Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Jessye Norman (soprano), Jon Vickers (tenor)
Colin Davis / London Symphony (Philips)
(scroll down for English review)
留意到這張《大地之歌》是因為Vickers加Norman這個組合，兩個都是重炮級歌手，反而沒多留意到戴維斯。然後見到一樣東西便再忍不住要試聽：69分鐘的總長度應該是此曲最慢的錄音，第六樂章《告別》還去到35分鐘，比多數錄音長五分鐘。
Norman的三個樂章都是明顯地慢，再參考她和李雲的同曲錄音，以及她著名的理察史特勞斯《最後四首藝術歌曲》錄音，應該是她想要這麼慢，當然最重要是她有能力唱得這麼慢，加上戴維斯又願意配合，尤其是其實純音樂居多的《告別》，才會去到這麼長。
當然也不是說慢就是好，但Vickers及Norman的歌唱，我覺得足以令這個錄音成為《大地之歌》迷必須知道的一張。Vickers我特別喜歡第五樂章，而Norman在這個錄音除了慢，最難能可貴是她在第二樂章唱到多數女中音唱不到的深沉，而《告別》的美妙高音，也當然不是女中音所唱得出來。
What brought me to this recording was the combo of Vickers and Norman, both vocal powerhouses. One more thing and I dived in: the total playing time of 69 minutes, probably the slowest recording of this work. Farewell (track 6) is 35 minutes, 5 minutes longer than most performances.
The three Norman movements were noticeably slower. From her recording of the same work with James Levine and her famous recording of Four Last Songs, I can say she wanted to be that slow. But the point is she was able to sing that slow. And Davis was willing to accommodate her, even in the mostly orchestral Farewell, so the slow tempi were entirely justified.
Slow isn’t necessarily better but Vickers’ and Norman’s contributions are enough for this recording to be among a handful of reference recordings of this work. The fifth movement is Vickers’ best, in my opinion. And having Norman in this work was truly remarkable. In the second movement she reached the depths that only true contraltos could. And the radiant high notes in Farewell can only be delivered by a soprano. She had it all.