Upon its debut in the United States, this Deutsche Grammophon collection of the songs of American composer Samuel Barber was titled Secrets of the Old: The Complete Songs of Samuel Barber. This selection of 47 songs coordinated, annotated, and accompanied by pianist John Browning is not "complete," as certain songs written by Barber have never been, and likely never will be, published or performed. But all of the then "new" Barber songs included in Secrets of the Old are either at or barely below the composer's usual high ...
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Upon its debut in the United States, this Deutsche Grammophon collection of the songs of American composer Samuel Barber was titled Secrets of the Old: The Complete Songs of Samuel Barber. This selection of 47 songs coordinated, annotated, and accompanied by pianist John Browning is not "complete," as certain songs written by Barber have never been, and likely never will be, published or performed. But all of the then "new" Barber songs included in Secrets of the Old are either at or barely below the composer's usual high standard of work; it is hard to imagine what Barber saw in their makeup that led him to exclude them from his canon, although a couple of the numbers are songs to which Barber himself had no access in his lifetime. Of the singers, Thomas Hampson is in fine form throughout, particularly in the Op. 27 songs, Bessie Bobtail, and even in the early songs such as Night Wanderers. Comparatively Cheryl Studer is the weak link in this project. Overall, her loud, heavy, and somewhat wayward...
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