Re: [ARSCLIST] Raucheisen collection

[Steven Smolian <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>]

I've been working the set.  The index is done.  There are some errors- so 
far I've found a Volker credited to Anders.  The proof reading of the titles 
is unreliable.  There are no apostrophe posessives in German, etc.

I've still to give Deutsch Numbers to a group of Schubert songs that lack 
them in the notes.

I'm trying to figure out which come from Raucheisen's commercial records and 
which from the broadcasts.  And, of course, some broadcasts were issued 
earlier.  The Acanta Anders BB 23,124 is all included in the Membran set. 
The Lemnitz Urania 7013 has two selections by her not included in the CD 
set.

Listen in mono,  In stereo, there are occasional long drop-outs in one 
channel but not the other.

There are a number of puzzles- how come only a couple of Schlusnus and none 
of Huesch?

Still, it's a dream come true. Many of the singers came to maturity during 
the war and had minor carrers thereafter.  Lea Piltti is one, and others 
(Pitzinger, for instance) show up mainly in Haydn masses and the like on 
U.S. Vox but seem to have no solo commercial recordings.  The best singing, 
so far, is by Karl Schmitt-Walter.  Lemnitz, a bit hooty, is quite good. 
Anders encounters intonation problems in his upper register.  Leisner is 
variable.  Sometimes she slips and slides her way around, sometime attacks 
noted directly and in the middle.  I'm still listening and evaulating.  And, 
oh yeah, there's lots of Erna Berger- hurrah!  Hotter sounds weird about 
half the time- way too deep.  Are some of his tranfers a half-tone down? 
I'll check as time permits.  There's much fine Georg Hann.  And a bunch of 
pre-Legge Schwarzkopf- again hurrah! She sounds more natural, less 
programmed.  Leider is variable, the tone a bit looser than in her prime, 
but a fine interpreter.

It should be borne in mind that the performers were all under the stress of 
a war, one that was being lost during the bulk of the time during which 
these recordings took place.  There were severe food shortages and little 
heat.  The theatres were closed from August, 1944, so there is half-a-year 
represented here that may have been the only career-related work many were 
able to get.

This set chronocles the last gasp of the German Lieder tradition before it 
became Legge-Fischer-Diskau-ized, music sung to worthy texts rather than 
performed as an inflected poetry recital.

When I've brought it along further, I'd like to put the index on the web. 
It's in Excel.  Any ideas?

Steve Smolian



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Thomas Stern" <sternth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 8:41 AM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Raucheisen collection


> Just received the new issue of the Michael Raucheisen collection - 66 cd's 
> of the WWII German lieder recordings.
> These have been available in various lp reissues in the past. Sounds 
> quality quite good, brief notes about the series, composers, and singers. 
> No Texts.  Arranged in 33 2-cd jewel boxes and slipcased.  Wish they had 
> issued them in a series of boxes with just soft sleeves (like the Japanese 
> sets, and the new inexpensive sets from DG) to cut down the shelf space 
> needed.
> Issued by MEMBRAN/Fono Team (don't know much about them, except the have a 
> series of 2 cd classic jazz sets issued in a package which includes notes 
> and photos in a jacket 2cd high).
> Best wishes, Tom.
>
> The cd's are arranged by composer, as follows:
> Loewe   (8 discs)
> Von Weber (2)
> Brahms (6)
> Liszt (1)
> Pfitzner (3)
> Richard Strauss(3)
> Beethoven (4)
> Cornelius (3)
> Schubert (14)
> Grieg (2)
> Heinrich Marschner (2)
> Max Reger (2)
> Wolf (8)
> Otto Nocolai (2)
> Schumann (4)
> Blech/Trunk/Zilcher/Mendelssohn/Bartholdy/Handel (2)
>
>
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