Album

Here's a little curiosity pairing Dvorák's great-grandson, the octogenarian Josef Suk III, with the only somewhat younger Vladimir Ashkenazy in arrangements for violin or viola (or both) and piano of Dvorák's songs. The project originated not with either of those giants but with Toccata label executive Martin Anderson, whose expressed goal was apparently to promote awareness of the composer's historically neglected songs. This neglect may be due to the general lack of familiarity with the Czech language; perhaps, the thinking went, nonverbal versions of the songs would help to put them across. Even if this idea does not fully succeed, there's a certain gentle charm in the entire enterprise, and annotator Tully Potter (the notes are in English only) notes that Dvorák, who arranged some of these songs for string quartet, would probably not have objected to it. And indeed the opening Gypsy Songs, Op. 55, which are less gypsy-like even than Brahms' related pieces, and the Love Songs, Op. 83, work well as violin-and-piano pieces, with numerous good examples of Dvorák's melodic gift beyond the well-known Songs My Mother Taught Me, track 4. The centerpiece of the program is less convincing, perhaps because one badly wants it to succeed: the Biblical Songs, Op. 99, are masterpieces of Dvorák's American period and arguably some of the greatest hidden gems of the entire art song repertory. The prayerful, pause-filled idiom of these pieces does not transfer so well to the viola and a wan quality to the sound also impedes these performances. The lover of Czech music, however, will generally be pleased with this unusual item.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer 7 Gypsy Melodies, Op.55 Work 12:12 Vladimir Ashkenazy Piano, Josef Suk Violin
1	1.My Song of Love	2:58			$0.99
2	2.My Triangle	0:55			$0.99
3	3.Silent and Lone	2:23			$0.99
4	4.Songs My Mother Taught Me	2:09			$0.99
5	5.Tune Thy Strings	0:59			$0.99
6	6.In His Wide Linen Vesture	1:10			$0.99
7	7.Cloudy Heights of Tatra	1:38			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer V národním tónuIn (Folk Tone), B.146, Op.73 Work 5:01 Vladimir Ashkenazy Piano, Josef Suk Violin
8	1.Dobrú noc, má mila (Good night, my darling)	2:23			$0.99
9	3.Ach, není, není tu, co by mě těšilo (There is nothing here to comfort me)	2:38			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Písne milostmé (8 Love Songs), B.160, Op.83 (revision of Cypresses, B.11) Work 12:55 Vladimir Ashkenazy Piano, Josef Suk Violin
10	1.Oh, our love does not bloom	1:49			$0.99
11	2.Death dwells in so many a heart	1:55			$0.99
12	3.Now I stumble past the house	1:04			$0.99
13	4.I know that in sweet hope	1:56			$0.99
14	5.Gentle slumber reigns over the countryside	1:24			$0.99
15	6.Here in the forest by a brook	1:47			$0.99
16	7.In the sweet power of your eyes	1:37			$0.99
17	8.Oh, dear matchless soul	1:23			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer 4 Songs, Op.82 Work Vladimir Ashkenazy Piano, Josef Suk Violin
18	1.Lasst mich allein (Leave Me Alone)	2:27			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Lullaby (Ukolébavka), B.194 Work Vladimir Ashkenazy Piano, Josef Suk Violin
19	Lullaby (Ukolébavka), B.194	1:43			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer 10 Biblical Songs, Op.99 Work 22:50 Vladimir Ashkenazy Piano, Josef Suk Violin
20	1.Clouds and Darkness (Ps.97:2-6)	1:57			$0.99
21	2.Lord, Thou art my refuge (Ps.119:114-119)	1:43			$0.99
22	3.Hear my prayer (Ps.55:1-8)	2:41			$0.99
23	4.God is my shepherd (Ps.23:1-4)	2:26			$0.99
24	5.I will sing new songs (Ps.145:1-7; 144:9)	2:32			$0.99
25	6.Hear my prayer, O Lord (Ps.63:1-8)	2:50			$0.99
26	7.By the waters of Babylon (Ps.137:1-6)	2:29			$0.99
27	8.Turn Thee to me (Ps.25:16-21)	2:30			$0.99
28	9.I will list mine eyes (Ps.121:1-8)	1:52			$0.99
29	10.Sing ye a joyful song (Ps.98:1-8)	1:50			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer 9 Moravian Duets, B.62, Op.32 Work Vladimir Ashkenazy Piano, Josef Suk Violin
30	11.Die Gefangene	2:54			$0.99