Hans Hotter - The early EMI-RecordingsCD - ADD - 79min.
Testament Sbt 2000
Composer: Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, Edvard Grieg,
George Frideric Handel
Performer: Hans Hotter, Hermann von Nordberg, Michael Raucheisen, Gerald Moore
Conductor: Meinhard Von Zallinger, George Weldon
Orchestra/Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra
Here is nearly 80 minutes of singing from one of the greatest bass-baritones of the century, the Wotan of one's dreams, who, more than any other lower-voiced lieder singer, married verbal acuity to musical values--in other words, this CD delivers sheer bliss. "Early" for EMI is actually Hans Hotter's prime, so the voice is still fresh while interpretive maturity is in high gear. The first song, Schubert's Der Wanderer D. 489, sums it up: the voice is totally secure, from the firm, resonant bottom to the gleaming top; the musical line is preserved intact, even as Hotter colors words and phrases to intensify their meaning; and the devastating final line, "Dort, wo du nicht bist, dort ist das Gluck" ("Wherever you are not, there lies happiness"), sung in dark, sepulchral tones, hits home with devastating force.
Hotter's vast range is reflected by his rhetorical grandeur in Schumann's Die beiden Grenadiere and in the way he wraps his huge voice around more fragile fare such as Brahms' Ständchen and Schumann's Mondnacht. Examples of two of his unforgettable Wagner roles, Hans Sachs and Wotan, unfortunately are incomplete (lost matrixes are the culprits), but what remains is eminently worth hearing. So is Hotter's Handel. The aria from Julius Caesar is delivered in the original Italian with a verbal sensitivity and vocal richness that shames the puny countertenors who sing it these days. The oratorio selections, unfortunately sung in German translation, share similar virtues. Excellent remastering yields mono sound that puts the voice in the room with you. Full texts and translations complete a production that's a joy from start to finish.
--Dan Davis, ClassicsToday.com
Listen to the tracks at Amazon
