CD 1: Opera and Oratorio Arias and Songs 1936–1941
GIUSEPPE VERDI 1813–1901: 1 Se quel guerrier io fossi!...Celeste Aida (Aida, Act I) (It)
2 La donna è mobile (Rigoletto, Act III) (It)
GIACOMO PUCCINI 1858–1924: 3 Che gelida manina (La bohème, Act I) (It); 4 Recondita armonia (Tosca, Act I) (It); 5 E lucevan le stelle (Tosca, Act III) (It); 6 Ch’ella mi creda (La fanciulla del West, Act III) (It)
AMILCARE PONCHIELLI 1834–1886: 7 Cielo e mar (La Gioconda, Act II) (It)
GIACOMO MEYERBEER 1791–1864: 8 Mi batte il cor…O paradiso (L’africaine, Act IV) (It)
FRANCESCO PAOLO TOSTI 1846–1916: 9 Ideale (Errico) (It)
EDUARDO DI CAPUA 1865–1917: 10 ’O sole 0mio (Capurro) (It)>br>
RUDOLF FRIML 1879–1972: 11 Only a Rose (The Vagabond King, Act I) (Eng)
HENRY ERNEST GEEHL 1881–1961: 12 For You Alone (O’Reilly) (Eng)
JULES MASSENET 1842–1912: 13 Instant charmant…En ferment les yeux (Manon, Act II) (Fr)
GEORGES BIZET 1838–1875: 14 La fleur que tu m’avais jetée (Carmen, Act II) (Fr)
CHARLES GOUNOD 1818–1893: 15 Salut ! demeure chaste et pure (Faust, Act III) (Fr)
FRIEDRICH VON FLOTOW 1812–1883: 16 M’apparì tutt’amor (Martha, Act III) (It)
GIOACHINO ROSSINI 1792–1868: 17 Cujus animam (Stabat Mater) (Lat)
VERDI: 18 Ingemisco (Messa da Requiem) (Lat); 19 Ah sì, ben mio (Il trovatore, Act III) (It); 20 Di quella pira (Il trovatore, Act III) (It); 21 Ah sì, ben mio (Il trovatore, Act III) (It); 22 Di quella pira (Il trovatore, Act III) (It); 23 Questa o quella (Rigoletto, Act I) (It)
Orchestras conducted by Nils Grevillius
CD 2: Opera Arias and Songs 1941–1950
PUCCINI: 1 O soave fanciulla (La bohème, Act I) (It); Hjödis Schymberg soprano
VERDI: 2 È il sol dell’anima (Rigoletto, Act II) (It); 3 Questa o quella (Rigoletto, Act I) (It); 4 Di’ tu se fedele (Un ballo in maschera, Act I) (It)
PUCCINI: 5 Nessun dorma (Turandot, Act III) (It)
UMBERTO GIORDANO 1867–1948: 6 Come un bel dì di maggio (Andrea Chénier, Act IV) (It): 7 Amor ti vieta (Fedora, Act II) (It)
PIETRO MASCAGNI 1863–1945: 8 Mamma! quell vino è generoso (Cavalleria rusticana) (It)
RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO 1857–1919: 9 Recitar!...Vesti la giubba (Pagliacci, Act I) (It); 10 Mattinata (Leoncavallo) (It)
GAETANO DONIZETTI 1797–1848: 11 Una furtive lagrima (L’elisir d’amore, Act III) (It)
BIZET; 12 Je crois entendre encore (Les Pêcheurs de perles, Act I) (Fr)
GOUNOD: 13 Ah! lève-toi, soleil ! (Roméo et Juliette, Act II) (Fr)
MASSENET: 14 Je suis seul !...Ah ! fuyez, douce image (Manon, Act III) (Fr)
FRANCESCO CILEA 1866–1950: 15 È la solita storia (L’arlesiana, Act II) (It)
MASCAGNI: 16 O Lola (Cavalleria rusticana) (It)
PUCCINI: 17 Donna non vidi mai (Manon Lescaut, Act I) (It); 18 Recondita armonia (Tosca, Act I) (It); 19 E lucevan le stelle (Tosca, Act III) (It); 20 O soave fanciulla (La bohème, Act I) (It); Anna-Lisa Björling soprano
GOUNOD: 21 Ange adorable ( , Act I) (Fr); Anna-Lisa Björling soprano
BENJAMIN GODARD 1849–1895: 22 Concealed in this retreat (Berceuse) (Jocelyn, Act II) (Eng)
TOSTI: 23 L’alba separa dalla luce l’ombra (d’Annunzio); Orchestra (1)-(10) · Royal Orchestra (11)-(14), (16) & (17); Stockholm Concert Association Orchestra (15), (20)-(23); Swedish Radio Orchestra (18) & (19)
Nils Grevillius
CD 3: Opera and Operetta Arias and Songs in Swedish 1929–1941
GEEHL: 1 För dig allé (For You Alone) (O’Reilly)
LEONCAVALLO: 2 Mattinata (Leoncavallo); Hjalmar Meissner piano
GOUNOD: 3 Höj dig, du klara sol (Ah ! lève-toi, soleil !); (Roméo et Juliette, Act II)
VERDI: 4 O, I kvinnor (Questa o quella) (Rigoletto, Act I)
RAOUL LAPARRA 1876–1943: 5 Fylld av vemod sänker sig natten (Mélancolique tombe le soir) (L’illustre Frégona)
ALEXANDER BORODIN 1833-1887: 6 Dagen gick långsamt till ro (Vladimir’s Cavatina) (Prince Igor, Act II)
PUCCINI: 7 Det sköna står att finna (Recondita armonia) (Tosca, Act I); 8 Jag minns stjärnorna lyste (E lucevan le stelle) (Tosca, Act III)
VERDI: 9 Ack, som ett fjun så lätt (La donna è mobile)(Rigoletto, Act III); 10 Skyhögt mot himlen (Di quella pira) (Il trovatore, Act III)
LEONCAVALLO: 11 Spela komedi! … Pudra ditt anlet (Recitar!...Vesti la giubba) (Pagliacci, Act I)
MASCAGNI: 12 O Lola (Cavalleria rusticana)
PUCCINI: 13 Låt henne tro (Ch’ella mi creda)(La fanciulla del West, Act III)
KURT ATTERBERG 1887-1974: 14 I männwe över lag och rätt (Ye men of law and justice) (Fanal, Act III)
NICOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV 1844-1908: 15 I söderns hav (Song of India) (Sadko, Scene 4)
JACQUES OFFENBACH 1819–1875: 16 Uti en skog på berget Ida (Au mont Ida troi déesses) (La belle Hélène, Act I)
JOHANN STRAUSS II 1825-1899: 17 Vem oss har vigt? (Wer uns getraut?)(Der Zigeunerbaron, Act II); Hjördis Schymberg soprano
KARL MOLLÖCKER 1842–1899: 18 Skall jag tala…Antag det fall (Soll ich redden…Ich setz’ den Fall) (Der Bettelstudent, Act II); Hjördis Schymberg soprano; 19 Nu är jag pank och fågelfri (Ich hab’ kein Geld) (Der Bettelstudent, Act III)
WILHELM PETERSON-BERGER 1867-1942: 20 När jag för mig själv i mörka skogen går (As I walk alone in the dark forest); 21 Bland skogens höga furustammar (Among the tall pine trees of the forest)
SWEDISH FOLKSONG arr. ANDREAS RANDEL 1806-1864: 22 Ack Värmeland, do sköna (Ah Värmeland, thou fairest)
SWEDISH FOLKSONG: 23 Allt under himmelens fäste (Just below the roof of heaven)
CARL SJÖBERG 1861-1900: 24 Tonerna (Music) (Geijer)
MOGENS SCHRADER 1894-1934: 25 Sommarnatt (Summer Night) (Stevens)
WILHELM STENHAMMAR 1871-1927: 26 Sverige (Sweden) (Ett Folk)
RAGNAR ALTHÉN 1883-1961: 7 Land, du välsignade (Thou Blessed Land) (Björklund)
ERIC WIDE (RAGNAR WIDESTEDT) 1887-1954: 28 Nämner du Sverige (Coldén) Orchestras conducted by Nils Grevillius
CD 4: Lieder and Songs 1939–1959
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 1770–1827: 1 Adelaide (Matthisson) (Ger)
RICHARD STRAUSS 1864–1949: 2 Morgen! (Morning) (Hart) (Ger); 3 Cäcilie (Mackay) (Ger), Harry Ebert piano
GUSTAF NORDQVIST 1886-1949: 4 Bön i ofredstid (Prayer in a time of unrest) (Personne) (Sw);5 Bisp Thomas frihetssång (Freedom is the finest thing) (Simonsson) (Sw), Orchestra / Sune Waldimir
SERGEI RACHMANINOV 1873-1943: 6 In the Silence of the Night (Harris & Taylor) (Eng); 7 Lilacs (Chapman) (Eng); Stockholm Concert Association Orchestra / Nils Grevillius
STEPHEN FOSTER 1826-1864: 8 Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair (Foster) (Eng)
GUY D’HARDELOT 1858–1936: 9 Because (Teschemacher) (Eng)Royal Orchestra / Nils Grevillius
OLEY SPEAKS 1874-1948: 10 Sylvia (Scollard) (Eng)
LOUIS CAMPBELL-TIPTON 1877-1921: 11 A Spirit Flower (Stanton) (Eng)
AMY MARCY CHENEY BEACH 1867-1944: 12 Ah, Love, But a Day (Browning) (Eng)
SJÖBERG: 13 I Bless Ev’ry Hour (Tonerna) (Geijer trans. Tysh) (Eng); Ivor Newton piano
NORDQVIST: 14 Till havs (Toward the Sea) (Reuter) (Sw)
SVEN SALÉN 1890-1969: 15 Sången till havet (Song to the Sea) (Salén) (Sw); 16 Visa kring slånblom och månskära (Song of blackthorn and crescent moon) (Thorén) (Sw)
PETERSON-BERGER: 17 Jungfrun under lind (The maid under the linden tree) (Peterson-Berger) (Sw); Orchestra / Bertil Boksted
AUGUST SÖDERMAN 1832-1876: 18 Kung Heimer och Aslög (King Heimer and Aslög) (Hedberg) (Sw); 19 Trollsjön (The Magic Lake) (Bäckström) (Sw)
HUGO ALFVÉN 1872-1960: 20 Så tag mit hjerte (So take my heart) (Ditlevsen) (Dan)
JEAN SIBELIUS 1865-1957: 21 Demanten på marssnön (The diamond in the March snow) (Wecksell) (Sw)
ADOLPH ADAM 1803-1856: 22 Julsång (O Helga natt) (Cantique de Noël) (Kock) (Sw); Royal Orchestra / Nils Grevillius
CD 5: Three classic operas 1953-1959
LEONCAVALLO: Pagliacci (Leoncavallo): 1 Mi accordan di parlar?...Un grande spettacolo...Un tal gioco
(Canio/Chorus/Tonio/Beppe/Nedda); 2 Recitar!...Vesti la giubba (Canio); 3 A stanotte...Coraggio!...No, Pagliaccio non son (Canio/Nedda/Tonio/Beppe/Silvio/Chorus); Canio Jussi Björling; Nedda Victoria de los Angeles; Tonio Leonard Warren; Beppe Paul Franke; Silvio Robert Merrill; Robert Shaw Chorale · RCA Victor Orchestra, Renato Cellini
PUCCINI: La bohème (Illica & Giacosa): 4 Non sono in vena...Che gelida manina (Act I)(Rodolfo/Mimì); 5 Ehi! Rodolfo...O soave fanciulla (Act I) (Schaunard/Colline/Marcello/Rodolfo/Mimì); 6 Marcello, finalmente...Donde lieta usci...Dunque è proprio finita (Act III)(Rodolfo/Marcello/Mimì/Musetta); 7 In un coupè?...O Mimi, tu più non torni (Act IV) (Marcello/Rodolfo); Rodolfo Jussi Björling; Mimì Victoria de los Angeles; Musetta Lucine Amara; Marcello Robert Merrill; Schaunard John Reardon; Colline Giorgio Tozzi;
RCA Victor Orchestra / Sir Thomas Beecham
PUCCINI: Madama Butterfly (Illica & Giacosa): 8 Dovunque al mondo...Amore o grillo (Act I)(Pinkerton/Sharpless/Goro/Chorus); 9 Viene la sera...Bimba dagli occhi (Act I); (Pinkerton/Butterfly); Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio-San) Victoria de los Angeles; B. F. Pinkerton Jussi Björling; Suzuki Miriam Pirazzini; Sharpless Mario Sereni; Goro Piero de Palma; Orchestra e Coro del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma /
Gabriele Santini
This 5 CD set showcasing the talents of the tenor Jussi Björling is a further release in the EMI Classics ICON series.
The famous Swedish opera star Jussi Björling (1911-1960) was essentially a lyric tenor with the added ability to sing dramatic roles, which enabled him to excel in almost the whole of the Italian and French operatic repertoire.
Björling recorded exclusively for EMI from the beginning of his career for more than a decade, initially for EMI’s Swedish branch and later for EMI Classics. The 78 rpm recordings he made throughout the 1930s were among the company’s best selling vocal discs of their day, and in the LP era during the 1950s he made three outstanding complete operas for EMI.
This 5 CD set covers the best of Björling’s EMI solo recordings and includes highlights from the three complete operas:
CD 1 contains Opera and Oratorio Arias and Songs in their original language recorded between 1936 and 1941. CD 2 covers similar repertoire from 1941 to 1950. CD 3 goes back to the period from 1929 when Björling was still a local Swedish artist and recorded all his material in Swedish. The CD opens with the two recently discovered test recordings that Björling made for EMI Sweden on 4 September 1929: ‘For You Alone’ and ‘Mattinata’, both sung in Swedish. CD 4 contains a selection of Lieder and Songs, all sung in their original language, recorded between 1939 and 1959. CD 5 contains a generous selection of highlights from Björling’s three complete EMI operas: La bohème, Pagliacci and Madama Butterfly. He is partnered in all three recordings by the soprano Victoria de los Angeles.
All tracks, except those from Pagliacci and Madama Butterfly on CD 5, have been transferred and digitally remastered at Abbey Road Studios from the best available source material in the EMI Archives by the award-winning audio restoration engineer Andrew Walter.
