Erlkonig: The Art of the Lied
This record is a jewel box: wherever you open it, you find precious gems  and pearls. The program includes the greatest songs in the literature; although  they are familiar, you cannot hear them often enough. Four singers who not only  possess some of the most beautiful voices of our time, but also are among the  foremost interpreters of this repertoire, perform these songs. The recordings,  originally made between the 1960s and 1980s, capture the singers at their  incomparable peak; the differences between their vocal and interpretive styles  add greatly to the disc's fascination.Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's  technique and breath control are incredible; he can brighten and darken his  voice; his pianissimo floats, his climaxes ring. Always famous for his  intellectual approach and for giving equal attention to poetry and music,  Fischer-Dieskau sings here unusually spontaneously and free of "word-painting."Fritz  Wunderlich's voice has a uniquely melting, yearning lyricism and a radiant,  soaring top; his expression is simple and direct. He subtly changes tempo and  vocal color for contrast in the strophic Schubert songs, and makes Schumann's  "Ich grolle nicht" sound unrelentingly angry--contradicting the text, but  following the musical feeling.Christa  Ludwigbrings out the character and mood of each song, and sings with great  inwardness and intensity; her voice is dark, warm, and variable, her pacing  perfect.Jessye  Norman's diction is no less admirable than the German singers', and her  voice is simply glorious. She knows exactly how to use its infinite color and  variation--its thrilling, luminous glow, and intense expressiveness--as an  interpretive tool, and makes it converse, caress, demand, exult, smile, and  laugh. The pianists, two of whom are eminent conductors, are absolutely  marvelous.--Edith Eisler