Episode 451. Norman Bailey Sings Three Song Cycles
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I have twice featured the great British bass-baritone Norman Bailey (who also sang both regular baritone and, later in his career, regular bass roles) on my podcast. The first time was on the occasion of his death in the fall of 2021 at the age of 88. The second time was a 2025 episode entitled “Norman Bailey Revisited” in which he was heard singing everything from Peter Warlock to Sigmund Romberg to the great Heldenbariton roles of Wagner and Strauss for which he was particularly celebrated. Today, in an episode appropriate for the pentitential observance of Good Friday, I present him in three different (and each, in their own way, meditative) song cycles, Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, the three Michelangelo-Lieder, which were the final songs written by Hugo Wolf, and the only one of his collections which he actually considered a song cycle, and the Brahms Vier ernste Gesänge. These were featured on two different recordings of art song featuring Bailey and his frequent collaborator John Constable, recorded in 1977 and 1979. His beauty of both tone and utterance, and the humanity expressed therewith, made me realize that I had, once again, to share this great artists with you, my listeners. May Norman Bailey, the majesty and humanity of his voice, reinforced by his peerless diction and musicianship, beguile you with his well-nigh ideal performances of these song cycles.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
All recordings feature Norman Bailey in consort with pianist John Constable.
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Alois Jeitteles: An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 [1977]
- I. Auf dem Hügel sitz ich spähend
- II. Wo die Berge so blau
- III. Leichte Segler in den Höhen
- IV. Diese Wolken in den Höhen
- V. Es kehret der Maien, es blühet die Au
- VI. Nimm sie hin, denn, diese Lieder
Hugo Wolf, Michelangelo Buonarotti, trans. Walter Heinrich Robert-Tornow: Michelangelo-Lieder [1979]
- I. Wohl denk’ ich oft
- II. Alles endet, was entstehet
- III. Fühlt meine Seele
Johannes Brahms, Biblical text translated Martin Luther: Vier ernste Gesänge, Op. 121 [1977].
- I. Denn es gehet dem Menschen
- II. Ich wandte mich und sahe an
- III. O Tod, wie bitter bist du
- IV. Wenn ich mit Menschen- und mit Engelszungen
