Breathe

by Hera Hyesang Park, Jochen Rieder, Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova

Overview

Beginning with the booklet notes by soprano Hera Hyesang Park, this is a highly unusual release. Park explains the origins of the program in her experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, which included the loss of loved ones, in her realization that songs of death brought her comfort, and in the steps she took toward the artistic realization of this album, one of them walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain with a backpack. One didn't see Marilyn Horne doing that! The best news is that the program itself is equally original, a gutsy thing for a largely unknown young singer (this is apparently Park's second release). Park pursues her theme with a collection of works that have a mournful, ethereal tone. Some are from the standard repertory -- a chunk from Verdi's Otello, some Rossini and Massenet -- but others are 20th century or contemporary pieces that fit the mood well but that are obscure enough that one wonders how Park came to know them. Sample the works by composer Licinio Refice, a writer of religious music who ventured into opera, and composer Bernat Vivancos. Park only rarely turns up the heat in momentary exclamations. She mostly slides into the vocal parts in a style that hangs fascinatingly between lyric and ambient. Deutsche Grammophon records Park mostly in an empty Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa; this works nicely, adding to the hazy atmosphere. The label errs, however, in not providing texts, not even online, for a collection of pieces in English, French, Italian, and Korean; few indeed will be the label's clientele who will understand all four. This is nevertheless a fascinating release from an intriguing young voice indeed. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	03/01/2024
Label:	Deutsche Grammophon
UPC:	0028948646272
Rank:	7893

Tracks

1. While You Live
2. Symphony No. 3 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs", Op. 36~2. Lento e largo. Mamo, nie p¿acz, nie
3. Symphony No. 3 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs", Op. 36~2. Lento e largo. Mamo, Mamo, Mamo, Niebios Przeczysta Królowo
4. Carmina burana~In Trutina
5. Hänsel und Gretel~Evening Prayer
6. Breath Alone: Paula Modersohn-Becker, Version for 2 Sopranos and Chamber Orchestra
7. Otello~Canzone del Salice e Preghiera. Affettuoso
8. Otello~Canzone del Salice e Preghiera. Assisa a' piè d'un salice
9. Otello~Canzone del Salice e Preghiera. Oh Dio! Qual mal strepito è questo!
10. Otello~Canzone del Salice e Preghiera. Deh calma, o ciel, nol sonno
11. Vocal Ice~Doux, austère
12. Vocal Ice~Calme, tendre
13. Otello~Ave Maria
14. Requiem aeternam (Eoi Gari)
15. Le Cid~Plus de tourments et plus de peine
16. Le Cid~Allez en paix, vous que l'on aime
17. Ave Maria sur la Méditation de Thaïs~Ave Maria, gratia plena
18. Ave Maria sur la Méditation de Thaïs~A tempo. Ave Maria, gratia plena
19. Cecilia~Mote di Cecilia. Molto vivo e con fuoco
20. Cecilia~Mote di Cecilia. Grazie, sorelle!
21. Cecilia~Mote di Cecilia. Padre! Ho pregato
22. Lakmé~Flower Duet. Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs
23. Lakmé~Flower Duet. Dôme épais le jasmin / Sous le dôme épais
24. L' Assedio di Corinto~Giusto ciel. L'ora fatal s'apressa
25. L' Assedio di Corinto~Giusto ciel. Giusto ciel, in tal periglio

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Hera Hyesang Park   Primary Artist,Soprano (Vocal)
Jochen Rieder   Primary Artist,Conductor
Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Seulji Kim   Ajaeng
Federico Romano   Cello
Coro del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova   Choir/Chorus
Emily D'Angelo   Mezzo-Soprano (Vocal)
Giovanni Battista Fabris   Violin

Technical Credits

Edouard Blau   Text
Philippe Gille   Text
Cecilia Livingston   Composer
Hyo-Won Woo   Text,Composer
Francesco Parolo   Assistant Engineer
Giovanni Porcile   Music Assistant
Lisandro Ramos   Cover Photo,Photography
Louis Gallet   Text
Philipp Starke   Design
Adolphe D'Ennery   Text
Francesco Maria Berio di Salsa   Text
Matthias Spindler   Arranger
Alexandre Soumet   Text
Annette Nubbemeyer   Booklet Editor
Emidio Mucci   Text
Henryk Gorecki   Composer
Edmond Gondinet   Text
Licinio Refice   Composer
Calisto Bassi   Text
Jules Massenet   Composer
Leo Delibes   Composer
Giuseppe Verdi   Composer
Luke Howard   Composer
Gioachino Rossini   Composer
Carl Orff   Composer
Engelbert Humperdinck   Composer
Arrigo Boito   Text
Luigi Balocchi   Text
Bernat Vivancos   Composer
Sergey Rybin   Language Coach
Anne Michaels   Text
Valerie Gross   Executive Producer
Adelheid Wette   Text
Helena Wanda Blazusiakowna   Text
Peggy Marmuth   Language Coach
Christine Heinrichs   Liner Note Translation
Florent Ollivier   Recording Producer
Thomas Boessl   Assistant Engineer
Malene Hill   A&R
Lea Schneider   Product Manager
Nicole Albring   Production Manager
Hera Hyesang Park   Liner Notes
Dorothea Schlegel   A&R,Publishing