# Your favourite 15, 10, or 5 albums of songs by classical composers?



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

The title pretty much says all ... what would be your top 15, 10 or top 5 albums of songs for voice and piano (OK, or solo voice only, or with lute, or some other instrument) by classical composers - being it _lieder, melodies, chansons, canciones, ayres, songs _etc.? I´m not thinking of more than one accompanying instrument here, and ony one vocal soloist.

Haven´t really decided myself yet, but am working on it .


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## AnotherSpin (Apr 9, 2015)

My favorite cycle is Richard Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder. To that I will add Schubert's cycles. One from Schumann. Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde and Ruckert Lieder. The rest I could miss. I know my answer has orchestral pieces what you didn't ask.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

AnotherSpin said:


> My favorite cycle is Richard Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder. To that I will add Schubert's cycles. One from Schumann. Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde and Ruckert Lieder. The rest I could miss. I know my answer has orchestral pieces what you didn't ask.


These would certainly be among my selections in vocal music overall, too. Glad to see the Rückert Lieder mentioned!


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Not my area of expertise, but I do like a lot of the songs by Ravel, Debussy, Falla and Rodrigo. I wouldn't feel confident enough to suggest specific recordings other than to mention The Debussy Edition on DG is an excellent set and includes most (if not all) of Debussy's songs. Can't go wrong there.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Grieg, selected lieder. Anne Sophie von Otter, mezzo-soprano. Terrific!


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

Far too many and I know i'm missing many but oh well:

Emma Kirkby, Jakob Lindberg - *Orpheus in England, Dowland & Purcell*
Elly Ameling, Jörg Demus - *Haydn: Complete Songs*
Shirley Rumsey - *Music of the Italian Renaissance for Voice, Lutes, Viola da mano, Cittern and Renaissance Guitar*
Olga Borodina, Larissa Gergieva - *Songs of Desire* (Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Mussorgsky, Balakirev & Cui)
Adrienne Csengery, András Keller - *Kafka-Fragments* (Kurtag)
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Fischer, Parsons, Moore - *24 Lieder* (Schubert)
Janet Baker, Graham Johnson - *Complete Songs, Vol. 1, Goethe & Schiller Settings* (Schubert)
Hans Hotter, Gerald Moore - *Winterreise* (Schubert)
Christianne Stotijn, Julius Drake - *Tchaikovsky Romances*
Marjana Lipovšek, Graham Johnson -* Songs and Dances of Death* (Mussorgsky)
Bernarda Fink, Roger Vignoles - *Brahms Lieder*
Marta Almajano - *Pèr un bacio* (Kapsburger, Monteverdi, Strozzi, Frescobaldi etc)
Lan Rao, Micaela Gelius - *Clara Schumann Lieder*
Yumi Nara, Jay Gottlieb - *Harawi* (Messiaen)
Soile Isokoski, Marita Viitasalo - *Das Marienleben* (Hindemith)
Anna Netrebko & Daniel Barenboim - *In the Still of Night* (Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov)

Also adding few renaissance albums that are multi instruments although they are fairly background

Maria Cristina Kiehr, Concerto Soave - Barbara Strozzi, d'India, Sigismondo
Montserrat Figueras, La Capella Reial de Catalunya - *El Cant de la Sibil-la, Catalunya*
Hille Perl, Lee Santana, Dorothee Mields - *In darkness let me dwell* (Dowland)


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

quack said:


> Far too many and I know i'm missing many but oh well:
> 
> Emma Kirkby, Jakob Lindberg - *Orpheus in England, Dowland & Purcell*
> Elly Ameling, Jörg Demus - *Haydn: Complete Songs*
> ...


This is very interesting, a good deal to explore, thank you. Personally, I really like the_ Cant de la Sibilia _too as one of the best ever recordings of music from that period, _Kirkby´s Dowland _recordings, and _Borodina´s recital_, but I hardly know any of the other, specific recordings yet.


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