I agree...outstanding. The fussy critics can't understand the way Gedda touches the heart with the sheer purity of his voice and sensitivity. Does it matter if their particular fixation isn't satisfied? Gedda is a master and a true artist.
@cyeh2 I am German, and I think his diction is perfect. The consonants are definetly clear enough. There is really no accent in his pronunciation. And especially in such a soft song, one wouldn't like to hear hard consonants. Wonderful singing, isn't it?
Classical singers are the worst trolls in comments sections. Can't we just appreciate someone's voice for what it is or was... Why do we have to argue about random stuff in the comments section? Ridiculous. No wonder no one wants to listen to classical music anymore, it is so elitist.
As a baritone, I'm used to hearing this in a lower range, but wow... I'm struck in awe just how good these gentlemen are. Makes you wish TV had more stuff like this on it nowadays. Thank you for sharing.
He sang this many times. Later performances are much softer, more tender. But even this is excellent. How versatile this man was. He was able to sing softer than Gigli. On contrary, in selected parts, his ringing voice shines as a super-nova. I also like Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau performing this song. It is indeed beautiful composition.
Heil’ge Nacht, du sinkest nieder; Nieder wallen auch die Träume Wie dein Mondlicht durch die Räume, Durch der Menschen stille Brust. Die belauschen sie mit Lust; Rufen, wenn der Tag erwacht: Kehre wieder, heil’ge Nacht! Holde Träume, kehret wieder!
@dziady1 Souzay's bleat ruins it for me, though his tone is gorgeous. I also prefer this piece sung and played in this key - it has a prettier feel for my ears. Gedda sings this so masterfully, although I wish he had started softer. Then again, this is LIVE. Find another live male singing this that can touch it. You won't.
@cyeh2 yes - the diction is very clear and if i i didn´t knew that he wasn´t a native speaker, i would rather believe that he was - maybe that´s because swedish and german language are quiet close?!
Gedda was what... 30?... 31 when he sang this? I LOVE his tenor in the operatic genre. The difference between Gedda and say... a Wunderlich...( who too sadly died at this very age), is that tenor Wunderlich had a mastery of BOTH genres.... "Art Song" ...as well as in operatic venue. THIS is what separates the "men" ...from the "boys:... not to be unkind to Gedda.... many opera/operetta recordings of him of tremendous merit! However...all of these critics. ach...mein lieber Gott! yes, it is true that he does not observe the "nuances" in terms of what Schubert had written on paper. However, I am grateful to baritonoguapo.... for sharing this piece of history with us! p.s. as far as THE master of Deutsche Lieder.... es hat nie einen Mann, der deutsche lieder zu verstehen...... Ich spreche von Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau-. ja... baritone, aber.... (oh the heck with it) I will just say that even though one cannot compare a tenor to a baritone/bass.... from a technical AND artistic viewpoint, HE WAS...... "THE" MASTER! :-)
steven fromer Baritones sing it lower and therefore it takes less breath pressure and they don't have so much ring in the voice which is more appropriate for this song... Do not get me wrong, this is nearly perfect singing. Tenor voices like Gedda's just ring, this is piano in this voice.
For those who complain that Gedda is too loud (I must admit, I agree), please listen to this recording th-cam.com/video/2BYfKkaduT0/w-d-xo.html That is Nicolai at his best, incredibly wonderful. By the way recorded 2 years before this one, live...
They r masters, ok... Gedda has a beautiful tone.... but what happened to the pianissimo and the "Sehr langsam"? This Nacht und Traume sounds like Schlaflose nacht :I
people always say I sound like Gedda. Check out my video and tell me what you think. If I sound even a little like him, I will be happy. He is my favorite tenor of all time
Listen to the English tenor, Ian Bostridge, in his recent version of Nacht und Traume, those of you who want a more intimate, languid pianissimo. It's amazing. I say this with immense respect and love for the singing of Nicholai Gedda. It's a question of personal preference when it comes to singers of this quality.
To compare the audio technology of 60 years ago with that of a few years ago is a non-starter. I listened to both versions. Ian's voice is mixed right into the piano, which created a lot of the atmosphere. The digital effects of today is also a lot more advanced. (Microphones, etc...) I'm sure Ian would be honoured to be mentioned in the same sentence as Nicolai. They are both exceptional artists and the only place to really compare them would be live in the same space. Not possible. I worked with Nicolai over a period of three years, and I'm sure if Ian Bostridge get to live till he is ninety will hope to leave the legacy that Nicolai did. He still has some way to go.
Uh.. no comparison. First beauty of the voices and vocal production on different levels completely - Bostridge's is scratchy and hollow (breathy?) and sort of nasal, i couldn't quite even find the voice within the sound. It's kind of like pop music. Gedda actually SINGS effortlessly and with a beautiful very pure, rich, dense, yet easy, consistent sound, extremely consistent, which is what classical vocalism is all about, here we have high quality vocal arts, which for the fans of such, are sheer joy to listen to. Interpretation is up for grabs, can vary, whatever, but personally for me everything starts with vocal beauty and definitive presence, and a singer without that is not a classical singer. To my ear these two artists are in different categories entirely. Also i find delayed vibrato very annoying and stressful to listen to, a sort of gimmick used by amateurs for pseudo interpretive effect. Gedda has a very consistent and easy, natural sounding vibrato. Unfortunately for me most current singers are very hard to listen to because as i'm listening i find that in my mind i am having to constantly make excuses for their uncomfortable and mediocre vocal quality. What is the thing with that constant buzz in the voice????? WHY??????!! Gedda is pure, full, rounded velvet, ALWAYS. No buzz. No audible gimmicks of 'placement' and squeezing and all that kitchen mess. Just full, rounded singing, the finished product without affect. That's the starting baseline on which everything is built
@@carinatigrino With all respect, 'atmosphere' in classical singing is meaningless without the classical vocal quality. Pop singing, different story. I don't want to insult anyone, but the content of some of the negative comments here, especially the ones making comparisons with certain other singers, I find amusing, because i can't help but conclude that those people came here for the pop sound (Bing Crosby's White Christmas anyone?😊), and were sorely disappointed by a supreme quality classical rendition of a classical composition.
Yes, Gedda's pitch is not stable throughout and sings much too loud and casual. I think I heard Hans Hotter singing this and he was the best. Moore of course is perfect here.
Gedda's singing and voice quality is a marvel. No shilly-shallying about that. But I would like more pianissimo at the beginning. Moore's touch is amazing, almost ghostly. But then Gedda comes in more like a trumpet. It's not really his song. In fact, it's almost as if the song--- granted, a difficult one, comes near to doing him in. And yet, having said these things, I think he brings an intense humanity to it.
@aarontenor Just a question; You say that Souzay's rendition is a bleat? (had to look that up) I can see where it can be heard as that, but to be fair, isn't the song supposed to be sung softly? And don't get me wrong, this rendition is fantastic, but it seems a bit louder than what I've been led to believe is how the song should be sung, unless I'm missing something.
Well said by Moore, and of course he is such a god on the piano. Then Gedda opens his mouth and completely contradicts what he says, trumpeting the first note and basically does not go below an mf. He is a good opera singer, but should have left Lieder alone.
I don't feel ok with this interpretation by Gedda. His great opera tenor voice has troubles entering into such an intimate pianissimo lied masterpiece. It tends to cover the piano part, which should be at the same level of sound as the tenor's melodic line (and Gerald Moore knwe wellthe right level of sound necessary for this lied!). It is like asking a big guy to wear the clothes he had when he was young. Well, this is an old recording, and at that time the sensitivity for the "original sound" was not so developed as it is now. Anyway, Gedda's interpretation remains interesting, and his greatness as a opera tenor is undisputable.
Please Catharina don't be silly: first of all I am not stupid; secondly, I do not put on airs, but just judge according to my feeling; thirdly, I argue you are not an expert in lieder, but a fan of Gedda. But here we are not at a football match where each one has to support the tenor of his/her own country: I also think Gedda is one of the greates tenors of all times, for sure, and probably the most "complete and versatile" voice of XXth century. However I think that there are better interpretations of this lied: if you want to have a direct comparison with another tenor texture, please listen to the same lied sung by Christophe Prégardien. I don't even mention Fischer Dieskau, for two reasons: a) he has a barytone voice, so the comparison is not equal; b) the choice would be too obvious. How do you say in Gedda's country...Ta det lugnt ? Bye, and cool down please.
Any softer and it wouldn't be singing...it would be strangled in his throat. No! Piano is a color, a color, not a volume. This is masterful singing by a master singer.
Gerald Moore's autobiography was "Am I too loud?" No, Gerald has the perfect measure of the song as he describes it in his brief spoken introduction but Gedda is too loud and too closely miked. It comes over more as an exercise than a beautiful poem.
I had the same reaction. I love Gedda's approach to singing in general -- amazing technique and sound -- but I was jolted out of my seat, after such a subtle and lyrical introduction by Moore, by the blastissimo entrance of the singer. I kept waiting for him to do something with that first sustained pitch, but he just sat on it and laser-beamed it out like Verdi. Yuck! Couldn't finish listening past the first phrase.
This is Gedda when his voice was at it's most beautiful. Later on, I think his technique changed and the voice became less beautiful. This is unaffected singing.
Heil’ge Nacht, du sinkest nieder; Nieder wallen auch die Träume Wie dein Mondlicht durch die Räume, Durch der Menschen stille Brust. Die belauschen sie mit Lust; Rufen, wenn der Tag erwacht: Kehre wieder, heil’ge Nacht! Holde Träume, kehret wieder!
I agree...outstanding. The fussy critics can't understand the way Gedda touches the heart with the sheer purity of his voice and sensitivity. Does it matter if their particular fixation isn't satisfied? Gedda is a master and a true artist.
@cyeh2 I am German, and I think his diction is perfect. The consonants are definetly clear enough. There is really no accent in his pronunciation. And especially in such a soft song, one wouldn't like to hear hard consonants. Wonderful singing, isn't it?
He is THE singer that captivated me in my voice major undergrad. A unique sound and he could sing everything!
Masterpiece! Thank you for sharing this treasure. 🌹😊
TWO OF MY FAVE GUYS, how can I not but love this?
Thank you for the beautiful music and sound. Hear me raising my eyebrows I love you
The best Schubert singer I have heard!!
Classical singers are the worst trolls in comments sections. Can't we just appreciate someone's voice for what it is or was... Why do we have to argue about random stuff in the comments section? Ridiculous. No wonder no one wants to listen to classical music anymore, it is so elitist.
Thanks
So true!
Absolutely AMAZING
Gedda - the gold standard!!!! RIP oh great one!!
Just lovely.
Traumhaft schön gesungen!
rest in peace Nicolai Gedda! Great inspiration
Extraordinaria interpretación.!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As a baritone, I'm used to hearing this in a lower range, but wow... I'm struck in awe just how good these gentlemen are.
Makes you wish TV had more stuff like this on it nowadays.
Thank you for sharing.
Great singing! Great interpretation!
Beautiful.
He sang this many times. Later performances are much softer, more tender. But even this is excellent. How versatile this man was. He was able to sing softer than Gigli. On contrary, in selected parts, his ringing voice shines as a super-nova. I also like Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau performing this song. It is indeed beautiful composition.
Impeccable and Divine!
How can anyone find fault with such divine singing?
Beautiful 💗
Wie bewußt, wie klug, wie schön....!
Gedda forever... R.I.P.
Everyone relax. Gedda sang big here but it was still beautiful. He developed more precision and more colors in the voice later on.
..
97
I actually prefer him in his younger years, he is less constricted and throaty than older Gedda. Here he still has the guts to fully sing.
@@stevieg825 I prefer him in any years if compared to how most 'classical' singers sound today
@@comment6864 Agree, although Martin Muehle is a good tenor
@@stevieg825 There definitely are some exceptions. Probably those who's ears weren't too inundated with pop music growing up.
Moore is fantastic.
Heil’ge Nacht, du sinkest nieder;
Nieder wallen auch die Träume
Wie dein Mondlicht durch die Räume,
Durch der Menschen stille Brust.
Die belauschen sie mit Lust;
Rufen, wenn der Tag erwacht:
Kehre wieder, heil’ge Nacht!
Holde Träume, kehret wieder!
💓 !!!!!!!!
Preciosooooo 🥰🥰🥰🥰❤❤❤❤
Outstanding!
Two masters,,what more can one say? Many thanks for posting.
Moore is marvelous.
amazing
Great!
Beau morceau
@dziady1
Souzay's bleat ruins it for me, though his tone is gorgeous. I also prefer this piece sung and played in this key - it has a prettier feel for my ears. Gedda sings this so masterfully, although I wish he had started softer. Then again, this is LIVE. Find another live male singing this that can touch it. You won't.
Try listening to the later recording from 1967, I believe. The vibrato is very different.
@cyeh2 yes - the diction is very clear and if i i didn´t knew that he wasn´t a native speaker, i would rather believe that he was - maybe that´s because swedish and german language are quiet close?!
Вечная память. Великий тенор.
Gedda was what... 30?... 31 when he sang this? I LOVE his tenor in the operatic genre. The difference between Gedda and say... a Wunderlich...( who too sadly died at this very age), is that tenor Wunderlich had a mastery of BOTH genres.... "Art Song" ...as well as in operatic venue. THIS is what separates the "men" ...from the "boys:... not to be unkind to Gedda.... many opera/operetta recordings of him of tremendous merit! However...all of these critics. ach...mein lieber Gott! yes, it is true that he does not observe the "nuances" in terms of what Schubert had written on paper. However, I am grateful to baritonoguapo.... for sharing this piece of history with us! p.s. as far as THE master of Deutsche Lieder.... es hat nie einen Mann, der deutsche lieder zu verstehen...... Ich spreche von Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau-. ja... baritone, aber.... (oh the heck with it) I will just say that even though one cannot compare a tenor to a baritone/bass.... from a technical AND artistic viewpoint, HE WAS...... "THE" MASTER! :-)
don``t forget Peter Anders
Could've been softer, but hey, it is what it is.
Gedda belts I our without much colour or phasing. Recommend listening to Fischer-~Deiskau for definite interpretation.
Wow
Yo escuchando esta canción ql pa un trabajo 😴😴
He is a tenor. This is really a baritone 's piece. Still lovely to listen to.
no it isn't, it's an art song any voice type can sing it, that's why there are different versions in higher or lower keys
steven fromer
Baritones sing it lower and therefore it takes less breath pressure and they don't have so much ring in the voice which is more appropriate for this song...
Do not get me wrong, this is nearly perfect singing.
Tenor voices like Gedda's just ring, this is piano in this voice.
@Nicholas Ennos Lower pitches need more flow and less compression
Vergesst nicht die Aufnahme mit Peter Anders,Tenor & Hubert Giesen, Klavier
For those who complain that Gedda is too loud (I must admit, I agree), please listen to this recording th-cam.com/video/2BYfKkaduT0/w-d-xo.html
That is Nicolai at his best, incredibly wonderful. By the way recorded 2 years before this one, live...
Wunderlich was the finest tenor at Schubert or other lieder or anything else, for that matter, imo. Period.
no, the finest Tenor was Peter Anders
They r masters, ok... Gedda has a beautiful tone.... but what happened to the pianissimo and the "Sehr langsam"? This Nacht und Traume sounds like Schlaflose nacht
:I
people always say I sound like Gedda. Check out my video and tell me what you think. If I sound even a little like him, I will be happy. He is my favorite tenor of all time
Listen to the English tenor, Ian Bostridge, in his recent version of Nacht und Traume, those of you who want a more intimate, languid pianissimo. It's amazing. I say this with immense respect and love for the singing of Nicholai Gedda. It's a question of personal preference when it comes to singers of this quality.
Ian Bostride is great in this music. His version of Nacht und Traüme is my favorite. I never get tired of it and can listen to it for hours.
To compare the audio technology of 60 years ago with that of a few years ago is a non-starter. I listened to both versions. Ian's voice is mixed right into the piano, which created a lot of the atmosphere. The digital effects of today is also a lot more advanced. (Microphones, etc...) I'm sure Ian would be honoured to be mentioned in the same sentence as Nicolai. They are both exceptional artists and the only place to really compare them would be live in the same space. Not possible. I worked with Nicolai over a period of three years, and I'm sure if Ian Bostridge get to live till he is ninety will hope to leave the legacy that Nicolai did. He still has some way to go.
Uh.. no comparison. First beauty of the voices and vocal production on different levels completely - Bostridge's is scratchy and hollow (breathy?) and sort of nasal, i couldn't quite even find the voice within the sound. It's kind of like pop music. Gedda actually SINGS effortlessly and with a beautiful very pure, rich, dense, yet easy, consistent sound, extremely consistent, which is what classical vocalism is all about, here we have high quality vocal arts, which for the fans of such, are sheer joy to listen to. Interpretation is up for grabs, can vary, whatever, but personally for me everything starts with vocal beauty and definitive presence, and a singer without that is not a classical singer. To my ear these two artists are in different categories entirely. Also i find delayed vibrato very annoying and stressful to listen to, a sort of gimmick used by amateurs for pseudo interpretive effect. Gedda has a very consistent and easy, natural sounding vibrato. Unfortunately for me most current singers are very hard to listen to because as i'm listening i find that in my mind i am having to constantly make excuses for their uncomfortable and mediocre vocal quality. What is the thing with that constant buzz in the voice????? WHY??????!! Gedda is pure, full, rounded velvet, ALWAYS. No buzz. No audible gimmicks of 'placement' and squeezing and all that kitchen mess. Just full, rounded singing, the finished product without affect. That's the starting baseline on which everything is built
@@carinatigrino "They are both exceptional artists" Artists, maybe, but NOT vocalists. Gedda IS exceptional vocally. I'll leave it there :)
@@carinatigrino With all respect, 'atmosphere' in classical singing is meaningless without the classical vocal quality. Pop singing, different story. I don't want to insult anyone, but the content of some of the negative comments here, especially the ones making comparisons with certain other singers, I find amusing, because i can't help but conclude that those people came here for the pop sound (Bing Crosby's White Christmas anyone?😊), and were sorely disappointed by a supreme quality classical rendition of a classical composition.
Ах! Как вкусно!!!
Yes, Gedda's pitch is not stable throughout and sings much too loud and casual. I think I heard Hans Hotter singing this and he was the best. Moore of course is perfect here.
Gedda's singing and voice quality is a marvel. No shilly-shallying about that. But I would like more pianissimo at the beginning. Moore's touch is amazing, almost ghostly. But then Gedda comes in more like a trumpet. It's not really his song. In fact, it's almost as if the song--- granted, a difficult one, comes near to doing him in. And yet, having said these things, I think he brings an intense humanity to it.
There will never be as good a recording as the Gerard Souzay one in my humble opinion. This is so hard to listen to after hearing Souzay.
@aarontenor
Just a question;
You say that Souzay's rendition is a bleat? (had to look that up)
I can see where it can be heard as that, but to be fair, isn't the song supposed to be sung softly? And don't get me wrong, this rendition is fantastic, but it seems a bit louder than what I've been led to believe is how the song should be sung, unless I'm missing something.
Gedda sang es schön, aber Fritz Wunderlich sang es noch berauschender !
Alfred Mertens, almebo Mr. Almebo Diese Aufnahme würde ich gerne hören, bezweifle aber, dass sie existiert.
Alfred Mertens, almebo Mr. Almebo Wo gibt es da die aufnahmen?
und Peter Anders am Besten
eden najlepših samospevov
Well said by Moore, and of course he is such a god on the piano. Then Gedda opens his mouth and completely contradicts what he says, trumpeting the first note and basically does not go below an mf.
He is a good opera singer, but should have left Lieder alone.
Mr. Burell, you wrote bullsheet
Magically sustained singing but, strangely, I could do with more phrase shaping.
I don't feel ok with this interpretation by Gedda.
His great opera tenor voice has troubles entering into such an intimate pianissimo lied masterpiece. It tends to cover the piano part, which should be at the same level of sound as the tenor's melodic line (and Gerald Moore knwe wellthe right level of sound necessary for this lied!).
It is like asking a big guy to wear the clothes he had when he was young.
Well, this is an old recording, and at that time the sensitivity for the "original sound" was not so developed as it is now. Anyway, Gedda's interpretation remains interesting, and his greatness as a opera tenor is undisputable.
He has sang it softer before.
Please Catharina don't be silly: first of all I am not stupid; secondly, I do not put on airs, but just judge according to my feeling; thirdly, I argue you are not an expert in lieder, but a fan of Gedda. But here we are not at a football match where each one has to support the tenor of his/her own country: I also think Gedda is one of the greates tenors of all times, for sure, and probably the most "complete and versatile" voice of XXth century.
However I think that there are better interpretations of this lied: if you want to have a direct comparison with another tenor texture, please listen to the same lied sung by Christophe Prégardien.
I don't even mention Fischer Dieskau, for two reasons: a) he has a barytone voice, so the comparison is not equal; b) the choice would be too obvious.
How do you say in Gedda's country...Ta det lugnt ?
Bye, and cool down please.
Thanks, Interesting. Do you know about another recorded version sung in a softer way ? I would like to listen to it.
Any softer and it wouldn't be singing...it would be strangled in his throat.
No!
Piano is a color, a color, not a volume.
This is masterful singing by a master singer.
dont call people stupid when the other person did not say anything that gives reasoning for you to do so.
Gerald Moore's autobiography was "Am I too loud?" No, Gerald has the perfect measure of the song as he describes it in his brief spoken introduction but Gedda is too loud and too closely miked. It comes over more as an exercise than a beautiful poem.
I had the same reaction. I love Gedda's approach to singing in general -- amazing technique and sound -- but I was jolted out of my seat, after such a subtle and lyrical introduction by Moore, by the blastissimo entrance of the singer. I kept waiting for him to do something with that first sustained pitch, but he just sat on it and laser-beamed it out like Verdi. Yuck! Couldn't finish listening past the first phrase.
:)
always forte...
i hope you see my reply....
There were no useless movement.
Renee Fleming
nein
great voice but he sings this peaceful, gorgeous song , like a verdi aria. Not a good pair , aschubert and Gedda.
This is Gedda when his voice was at it's most beautiful. Later on, I think his technique changed and the voice became less beautiful. This is unaffected singing.
All mezzoforte. A deception.
He sings too casually.
That's the point isn't it? The technique underneath the restful outer is in full swing.
Heil’ge Nacht, du sinkest nieder;
Nieder wallen auch die Träume
Wie dein Mondlicht durch die Räume,
Durch der Menschen stille Brust.
Die belauschen sie mit Lust;
Rufen, wenn der Tag erwacht:
Kehre wieder, heil’ge Nacht!
Holde Träume, kehret wieder!