Song - A 'Project Climax' Subcategory - 11 CDs

Chamber Music
In classical music, a song (lied in German; chanson in French) is a setting of poetry for a solo singer with piano or orchestral accompaniment. Unlike choral music, which usually draws on religious texts, songs are usually based on secular poetry. The composer's goal in writing a song is to use music to illustrate and enhance the meaning and emotions of the text. Sometimes this can be achieved through direct musical effects, such as having the singer sing high notes to climb up a mountain or reach up to god, but more often it is achieved through contrast, dynamics, and harmonic coloring. A great song takes the listener on an emotional journey culminating in joy or catharsis or (as is often the case) despair.

In the eighteenth century songs usually consisted of a vocal melody with simple piano accompaniment, but in the nineteenth century the piano had risen to equal status with the singer, as the two worked together in partnership to illustrate the text. In the Romantic era the German lied for voice and piano achieved a special status as the vehicle for the composer to express his sensitivity to poetry, a traid valued highly at the time. The greatest composers of lieder were Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Hugo Wolf. Later in the nineteenth century composers began to set songs for voice and orchestra, making use of the increased possibilities for color that the full orchestra provided; the supreme masters of the orchestral song were Brahms, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. In the twentieth century the crown of song writing moved from German-speaking lands to English- and French-speaking ones. Twentieth century song composers include Claude Debussy in France, Benjamin Britten in England, and Samuel Barber in the United States.




What to do next
Once you have browsed and read about the recommended albums of this section at Classicalcdguide.com, you can come back here and download the albums that has cought your interest. The albums marked by a red number are the ones I have yet been unable to find anywhere so any help on that matter would be very much appreciated.

If you want more
In case you feel inspired to get more you are welcome to visit the main page of project Climax from where you will have access to a virtual library of quality recordings of classical music. Everything indexed into a variety of categories that should suit everyones taste.

01 - Schubert; Winterreise - Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten (Decca 2000)
http://rapidshare.de/files/32663525/068AWAWOGGNF.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/32659021/068AWAWOGGNF.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/32651442/068AWAWOGGNF.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/32646926/068AWAWOGGNF.part1.rar

02 - Gustav Mahler; Das Lied von der Erde, 3 Rückert-Lieder - Walter & WPO (Decca 2000)
http://rapidshare.de/files/35266407/127AQIGJDIID.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35259433/127AQIGJDIID.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35251408/127AQIGJDIID.part1.rar

03 - Schumann; Dichterliebe Op. 48 - Schubert & Beethoven; Lieder - Wunderlich, Giesen (DG 1997)
http://rapidshare.de/files/35922647/156AZZJFJDHH.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35919367/156AZZJFJDHH.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35895539/156AZZJFJDHH.part1.rar

04 - Fauré, Debussy, Poulenc; Nuit d'etoiles 'Melodies Francaises' - Gens, Vignoles (Virgin 2000)
http://rapidshare.de/files/35928421/157ATYRUIFJS.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35926815/157ATYRUIFJS.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35924885/157ATYRUIFJS.part1.rar

05 - Hugo Wolf; Spanisches Liederbuch - Gerald Moore & Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (DG 1998) 2 CDs
http://rapidshare.de/files/35950630/158BKAPDOFJF.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35947148/158BKAPDOFJF.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35941706/158BKAPDOFJF.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35938621/158AKAPDOFJF.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35936140/158AKAPDOFJF.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35931777/158AKAPDOFJF.part1.rar

06 - Bach; Cantata No. 82, Brahms; Vier erneste Gesänge - Bernard, Moore (EMI 2004)
http://rapidshare.de/files/31705436/039AWSEDRFTG.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/31688179/039AWSEDRFTG.part1.rar

07 - Barber; Knoxville Summer of 1915 - Dawn Upshaw, David Zinman (Nonesuch 1990)
http://rapidshare.de/files/36070580/DU.KS1915.OoStL.DZ.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/36164916/DU.KS1915.OoStL.DZ.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/36119515/DU.KS1915.OoStL.DZ.Cvrs.rar

08 - Richard Strauss; Four Last Songs & 12 Orchestral Songs - Schwarzkopf, Szell & LSO (EMI 1997)
http://rapidshare.de/files/35963719/160ASLOFJGFF.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35959041/160ASLOFJGFF.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35954946/160ASLOFJGFF.part1.rar

09 - Mozart; Complete Mozart Edition Vol 24 - Lieder & Notturni (Philips 1990) 2 CDs
http://rapidshare.de/files/32553438/063BPODOGGTP.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/32549342/063BPODOGGTP.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/32545097/063APODOGGTP.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/32520556/063APODOGGTP.part1.rar

10 - Schubert; 21 Lieder - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore (EMI 1990)
http://rapidshare.de/files/32838440/074ASOETWETR.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/32835471/074ASOETWETR.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/32832488/074ASOETWETR.part1.rar

11 - Mozart; Benjamin Britten; Serenade, Les Illuminations, Nocturne - Britten, Pears, (Polygram 1993)
http://rapidshare.de/files/35578389/143ASGJGIRJF.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35576091/143ASGJGIRJF.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35573963/143ASGJGIRJF.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/35571896/143ASGJGIRJF.part1.rar