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German Opera Choruses / Various on CD

Favourite German Opera Choruses Carl Maria von WEBER (1786-1826) Der Freischütz: Was gleicht wohl auf Erden (Huntsmen's Chorus) Act III; Otto NICOLAI (1810-1849) Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (The Merry Wives of Windsor): O süsser Mond (Moon Chorus) Act III; Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute): O Isis und Osiris (Chorus of the Priests) Act II; Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Fidelio: O welche Lust (Chorus of the Prisoners) Act I; Richard WAGNER (1813-1883) Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman): Summ und brumm (Spinning Chorus) Act II; Steuermann! Lass die Wacht! (Sailors' Chorus) Act III; Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg): Wach auf, es nahet gen den Tag (Awake Chorus) - Ehrt eure deutschen Meister (final chorus) Act III; Tannhäuser: Freudig begrüssen wir (Entry of the Guests) The Moon Chorus from Die lustigen Weiber starts so softly that one has to turn up the volume well above the average setting to hear anything at all of the magical orchestral introduction and in the Prisoners' chorus from Fidelio it's the same story. When the fortissimo outbreaks come one has to run for shelter. Whether it's the recording or Varviso's decisions that affect the chorus from Die Zauberflöte is hard to know: Mozart clearly distinguishes between p and f but here it's rather pp versus ff. Anyway the result is thrilling and in a larger listening room than mine it would probably be less of a problem. The big Wagner choruses are of course impressive, especially the Wach auf from the third act of Die Meistersinger, here linked with the final chorus from the opera to make it a suitable piece for concert purposes. This chorus has a special place in my heart, since it was the first opera chorus I had in my record collection, on an ancient Telefunken single, coupled with the Prisoners' chorus from Nabucco. The Verdi chorus I knew from the radio but I was fascinated by the visionary greatness of the Wagner and played it over and over again on my quite simple equipment. Of course it never sounded anything like this Leipzig/Dresden version, where one can bask in the glorious sound produced in the justly famous acoustics of Lukaskirche.