Brahms: The Complete Songs, Vol. 4 - Robert Holl

Graham Johnson’s latest Lieder project for Hyperion reaches its fourth volume. Brahms is of course a giant of the Romantic era but his songs and vocal works are rather less well known than much of his other music. There is so much to discover and enjoy in the beautiful, often elegiac melodies and characteristic piano writing.

In some of these recitals an opus number will be presented in its entirety: here it is the songs of Op 94, as well as the Vier ernste Gesänge of Op 121. The singer is the bass-baritone Robert Holl, acclaimed as simply one of the most profound artists of the genre and recently praised for the ‘unparalleled depth and complexity’ of his live performance (The Independent).

CDJ33124  75 minutes 52 seconds
‘Through Holl's profound responses to the word-setting and to the songs' subtle shifts of emotion, he can focus the anguish of the listening lover in An die Nachtigall and powerfully tune into ...
‘In a superb sleevenote essay, pianist Graham Johnson argues that the Four Serious Songs' confrontations with mortality are neither religious nor consolatory, and Holl adds existential rage into the m ...
‘Holl's voice, reminiscent of Fischer-Dieskau's but rather more of a real bass … is rich, true and resonant. He uses it simply, without self-conscious artifice, and the result is some very beauti ...