The Lieder Project

[febnyc]

I received the following message from a friend:

Have you been following the Lieder Project by Carus? This is an intriguing idea that blossomed into a great series. The excellent Carus label, which as you know is a music publishing house as well as a CD label, had the idea to invite the greatest German speaking vocalists of the day to contribute one song each to a compilation project. The idea was to showcase the talent of today singing songs that have become part of German culture. Each artist donated their time and chose their favorite song. The artists consist not only of the greatest classical singers, but also draw on the greatest German singers from other genres. As more and more artists heard about colleagues who were participating, the roster of performers grew beyond their initial scope and the series wound up expanding to eight CD's. They are broken into three categories, Wiegenlieder, Volkslieder, and Kinderlieder. The first category has two CD's, the other two categories have three CD's. I have found these disks delightful in every way. Each one is accompanied by a detailed booklet with notes about the artists and music, and the production values are at Carus' usual high standards. The choice of repertoire is wide and diverse, and the performances are superb. This is a chance to hear the cream of the crop of German lullabies, folksongs, and children's songs, sung by natives in idiomatic performances, and featuring some singers that as classical fans we would not normally be exposed to. I recommend this series of disks highly.

He adds:

One other item about the Lieder project which may be of interest. For each CD purchased, two Euros will be donated to a children's charity that promotes music education and singing. It would be a hard hearted person indeed who would not be won over by these charming disks. Just listening to young children singing Frere Jacques (in the Bruder Jakob German lyric version) is worth the price of the whole project.

Sounds interesting, no?