Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Soile Isokoski "Var det en drom?" (Was it a dream)?


5 Songs, OP 37 (arrangement N. Fougstedt and J. Jalas): No. 4. Var det en drom?  (Was it a dream)?  Luonnotar Orchestral Songs, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor, Leif Segerstam.

Yes, Walter may be absolutely correct in that assessment, that this is one of the most beautiful orchestral songs ever composed.  But still, I think that Victoria de Los Angeles' aria, "Si, mi chiamano, Mimi," (Yes, they call me Mimi) in La Boheme [composed by Puccini in 1893 and based on the 1851 novel, Scenes of Bohemian Life, famously conducted by  Toscanini in 1896] is the most beautiful.  Here is the aria, and the lilting beauty occurs at the 3:30 mark.  


Another famous aria from La Bohme is "Quando m'en vo" also known as "Musetta's Waltz."  I like Ramon Vargas' rendition.  It is hard to surpass Rene Fleming's soprano beauty.

Here is the full opera.