Dame Janet Baker Philips and Decca Recordings, 1961-1979 (Limited Edition) (2003) [Re-Post]

For those of us who grew up on Janet Baker's recordings (and were lucky enough to hear her "live" as well), the sound of her voice and her singular artstic personality - British restraint coupled with fierce emotional and spiritual commitment - are indelibly imprinted in our minds and hearts. The closest current equivalent is Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, another superb artist who has charted her own course, and not surprisingly there is some overlap of repertoire, in the music of J.S. Bach, of course, but also Berlioz's Didon and Beatrice, Handel's Ariodante and Britten's Phaedra (composed for Baker).

Tracklist
CD 1:
Arie amorose
Giuseppe Giordani (1751 - 1798)
1.Caro mio ben (Arr. Simon Preston) 2:47
Giulio Romano Caccini (1551 - 1618)
2.Amarilli mia bella (Arr. Simon Preston) 3:34
Alessandro Stradella (1642 - 1682)
3.Ragion sempre addita (Arr. Simon Preston) 1:33
Domenico Natale Sarri (1679 - 1744)
4.Sen corre l'agnelletta (Arr. Simon Preston) 3:23
Marc' Antonio Cesti (1623 - 1669)
5.Intorno all'idol mio (Arr. Simon Preston) 3:02
Antonio Lotti (1667 - 1740)
6.Pur dicesti, o bocca bella (Arr. Simon Preston) 4:24
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 - 1725)
7.Spesso vibra per suo gioco (Arr. Simon Preston) 1:20
Antonio Caldara (1671 - 1736)
8.Come raggio di sol (Arr. Simon Preston) 2:44
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 - 1725)
L'honestà negli amore
9.Già il sole dal Gange (Arr. Simon Preston) 1:41
Giovanni Battista Bononcini (1670 - 1747)
10.Deh più a me non v'ascondete (Arr. Simon Preston) 2:22
Francesco Durante (1684 - 1755)
11.Danza fanciulla gentile (Arr. Simon Preston) 1:05
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 - 1725)
12.Sento nel core (Arr. Simon Preston) 4:04
Antonio Caldara (1671 - 1736)
13.Sebben crudele mi fai languir' (Arr. Simon Preston) 2:37
14.Selve amiche (Arr. Simon Preston) 2:29
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710 - 1736)
15.Ogni pena più spietata (Arr. Simon Preston) 5:48
Martini il Tedesco (1741 - 1816)
16.Plaisir d'amour 3:43
Niccolò Piccinni (1728 - 1800)
17.O notte o dea del mistero (Arr. Simon Preston) 5:23
Giovanni Paisiello (1740 - 1816)
18.Nel cor più non mi sento (Arr. Simon Preston) 1:40
Janet Baker, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner
Francesco Pietro Cavalli (1602 - 1676)
La Calisto
Realization by Raymond Leppard.
Act 1
19.Ardo, sospiro e piango 4:35
Janet Baker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Act 2
20.Ascender qui ved'io 7:06
Janet Baker, James Bowman, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Total Playing Time: 1:05:20

CD 2:
Arias
George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759)
Lucrezia Cantate
1."O Numi eterni" 1:19
2."Già superbo del mio affano" 4:49
3."Ma voi forse nel cielo" 1:11
4."Il suol che preme" 3:19
5. "Ah! che ancor nell' abiso" 1:20
6."Questi la disperata anima" 4:37
7."A voi, a voi, padre, consorte" 1:14
8."Già nel seno comincia compir" 1:01
9."Sento ch'il cor" 1:21
Rodelinda, HWV 34 /Act 1
10."Pompe vane de morte!" - "Dove sei, amato bene?" 6:48
Serse, HWV 40 /original/Act 1
11."Frondi tenere e belle" - "Ombra mai fù" 4:08
Hercules, HWV 60 /Act 3
12."Where shall I fly" 6:45
Atalanta, HWV 35 /Act 1
13.Care selve 2:49
Joshua, HWV 64 /Part 3
14.O had I Jubal's lyre 2:41
Ariodante HWV 33 /Act 1
15."Oh! felice mio core!" - "Con l'ali di costanza" 6:17
Act 2
16."E vivo ancora?" - "Scherza infida in grembo al drudo" 8:15
Act 3
17."Dopo notte, atra e funesta" 6:57
Janet Baker, English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust Cantata, BWV 170
18.1. Aria: Vergnügte Ruh', beliebte Seelenlust 7:03
Janet Baker, Philip Ledger, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner
Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695)
Dido and Aeneas, Z.626 /Edited Margaret Laurie & Thurston Dart /Act 3
19.But death…When I am laid…With drooping wings… 9:13
Janet Baker, The St. Anthony Singers, English Chamber Orchestra, Anthony Lewis
Total Playing Time: 1:21:07

CD 3:
Haydn / Mozart / Schubert / Beethoven
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)
1.Arianna a Naxos - Cantata, Hob.XXVIb/2 17:31
Janet Baker, Raymond Leppard
2.Scena di Berenice 'Berenice, che fai?' (Hob XXIVa:10) 13:24
Janet Baker, English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) /La clemenza di Tito, K.621 /Act 1
3."Deh se piacer mi vuol" - "Chi ciecamente crede" 5:39
Act 2
4."Non più di fiori" - "Infelice! qual orrore!" 7:44
Così fan tutte, K.588 /Act 1
5."Ah, scostati!" - "Smanie implacabili" 3:38
Janet Baker, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Colin Davis
Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
6.Ständchen, D. 920 5:33
Janet Baker, English Chamber Orchestra Chorus, Raymond Leppard
Lazarus, Der Feier der Auferstehung, D689
7.So schlummert auf Rosen 11:37
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
8.Ah perfido!, Op.65 13:52
Janet Baker, English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Total Playing Time: 1:18:58

CD 4:
Rameau / Gluck / Berlioz
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 - 1764) /Hippolyte et Aricie/Act 3
1.Prélude.."Cruelle mère des amours" 6:19
Janet Baker, English Chamber Orchestra, Anthony Lewis, Thurston Dart
Act 4
2."Quelle plainte en ces lieux m'appelle?" 4:56
Janet Baker, The St. Anthony Singers, English Chamber Orchestra, Anthony Lewis, Thurston Dart
Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714 - 1787) /Orfeo ed Euridice (Orphée et Eurydice), Wq. 30/Sung in Italian/Vienna version (1762)/Act 3
3.Aria: "Che farò senza Euridice?" 3:50
Act 2
4.Arioso: "Che puro ciel, che chiaro sol" 5:42
Alceste, Wq. 37 /Act 1
5."Divinités du Styx" 5:24
Janet Baker, English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869) /La Mort de Cléopâtre - Scène lyrique, H. 36
6.1. "C'en est donc fait" 3:14
7.2. "Ah! qu'ils sont loin" 7:04
8.3. Méditation: "Grands Pharaons" 4:50
9.4. "Non!…non, de vos demeures funèbres" 2:40
10.5. "Dieux du Nil" 3:04
Herminie - Scène lyrique
11.1. Récit: "Quel trouble te poursuit" 4:07
12.2. Air: "Ah! Si de la tendresse" 4:19
13.3. Récit: "Que dis-je?" 1:25
14.4. Air: "Arrête! Arrête! Cher Tancréde 3:15
15."Que Clorinde est heureuse!" 2:08
16.5. Air: "Venez, venez, terribles armes!" 2:05
17.6. Prière: "Dieu des chrétiens!" 2:58
18."Venez, venez, terribles armes!" 2:42
Béatrice et Bénédict/Act 2
19."Non! Que viens-je d'entendre?" - "Il m'en souvient" - "Je l'aime donc?" 10:00
Janet Baker, London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis
Total Playing Time: 1:20:02

CD 5:
Ravel / Chausson / Delage / Britten
Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937) /Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé
1.1. Soupir 3:58
2.2. Placet futile 4:47
3.3. Surgi de la croupe et du bond 3:13
Janet Baker, Melos Ensemble, Bernard Keeffe
Chansons madécasses
4.1. Andante quasi allegretto: Nahandove 5:38
5.2. Andante: Aoua! Aoua! 4:01
6.3. Lento: Il est doux de se coucher 4:23
Ernest Chausson (1855 - 1899)
7.Chanson Perpetuelle, Op.37 6:57
Janet Baker, Melos Ensemble
Maurice Charles Delage (1879 - 1961) /Quatre Poèmes Hindous
8.1. Une Belle (Madras) 2:25
9.2. Un sapin isolé (Lahore) 3:59
10.3. Naissance de Bouddha (Benares) 1:28
11.4. Si vous pensez (Jaipur) 1:40
Janet Baker, Melos Ensemble, Bernard Keeffe
Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976) /The Rape of Lucretia, Op.37/Lib. Ronald Duncan/Act 2
12.Lucretia! Lucretia! 3:04
John Shirley-Quirk, Janet Baker, English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten
13.Last night Tarquinius ravished me 3:30
Janet Baker, John Shirley-Quirk, English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten
Owen Wingrave, Op.85/Act 2
14.Ah, Owen, what shall I do? 7:50
Janet Baker, Nigel Douglas, Benjamin Luxon, English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten
Phaedra, Op.93
15.In May, in brilliant Athens 6:42
16.Oh Gods of wrath 2:51
17.My time's too short, your highness 6:04
Janet Baker, English Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford
Total Playing Time: 1:12:30