Ruské romance - CD

This classical vocal CD presents Russian romances performed by bass Jozef Benci with pianist Jana Nagy-Juhasz. The programme includes songs by Michail Ivanovič Glinka, Petr Iljič Čajkovskij, Boris Sergejevič Šeremetěv, Alexandr Lvovič Guriljov, Alexandr Sergejevič Dargomyžskij, Cézar Antonovič Kjui and Modest Petrovič Musorgskij, including Musorgsky’s imposing Songs and Dances of Death. Nineteenth-century composers were drawn to the simplicity of folk song and to poetry about loneliness, betrayed love and the bitterness of abandonment. The romance became an important form of Russian lyricism, allowing composers to express intimate confessions and suppressed defiance. Glinka, the founder of Russian national music, was among its earliest composers, and generations of successors continued the genre through the time of Tchaikovsky. Jozef Benci is a sought-after soloist in opera and oratorio, known for his powerful yet sensitive voice, feeling for the intimacy of song repertoire and excellent diction. The depth and pathos of Russian romances come through fully in his performance.