Product description International products have separate terms, are sold from abroad and may differ from local products, including fit, age ratings, and language of product, labeling or instructions. .co.uk Karl Muck (1859--1940), one of the greatest Wagnerian conductors of the generation immediately following those who knew and worked directly with the master, was responsible for leading the performances of Parsifal at Bayreuth from 1901 until 1930. Wagner's last opera was, in a word, Muck's property, and this magnificent two-CD set documents his unique and intense relationship with that work in exemplary fashion. It contains Muck's accounts of the Prelude to Act I and a sizeable amount of Act III, recorded with the chorus and orchestra of the Berlin State Opera, and of excerpts from Acts I and II, recorded with the chorus and orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival. The recordings, made in 1927 and 1928, reflect the glow of a golden age in Wagner interpretation, and, thanks to Naxos's extraordinary job of remastering, that reflection is no longer a dim one.The great Wagnerian soprano Frida Leider, whose voice is not heard on these recordings, encountered Muck in his later years at Bayreuth and was struck by the slowness of his tempos in Parsifal. Indeed, they are slow: the Act I prelude takes 15:55 by the clock and seems even longer, yet the effect is sublime. Muck sustains the prelude as if on a single breath, just at the point where the pulse almost disappears; the music seems to arise out of silence and darkness to become light and spirit. This is just what Wagner intended. The Act III excerpts, which feature tenor Gotthelf Pistor as Parsifal and bass Ludwig Hofmann as Gurnemanz, are also superb. Pistor's is quite a fine voice--he was a real heldentenor--and the drama is palpable. But the greatest treasure here is the playing of the State Opera orchestra. Muck had been its chief conductor for 20 years, from 1892, and the chemistry between him and his erstwhile colleagues is particularly remarkable. They are majestic in the "Good Friday Spell", and they bring enormous grandeur and radiance to the closing pages of the opera. What a superb band this was!The segments recorded in Bayreuth are only a little less enchanting, largely because the chorus preparation leaves a lot to be desired (the chromaticism in Wagner's writing was difficult then, and still is). But we hear the original Bayreuth bells in the Act I transformation music (they were carried up to Berlin for the Act III processional music as well): cast to Wagner's own specifications, and melted down for the German war effort in 1940, they are truly a "voice" from the past.The two discs are superbly laid out and include, in addition to the Muck material, a four-part orchestral suite from Parsifal conducted by Alfred Hertz and recorded in 1913 with the Berlin Philharmonic, as well as the "Good Friday Spell" played by the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra under the direction of Siegfried Wagner, the composer's son, recorded in 1927. The transfers by Mark Obert-Thorn are the best yet of these historic recordings. --Ted Libbey
T**.
Indispensable Parsifal recordings
My only regret is that it has taken me far too long to learn of this marvellous set of Karl Muck conducted passages from Parsifal. The principal piece is the Berlin State Opera Orchestra 1928 recording of nearly the whole of Act 3 - after the Prelude, the section before Parsifal’s arrival is omitted. The playing and singing is exceptional and very moving. Alan Blyth in his 1999 Gramophone review thought it “the most uplifting, superbly executed reading of Act 3 of Parsifal in the history of recording.” The two CD set includes an excellent Prelude to Act 1, also performed by the Berlin State Opera Orchestra and recorded in December 1927. It is timed on the CD at nearly 16 minutes, but it does not feel slow or that the music is falling apart. I think this is because of the precision of Muck’s conducting. There are four further extracts from Act 1, this time performed by the Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra: the Transformation Music and three choral passages from the Grail scene. They are all remarkable. The singing has great presence, clarity and depth of feeling.As if this was not enough, the set also features a short excerpt from the Flower Maidens scene, another Good Friday Spell, conducted by Siegfried Wagner and the 1913 acoustic recordings of Alfred Hertz conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra: Act 1 Prelude, Act 1 and Act 3 Transformation Music and the Good Friday Spell. Fascinating.It is very much worth reading up on Karl Muck, who took over from Herman Levi in performing Parsifal at Bayreuth in 1900 and represents the most substantial connection we have on record to Wagner himself.One note on sound quality. I think the 1927 and 1928 recordings are good, but obviously it does not make sense to expect modern day production values. The Herz is an acoustic recording and limitations have to be accepted.
W**G
essential listening
Fascinating performances, with a truly wonderful Parsifal and Gurnemanz and the masterly timing and shaping of Karl Muck, not to mention the Bayreuth bell effects which are usually replaced by electronics now. Some insufficiencies, for example some Flower Maidens who just would not get a job now, but that was part of the scene at the time. The amount of non-vibrato playing especially in quiet passages is startling to our ears. For any Wagnerian it is worth getting used to the old sonorities and the old recording quality (very well transferred) to get into the world of what is now a historical Bayreuth period – before their indiscretions of the Nazi era.
M**N
Historic Parsifal
The main part of this set is devoted to the excerpts recorded by Karl Muck, from Acts I & II in Bayreuth (1927), and nearly the whole of Act III in Berlin (1928). It also includes the Good Friday Music (with Alexander Kipnis, rather too loud, and Fritz Wolff) conducted by Siegfried Wagner (!) in 1927, and a "suite" (Act I Prelude, Acts I & III Transformation Music and Good Friday Music), recorded in 1913 by Berlin Philharmonic (or part thereof) under Alfred Hertz, who conducted the first non-Bayreuth Parsifal (Cosima was not amused) and the first Covent Garden Parsifal.Quite apart from musical considerations, the sense of being so close to the fountainhead is thrilling. And musically it's mostly pretty good too. The sound in 1913 is amazingly good, so that the experience is a great deal more than historical curiosity. The Muck Act III is justly famous, above all for the fine conducting and for the moving Gurnemanz of Ludwig Hoffman, but the earlier excerpts are less successful, with a rather uncertain (and small but loud) chorus from the pre-Pitz era - the chorus in Act III is incomparably better. The sound of the 1927/28 recordings is fine.You do get 2 Act I Preludes, 2 Act III Transformations and 3 Good Fridays (one orchestral), and no Klingsor or Kundry. So (apart from Act III) it's excerpts, not an abridged Parsifal. But what a sense of almost being in at the beginning!
J**S
Superlative music making
This anthology is quite superlative. The Alfred Hertz recordings recorded in 1913 are much better than I expected and well worth an occasional hearing. However, those directed by Karl Muck are in another league. These were recorded in Berlin and Bayreuth in 1927 and 1928 and, for the date, have quite remarkable sound quality. The Act 1 Prelude, although somewhat lacking in ensemble precision, is probably the most moving I have ever heard and the extracts recorded in the Festspielhaus are remarkable for their intensity. The almost complete Act 3 is a true classic of the gramophone. The direction by Muck is absolutely perfect and the singing by Hoffman and Pistor unequaled on record. The chorus are no slouches either and the Berlin State Opera Orchestra are in much better form than in the Act 1 Prelude. It's lovely to hear the Bayreuth bells as well - specially transported from Bavaria to Berlin for the recording sessions.All in all an essential issue and the finest possible memorial to one of the greatest of all conductors of Wagner's music.
R**K
Excellent transfer of these unforgettable essentials among the tone documents ...
Excellent transfer of these unforgettable essentials among the tone documents of Wagner, after 90 years the Act I transformation is still hair-raisingly immediate and exciting.
M**I
Sublime
Not just music, instead Muck performs some sacred rite which is nominally Christian
H**Y
Three Stars
Historical scratchy recording from 1920s.
D**R
Amazing historical recording
I thought I'd heard the best but this is astonishing and an essential part of any serious Wagner lover's collection. Those who are reluctant to listen to mono historic recordings should give the Muck reading a listen. Within seconds you forget it's even in mono, so involving and accurate is the playing. It's just a pity we can't have the complete opera here.Pistor as Parsifal is the finest interpretation I have ever heard. His voice and understanding of the role is just perfect.Very, very moving indeed.
A**T
magnifique direction
musique magnifique réhaussée par les chefs les extraits chantés sont d un haut niveau d interprétation bon report bref un très bon disc
F**B
Per amanti di Wagner e di Parsifal
Documento prezioso che testimonia un modo di dirigere e di cantare cronologicamente molto vicino all'autore.Qualità audio accettabile per il tipo di registrazione d'epoca. La registrazione di Bayreuth contiene il suono delle campane fatte progettare da Wagner, poi perdute nel corso della guerra. Must have per ogni wagneriano doc.
M**B
Haunting and Reverent Beauty. A real historical document.
This is how I imagine Wagner. Not Hollywood Wagner but mysterious and beautiful. This CD is indispensable. If you are concerned about the sound quality, do not be. The way the music is presented with monophonic sound and hiss truly brings you back to another time and place.The Hertz orchestral suite from 1913 is actually my favorite feature here. The woodwinds sound clearly and ethereally in this primitive recording. There are background sounds that rise above the strings that are not easily heard in more balanced recordings. This transports me to a more uplifting place each and every time I hear it. As another bonus we get to hear Wagner's actual bells from 1927 in the Transformation Music conducted by Muck. I cannot recommend this enough. Please do yourself a favor and buy this and enjoy this window into an ever distance but beautiful time and place.
J**I
The Source
Here is the beginning of what we have recorded from the two men who were the most highly esteemed interpreters of "the Master." Completely different from each other, mind you, and in that you will hear greatness.
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