Katarina Karneus, Julius Drake - Grieg: Songs

Hyperion is delighted to present a disc of Grieg�s songs. Grieg�s sheer range as a song-writer�from the shortest settings, folk-like and immediate, to the depth of distinctive inspiration that runs through every bar of the major cycle Haugtussa�places him without question among the finest masters of the genre. Arne Garborg�s verse-novel Haugtussa created a deep impression on Grieg. The resulting marriage of poetry and music is one of the miracles of the nineteenth-century song-cycle genre. Many regard this work as Grieg�s masterpiece: it is certainly one of the greatest song-cycles for the female voice ever written, revealing the composer at the very height of his powers.These matchless examples of Scandinavian Romanticism are performed by the partnership of Swedish mezzo-soprano Katarina Karneus and pianist Julius Drake, who drew great critical acclaim for their disc of Sibelius songs.