I got a CD today that will make you glad, once again, that you've invested in a quality sound system. No matter what your favorite musical genre might be, this is one you must have. Renee Fleming singing with Fred Hersch and Bill Frisell - the disc is entitled "Haunted Heart" . It is Decca B0004406-02.
No, it isn't a "favorite arias" collection; the fourteen songs do include some Mahler and Berg, but they also include Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb, Lennon/McCartney, Hampton/Mercer, and Stephen Foster. A good song is a good song, no matter how you categorize it, and this recording is full of them.
They open with "Haunted Heart" and close with "Hard Times Come Again No More", and if you can stop listening before the end of the recording, there's something wrong with you. Flemings voice, at about an octave lower than her classical repertoire usually demands, is absolutely compelling, and both Hersch and Frisell offer music that would justify the disc even without vocals.
Buy it, spritz it with Optrix, put it in your CD player and enjoy. If you don't agree with my assessment, you probably need a new CD player.
I got a CD today that will make you glad, once again, that you've invested in a quality sound system. No matter what your favorite musical genre might be, this is one you must have. Renee Fleming singing with Fred Hersch and Bill Frisell - the disc is entitled "Haunted Heart" . It is Decca B0004406-02.
No, it isn't a "favorite arias" collection; the fourteen songs do include some Mahler and Berg, but they also include Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb, Lennon/McCartney, Hampton/Mercer, and Stephen Foster. A good song is a good song, no matter how you categorize it, and this recording is full of them.
They open with "Haunted Heart" and close with "Hard Times Come Again No More", and if you can stop listening before the end of the recording, there's something wrong with you. Flemings voice, at about an octave lower than her classical repertoire usually demands, is absolutely compelling, and both Hersch and Frisell offer music that would justify the disc even without vocals.
Buy it, spritz it with Optrix, put it in your CD player and enjoy. If you don't agree with my assessment, you probably need a new CD player.