Sancta Susanna, Vocal Works: Tortelier / Bbc.po, Etc

This is a compact survey of Hindemith in the process of becoming Hindemith. To those familiar with the mature, rather austere composer, the Straussian opulence of the 'Drei Gesange' from 1917 will come as something of a shock. The massive orchestra surges behind a vocal line straight from the world of 'Elektra.' The trilogy of short operas he wrote 1919-21 is represented by dances from his erotic burlesque, 'Das Nusch-Nuschi,' and the shocking 'Sancta Susanna,' presented complete. This uncompromising, if tiny, opera offers a claustrophobic tale of erotic obsession in a nunnery with the music striving to outdo the already lurid libretto in shock value. The suite from 'Tuttifanchen,' written in 1922, brings the beginning of the mature Hindemith along with smatterings of the idiom made famous by Kurt Weill.
The virtues of the orchestral playing will be well known to collectors of Tortelier's Hindemith series. The singing is all very good if perhaps without the last touch of opulence in the 'Drei Gesange.' This excellent disc will provide considerable challenge and surprise to those only familiar with the mature Hindemith.