Kienzl Der Evangelimann

[Alan Howe]

I bought the Zagrosek/EMI(Electrola) recording of this on LP years ago and am just now re-acquainting myself with the piece on CD and finding that I hardly knew it at all. It's a wonderful mix of post-Wagnerian romanticism, folk-tale and German verismo - and it's packed full of tunes. I can't believe how characterful it is - and how fabulously played and sung it is in this 1981 recording. I'm tempted to say it's much more interesting than a contemporary work like Hänsel und Gretel (which is much more frequently performed), not to mention anything by d'Albert, but no doubt those are unfair comparisons.
You can get a flavour of the piece here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kienzl-Donath-Siegfried-Jerusalem-Zagrosek/dp/B006TF05CS/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_mus?ie=UTF8&qid=1401795753&sr=8-1&keywords=kienzl+der+evangelimann

[Mark Thomas]

Der Evangeliman, though, shares the direct melodiousness which characterises Humperdinck's best operas, although there's a strength to the music which Humperdinck often lacks. I love the work, and so was greatly disappointed by Kienzl's rambling and over-worked Don Quixote, which came out on cpo a few years ago.

[Alan Howe]

Quite so, Mark. I bought Don Quixote too and have never returned to it...