# TENOR TOURNAMENT (By Request Teacher-Student): Oehmann vs Gedda



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Carl Martin Oehmann, Sweden, 1887-1967






Nicolai Gedda, Sweden, 1925-2017






'La fleur que tu m'avais jetée' from Bizet's _Carmen_.

Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Another teacher and pupil contest and I'm finding it hard to decide.

I don't know how old Oehmann was when he made this recording but his evident artistry can't quite hide the fact that his voice is drying out a bit, especially at the beginning when he sounds rather old. As he builds the aria and sings out a bit more, this impression is largely dissipated and I really enjoyed his performance, which has great feeling and a wonderful sense of rubato.

Gedda's performance I know well and he is one of my favourite Josés. His performance is a little more inward, more a private confession than a passionate avowal (and Callas's quiet entry at the end is a moment of pure genius). Both performances are excellent, both valid and I'm finding a choice difficult, but I'm going to go for Gedda, if only because I've lived with his José for so long now.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I wouldn't have expected a performance of anything from _Carmen,_ an opera I'm lukewarm about, to leave me unwilling to write, speak, move, or even breathe, for what seemed like several minutes. But that's the effect Oehmann's singing had on me: it simply made everything - spatial, temporal, or mental - disappear, and none of it was able to compete for space in whatever dimension the music occupied. I remain a bit tongue-tied even now. About all I want to say is that it's flatly inconceivable to me that sung tones could be more filled with pure human feeling, such that technique becomes entirely what it should be, a means to an end. Not that this isn't technically fine singing; I could analyze it, but honestly have no inclination to go on about it. I feel a lingering sense of the sacred, and I hope that everyone who hears this wonderful performance will understand my awed reticence.

Gedda was a fine singer and artist who knew his business. Oehmann taught him well. I like his work in the "Callas Carmen" and have no serious criticisms of his singing of this aria. I do wish he and Pretre had agreed to a little more rhythmic freedom, but perhaps he would have allowed himself more rubato with a less literal conductor.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I wouldn't have expected a performance of anything from _Carmen,_ an opera I'm lukewarm about, to leave me unwilling to write, speak, move, or even breathe, for what seemed like several minutes. But that's the effect Oehmann's singing had on me: it simply made everything - spatial, temporal, or mental - disappear, and none of it was able to compete for space in whatever dimension the music occupied. I remain a bit tongue-tied even now. About all I want to say is that it's flatly inconceivable to me that sung tones could be more filled with pure human feeling, such that technique becomes entirely what it should be, a means to an end. Not that this isn't technically fine singing; I could analyze it, but honestly have no inclination to go on about it. I feel a lingering sense of the sacred, and I hope that everyone who hears this wonderful performance will understand my awed reticence.


Agree 100%, including the "lukewarm" remark 
Gedda is one of my favorites but, oh boy, what can I do when I hear such miraculous singing as Oehmann's (even if the hushed beginning does not work so well as Tsaraslondon has noticed). Gedda quickly reaches "tone saturation" when he's at his most emotional here, but Oehmann just keeps building and building like his voice knows no limits. So I reiterate: this is miraculous singing!


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Oh my goodness! What a difference for me. I have never heard of Carl Martin Oehmann but I can tell you that this is a tenor who absolutely enveloped this aria with complete depth of feeling and made it truly his own. It was emotional and transported itself vocally upon the feelings of another.
I have never been a true fan of Gedda. I think he sings with a clear and clean sound but never touched me with any kind of inner emotion. Having said that, I admit the last line was done well.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Like Woodduck above, I'm not too fond of *Carmen*, but I do love this aria and enjoy its orchestration.

I had not heard of Oehmann before today and thought the tempo for his version way too slow - was he trying to show off his breath control? If so, he did well. His first rise to a high note at _je m'eniVRAIS_ is almost effortless and very _douce_. Little by little he almost convinces his tempo is just. By the end, you just want to hear him sing. At times Orhmann sounds a bit like Björling, a certain _froideur_ to certain tones.

The pupil, Gedda, does not show up his teacher. He sings well enough, he's learnt his lessons and is always a vocal paragon and an elegant French stylist. Funnily enough, I first heard him at San Francisco Opera as a spectacular Italian Singer in *Der Rosenkavalier*! And then as Des Grieux in Massenet's *Manon*. He, like his Swedish compatriots also has that bit of _froideur_ in some tones at times (I can't quite explain it…). He is not a favorite, but he was always very dependable, especially up high.

But I must vote for Oehmann.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I wouldn't have expected a performance of anything from _Carmen,_ an opera I'm lukewarm about, to leave me unwilling to write, speak, move, or even breathe, for what seemed like several minutes. But that's the effect Oehmann's singing had on me: it simply made everything - spatial, temporal, or mental - disappear, and none of it was able to compete for space in whatever dimension the music occupied. I remain a bit tongue-tied even now. About all I want to say is that it's flatly inconceivable to me that sung tones could be more filled with pure human feeling, such that technique becomes entirely what it should be, a means to an end. Not that this isn't technically fine singing; I could analyze it, but honestly have no inclination to go on about it. I feel a lingering sense of the sacred, and I hope that everyone who hears this wonderful performance will understand my awed reticence.
> 
> .


At times, it seems like he's just musing, an impression complemented by the slowish tempo.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

MAS said:


> At times, it seems like he's just musing, an impression complemented by the slowish tempo.


Jose _is_ musing, even as he speaks to Carmen. As to tempo, this performance doesn't have one. The art of freeing tempo from the metronome and adapting it to expressive necessity is largely lost today, but thankfully we have old-time artists like Oehmann, who gives us a master class.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

The whole Oehmann performance is outstanding, but the way he sings "je t'aime" at the end is just.... To me this is near perfect singing: using the registers to paint a musical portrait of the character's soul. 

You can also tell that Oehmann has a lot more left in the tank than Gedda does. Oehmann had a bigger voice, but also a warmer voice that sounds like it has more chest in the coordination. It's wodnerful and so imaginatively used.

Gedda was excellent in many ways, but his voice is missing both warmth and steel. His interpretation is good, but not nearly as imaginative.

To me this is a good example of what was lost musically and vocally from the pre-war to the post-war generation. A change in style would be one thing, but there's definitely a vocal loss that is restrictive too. Oehmann could take such liberties because the voice will respond to anything he wants it to do.


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