Composer: Nicolae Bretan
Performers: Ruxandra Donose (mezzo), Julius Drake (piano)
Label: Nimbus
Recorded by Nimbus Records at Wyastone Leys, Monmouth, U.K. 6 & 7 July 2005
Tracklisting:
01 Si Daca Ramuri Bat În Geam (And If Branches Beat Against The Window)2.07
02 Cucule, De Ce Nu Vii? (Cuckoo, Why Don’t You Return?)2.30
03 Rea De Plata (The Reluctant Debt Payer)1.56
04 Nu Te-Ai Priceput! (You Were Such A Knucklehead!)4.10
05 În Parcul Luxemburg (In Luxemburg Gardens)4.05
06 Pe LÎnga Plopii Fara Sot (Where Mateless Poplars Grow)2.03
07 Noapte De Vara (Summer Night)5.42
08 Gazel (Gazel)2.25
09 Ideal (Illusion)22.41
10 În Fereastra Dinspre Mare (At The Window On The Sea)2.27
11 O, Vin Pe Mare (Come Down To The Sea)2.14
12 Luna, Luna, Steavicleana (Moon, Moon, You Wily Star)1.09
13 Pe Aceeasi Ulicioara (On The Same Lane)2.25
14 La Groapa Lui Laie (At The Grave Of Laie)5.56
15 S-Acele Dulci Pareri De Rau (And That Sweet Remorse)1.33
16 Prea Sus Ati Fost! (So Far Above!)2.59
17 Stelele-n Cer (Stars In The Sky)3.03
The poets are:
George Cosbuc (Tracks 3, 4, 7 – 9), Victor Eftimiu (Tracks 5 & 16), Carolina Bretan, mother of the composer (Track 2)
Mihai Eminescu (Tracks 1, 6, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17), Octavian Goga (Tracks 12 & 14)
Translations of the Romanian poems into English and French by Judit Bretan, daughter of the composer
Translations of the poems into German from English by Kurt Jankowsky
Bretan’s operas, and above all his monumental folk epic Horia, can perhaps be seen as his main body of work; and yet it is song that runs like a connecting thread through his entire creative life. Whereas the operas were largely written during the time of his activity at the two theatres in Cluj, the composition of songs occupied him from his youth until the late years of his life. Bretan, who discovered his passion for singing very early and began to cultivate his voice, felt just as early the urge to express himself in songs of his own, to give musical form to his feelings. Although he availed himself of poems in various different languages for that purpose, his own language seems to have been music, and his true home the realm of tones.