Great Performances from the Library of Congress, Vol. 19: Leontyne Price and Samuel Barber: Historic Performances 1938 & 1953

The 1953 recording features the spectacular twenty-six year old Leontyne Price, accompanied by Samuel Barber at the Library of Congress. The duo's entire recital is issued whole for the first time. In this recital the soprano and composer give the world premiere performance of Barber's "Hermit Songs", and perform Henri Sauguet's "La Voyante" (The Fortune Teller) and other songs by Barber, Poulenc and Faure.

This remarkable 1938 recording, released to the public for the first time, gives us the 28 year old baritone, Samuel Barber in 12 songs, accompanying himself at the piano. These little known performances reveal Barber as a singer/player of uncommonly deep communicative power. The performances (issued in cooperation with Mr. Barber's estate and the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia) include folk songs from England, America, the Tyrol and Tuscany as well as lieder by Schumann, Brahms, Mendelssohn, C.P.E Bach and Schubert.

Selections included on this compact disc are:

1953 Recital: Francis Poulenc: Quatre Poemes de Paul Eluard, C'est ainsi que tu es; Samuel Barber: Sleep Now, The Daisies, Nocturne, Nuvoletta, Hermit Songs (premiere performance); Henri Sauguet: La Voyante; Gabriel Faure: Au bord de l'eau

Leontyne Price, soprano; Samuel Barber, piano

1938 Recital: Six Folk Songs: O waly, waly, The Deaf Woman's Courtship, Brother Greene, Zu Dir, Batti, batti, Chi ti ci fa venir; Robert Schumann: In der Fremde; Felix Mendelssohn: Ist es wahr?; Carl Philip Emanuel Bach: Nonnelied; Johannes Brahms: Der Gang zum Liebchen, Der Tod, das ist die kuhle Nacht; Franz Schubert: Der Jungling an der Quelle

Samuel Barber, baritone and piano

Label: Bridge - #9156

Price: $17.00

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Product #: 21202034