listed. This isn't some chronologically based survey of Ives' songs or a program directed into one vein of his activity or another; Romanzo di Central Park -- it literally ranges from Ives' first song, "Slow March" (1888), to his last, "They Are There!" (1943), and seems to reflect both Finley's own favorites and the material he personally feels strongest in. Finley clearly cares about all 30 -- count 'em, 30 -- songs in this package, and even adds a little magic to numbers that, generally only recorded as part of "complete" or "clean-up" type programs of Ives' voice and piano works, haven't seen a lot of love on recordings or are merely rushed through. "Down East" is truly wonderful here, as is "In the Alley." Admittedly, an additional unifying element in this program is that it's a little slanted toward Ives' sentimental side --...
Read Less