FRYDERYK CHOPIN (1810-1849):
1. 	Życzenie (The maiden's wish)
2. 	Piosnka litewska (Lithuanian song)
3. 	Melodia - Z gór, gdzie dźwigali... (Melody, from the mountains, where they carried...)
4. 	Śliczny chłopiec (The cute boy)
5. 	Moja pieszczotka (My little darling)
6. 	Leci liście z drzewa (The leaves are falling from the tree)
STANISŁAW MONIUSZKO (1819-1872):
7. 	Prządka (Old spinner's song)
8. 	Powiedzcie mi (Tell me
9. 	Ruta (Rue)
10. 	Pieśń wieczorna (Evening song)
11. 	Prząśniczka (The spinner)
MIECZYSŁAW KARŁOWICZ (1876-1909):
12. 	Zasmuconej (To a grieving maiden) Op.1, nr 1
13. 	Rdzawe liście... (Rust-coloured leaves...)
14. 	Na śniegu (In the snow) Op.1, nr 3
15. 	Śpi w blaskach nocy (Sleeps in the light of night) Op.3, nr 5
16. 	Skąd pierwsze gwiazdy (Early stars) Op.1, nr 3
17. 	I zamiast słońc... (I have no sun) Op.3 nr 2
18. 	Pod jaworem (Under the sycamore)
19. 	Z nową wiosną (With the new spring)
KAROL SZYMANOWSKI (1882-1938):
20. 	Święty Boże (Holy God)
21. 	Jestem i płaczę (I am here and weep)
22. 	Błogosławioną niech będzie ta chwila (Blessed be the moment)
WITOLD LUTOSŁAWSKI (1913-1994):
23. 	Rycerze (Knights)
24. 	Morze (The sea)
25. 	Wiatr (The wind)
26. 	Zima (The winter), 
27. 	Dzwony cerkiewne (Eastern Church bells)

Ewa Podles – alto
Ewa Poblocka – piano

This rich and rewarding recital makes out a good case for better knowledge of Polish song in the West. Even Chopin only makes the rarest appearances in recitals, though The Wish is as charming as any of his piano waltzes, The Handsome Lad has a splendid cut to it and The Leaves are Falling transcends such captivating salon or genre pieces with a song of real strength. It is a pity he wrote so few (a mere 19). Moniuszko, on the other hand, poured songs out, some 360 in number. In the 12 volumes of his so-called Home Songbook he had in mind not the concert performer but the domestic musician, though some of the songs are quite demanding and certainly gain from the impressive performances they receive here. Tell me is guided by the strong melody, as is the charming Evening Song; Rue is rather more extended, wry and with a folk tang. It might have been interesting to have a wider selection, and perhaps fewer from Mieczyslaw Karlowicz, who on the present showing has an agreeable sense of melody but less individuality, and, moreover, was perpetuating a style that by the last decade of the nineteenth century (when these were all written), had grown old-fashioned. Lutoslawski’s Five Poems have a delicacy and sensitivity that set them in the tradition of his predecessors; they are beautifully composed miniatures of sea and wind and winter and church bells. The exception in this recital are the Three Songs by Szymanowski, powerful and tormented tableaux that receive what appear to be exemplary performances here.

I put this tentatively, lacking as I do any knowledge of the Polish language and warned by a long and extremely helpful insert-note by Bohdan Pociej of the intricate connections between music and poetry (parallel translations help, but are not the same thing). Ewa Podles pulls out all her considerable stops here. Writing of her Russian recital in May 1995, AB found her idiosyncratic, and very fairly added, ‘Taking risks in her interpretations, she earns her rewards.’ Much helped by a brilliantly sympathetic accompanist in Ewa Poblocka, one who is able to storm the heights in Szymanowski and touch off the wit and charm of the lighter songs with a captivating lilt, she seems to me to earn them well here, too.' --- John Warrack, gramophone.co.uk

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1. Prince Igor (Knyaz Igor), Act II - Cavatina, Merknet svet dnevnoy (Daylight fades) (Konchakovna)
2. Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78 - IV. The Field of the Dead
3. The Maid of Orleans, Act II - Aria, Da, chas nastal! Dolzhna provinovatsa nebesnomu velen'yu Ioanna
4. Moskva (Moscow) - Mne li dolg velit stiag bor bi podniat (Is it my duty to raise the banner of struggle)
5. Ne Tol'ko Lyubov' (Not for Love Alone) - Po lesam kudriavim, po goram gorbatim (Along the leafy forests, along the hump-backed hills)
6. Oedipus Rex - Aria, Nonn' Erubescite, reges (Are you not at all embarrassed, princes)
7. Pesni i plyaski smerti (Songs and Dances of Death - I. Cradle Song
8. Pesni i plyaski smerti (Songs and Dances of Death - II. Serenade
9. Pesni i plyaski smerti (Songs and Dances of Death - III. Trepak
10. Pesni i plyaski smerti (Songs and Dances of Death - IV. The Warrior

Ewa Podles - contralto
Philharmonia of Russia
Constantine Orbelian – conductor

This disc is altogether delectable. With few exceptions, Russian opera is little known or appreciated in this country. Perhaps, if it always had interpreters as stupendously capable as Ewa Podles, the story might be different. She is a true contralto, and, as such, more than capable of bringing appropriate power, flexibility and idiomatic darkness to these largely unfamiliar arias. Even more impressively, she uses her magnificent talent to get inside the character of each piece. The result is a virtuoso variety of texture. The sumptuous richness of her sound makes even the finest counter-tenors seem rather thin-voiced. Do not let the unfamiliarity of most of the pieces put you off. Full translations are provided, with the Russian being helpfully rendered in Roman letters. So, let this superrb and thrilling singer introduce you to some very fine music. ---Jim Grogan

Ewa Podles claims to be the only true contralto in the world. Yet the Polish singer - whose unique, almost masculine voice, with its tremendous chest notes, encompasses a range of almost three octaves - is often called anything else. --- theoperacritic.com

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1. Rinaldo: Venti turbini
2. Rinaldo: Cara sposa
3. Rinaldo: Abbruggio, avvampo e fremo
4. Rinaldo: E un incendio frà due venti
5. Rinaldo: Ogni indugio d'un amante
6. Rinaldo: Or la tromba
7/8. Rinaldo: Tale stupor m'occupa...Cor ingrato
9. Rinaldo: Il tricerbero umiliato
10. Orlando: Fammi combattere
11/12. Orlando: E questa la mercede...Cielo! Se tu il consenti
13/14. Orlando: Imagini funeste...Non fu già men forte Alcide
15. Orlando: Già lo stringo
16/17/18. Orlando: Ah Stigie larve...Già latra Cerbero...Vaghe pupille

Ewa Podles – contralto
Malcolm Hamilton - harpsichord
Moscow Chamber Orchestra 
Constantine Orbelian – conductor

...impressive three-octave range...hugely resonant and heroic low tones, smoky middle, brilliant top...astonishing flexibility... this recital reveals her dazzling outrageous and personalized approach to Handel, and it is stunning. The first two tracks alone demonstrate mastery of every vocal, theatrical and musical technique demanded by this repertoire.... This is the stuff eighteenth-century writers used to rave about... Such artistic integrity and completeness set Podles apart... Seat belts suggested. -- Opera News

...the Polish artist is that extremely rare phenomenon - a genuine contralto of luxuriant tone and bottomless resources. ... a true bel canto expert. It's hard even to imagine a voice of this weight scaling the heights and depths of Handel coloratura with such nonchalance, and it's even more amazing to hear it on this disc... incredible agility, seamless breath control and almost terrifying authority. --- San Francisco Examiner

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01. Rachmaninov - Matin (Morning)
02. Rachmaninov - Ne Me Regrette Pas
03. Rachmaninov - Je T'attends
04. Rachmaninov - Dans La Nuit Mysterieuse
05. Rachmaninov - Belle Comme Le Jour
06. Rachmaninov - Christ Est Resuscite
07. Rachmaninov - Le Eaux Du Printemps
08. Mussorgsky Nursery Songs - Oh Raconte Nanouchka
09. Mussorgsky Nursery Songs - Au Coin
10. Mussorgsky Nursery Songs - Le Hanneton
11. Mussorgsky Nursery Songs - Berceuse De La Poupee
12. Mussorgsky Nursery Songs - La Priere Du Soir
13. Mussorgsky Nursery Songs - Sur Le Dada
14. Mussorgsky Nursery Songs - Le Chat 'Matelot'
15. Tchaikovsky Melodies op47 - La Maumariée
16. Tchaikovsky Melodies op47 - Sans Opus
17. Tchaikovsky Melodies op47 - Si Je I Avais Su
18. Tchaikovsky Melodies op47 - Si Le Jour Brille
19. Mussorgsky Songs & Dances of Death - Lullaby
20. Mussorgsky Songs & Dances of Death - Serenade
21. Mussorgsky Songs & Dances of Death - Trepak
22. Mussorgsky Songs & Dances of Death - The Field Marshall

Ewa Podleś – contralto
Graham Johnson – piano

Ewa Podleś is widely recognized as the most authentic contralto of her generation by Opera International, Orpheus, Gramophone, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Examiner, Opera News and The Financial Times due to the specific color, huge range and agility of her voice.

Her vocal abilities make it possible for the artist to successfully perform repertoire spanning from baroque to contemporary, on the most prestigious opera stages and concert venues in the world: La Scala, MET, Covent Garden, le Châtelet, Deutsche Oper, Teatro Liceo, Teatro Real, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Theatre des Champs Elysees, Filharmonia Narodowa (Warsaw National Philharmonic), to name just a few. --- podles.pl

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1. The wish (wds. S. Witwicki: 1829)
2. Spring (wds. S. Witwicki: 1838)
3. The sad stream (wds. S. Witwicki: 1831)
4. Merrymaking (wds. S. Witwicki: 1830)
5. There where she loves (wds. S. Witwicki: 1829)
6. Out of my sight! (wds. A. Mickiewicz: 1829)
7. The envoy (wds. S. Witwicki: 1830)
8. Handsome lad (wds. B. Zaleski: 1841)
9. Melodya (wds. Z. Krasinski: 1847)
10. The warrior (wds. S. Witwicki: 1830)
11. The double end (wds. B. Zaleski: 1845)
12. My darling (wds. A. Mickiewicz: 1837)
13. I want what I have not (wds. B. Zaleski: 1845)
14. The ring (wds. S. Witwicki: 1836)
15. The bridegroom (wds. S. Witwicki: 1831)
16. Lithuanian song (wds. S. Witwicki: 1831)
17. Hymn from the tomb (wds. W. Pol: 1836)
18. Charms (wds. B. Zaleski: 1830)
19. Reverie (wds. B. Zaleski: 1840)
20. Variations in E Major for Flute and Piano

Ewa Podles – contralto
Garrick Ohlsson – piano
Elizabeth Mann - flute

It doesn't matter what voice range Chopin originally scored his 19 songs for. They've been performed by mezzo-sopranos, sopranos, and sometimes with just a lone piano. It was a stroke of genius for Arabesque to have enlisted contralto Ewa Podles. Good contraltos occur rarely, even more rarely than their male equivalent, the countertenor. Not since Kathleen Ferrier has a contralto mined such quarries of feeling. Her rendition of "Nie Ma Czego grzeba" (Faded and Vanished) is so melancholic, so early Romantic, that it could have been penned by Franz Schubert. The melismas at the end of each stanza can extract tears. Her rendition of "Out of My Sight" dramatically conveys the conflicting emotions of one lover parting from another. Elly Ameling and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sing Schubert lieder with similar finesse, pacing, and eloquence. It's too bad Chopin didn't write more of these songs. They transcend the forms in which he fit them. They are morose ("The Two-Fold End"), raucous ("Drinking Song"), martial ("The Warrior"), even slightly earthy ("Lithuanian Song").

Pianist Garrick Ohlsson, who has performed in the previous 11 volumes, proves an excellent accompanist. His technique is sensitive, well-paced, and flamboyant only when required, never showy. Like pianist Gerald Moore, he never draws attention from the vocal pyrotechnics of his singer.

The final piece, Variations in E major for flute and piano (for "Non piu mesta" from Rossini's La cenerentola), was composed when Chopin was 14. Although a bit anticlimactic after these marvelous songs, the piece shows that Chopin, while not a child prodigy like Mozart or Mendelssohn, was on the way to greatness. Flutist Elizabeth Mann and Ohlsson render the piece well. Compulsive Chopin collectors will be happy to have it. ---Peter Bates, Rovi

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