Hans Sommer orchestral songs from Tudor

[Alan Howe]

How about this new CD of songs with orchestra by Hans Sommer (1837-1922)...
http://www.tudor.ch/produktinfo.php?id=861&sid=3l32lQlQo2dN0kacg@d9323R32

From Wikipedia:
Hans Sommer (20 July 1837 Brunswick  – 26 April 1922 Brunswick) was a German composer. He was most successful as a composer for the theatre. Several of his operas used librettos based on fairy tales and were first produced at Brunswick: Der Nachtwächter (1865), Loreley (1891), Rübezahl und der Sackpfeifer von Neisse (1904), Riquet mit dem Schopf (1907) and Der Waldschratt (1912).Saint Foix, a one-act opera, was given at Munich in 1894 and Der Meermann at Weimar in 1896; Der Vetter aus Bremen (1865), Augustin (1898) and Münchhausen (1896–8) were not performed. His incidental music to Hans von Wolzogen's Das Schloss der Herzen (1891) was first performed in 1897 in Berlin, in concert form. He placed great importance on the literary quality of his librettos, and corresponded with numerous librettists and composers. His many songs, at one time known in England, include the cycles Der Rattenfänger von Hameln, Der wilde Jäger and Sapphos Gesänge; he also wrote orchestral works and male-voice choruses.

[Mark Thomas]

How about it indeed. A must buy for me. I have a radio dub of his late (1920) Drei Orchesterlieder nach Goethe and they are utterly gorgeous. I'd love to hear one of his operas, but this new CD will do very nicely to be going on with.

[alberto]

The Sapphos Gesaenge will be performed in Berlin on next 9/3 by mezzo Elisabeth Kulman and conductor S.Weigle (Konzerthaus Orchester).
As I am going to Berlin on those days I considered strongly the concert.

[Alan Howe]

These songs sound pretty gorgeous to me...
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Hans-Sommer-1837-1922-Sapphos-Ges%E4nge-op-6/hnum/2310422

[Alan Howe]

My copy's just arrived direct from Tudor - and it's as gorgeous as I hoped it would be. Here's a true missing link between Wagner and Strauss, etc. A release as important as it is attractive.

[M. Henriksen]

Still waiting for mine, but it seems this was money well spent then!?


Morten

[Alan Howe]

This will be one of my discs of 2012 - it's that good!

[Mark Thomas]

I've at last got around to listening to these orchestral songs and they are, indeed, ravishingly beautiful. Not a dud amongst them and the performances and sound perfectly complement them. Sommer's biography is very interesting too. He was such a late late developer that he followed a scientific academic career well into his 40s before throwing it over for the life of a composer. He was close friend of Strauss and the younger man's influence is plain to hear in the later pieces on this recording. If you wallow in Strauss' orchestral songs then you will just love these.

I would love to hear some of his operas.