strauss without singing

October 26, 2006 2:51 PM

Strauss Without Singing - I'm a huge fan of Strauss' orchestra compositions but dislike the opera singing. I know this will make me sound unclassy but I have to ask: is there an orchestra recording of "Four Last Songs" that is just the orchestration and no voice? I've looked and can not find. And additionally, if I wanted to do it m'self - what software/hardware exists to either cancel out voice from music, and music from voice? THANKS AS ALWAYS.
posted by Peter H to Society & Culture (7 answers total)

Best answer: I'm an opera singer and certified opera nerd. Given that, I also love opera done with instruments only. I avidly collect this type of music, even though there is not much that is really well done. And I'm sad to say, to my knowledge, no such recording exists.

I adore the 4 last songs and I would love to have an instrumental version. When performed live these songs require a voice large enough to stand up against a full orchestra; therefore this is why many of the recordings have heavy-voiced singers. If it interests you at all, I will say that 2 singers whose recordings you might want to check out are: Kiri Te Kanawa (80s) or Lisa Della Casa (60s). Their voices were lighter and more silvery, thus more like listening to a violin. That still may not work for you, but thought it worth mentioning.

And hopefully, I'm wrong, and there is a recording and someone will post and enlighten us both.
posted by maryMR at 4:22 PM on October 26, 2006

You could always play your Vier Letzte Lieder CDs through a karaoke machine. Otherwise, Here's a free vocal remover you can try out. I've seen others. Software like this works best when the vocal to be removed is centered between the two stereo channels, but that describes solo art songs pretty well. Also, in my experience, it reduces the vocal level down pretty low but doesn't remove it absolutely. For that you need ProTools (and a skilled ProTools geek.)
posted by jfuller at 5:38 PM on October 26, 2006

Well, I clicked on this thread to make exactly the point maryMR did (that most Strauss singers are necessarily heavy/shrill but a few aren't, and those lighter-voiced singers could possibly make the listening experience a lot more pleasant). There's a gorgeous CD from 1991 on London records with Kiri Te Kanawa singing the Vier Letzte Lieder with the Vienna Philharmonic plus a dozen Strauss songs for voice & piano (including a rare recording of "Malven," the actual "last song" he wrote).
posted by allterrainbrain at 8:44 PM on October 26, 2006

Following up on allterrainbrain: a soprano who was praised throughout her career for her "instrumental" timbre was Gundula Janowitz. Her recording of the Four Last Songs is one of the very best, and it doesn't hurt that she was working with Herbert von Karajan. The other selections on her CD of the songs are "Tod und Verklarung" and "Metamorphosen."
posted by La Cieca at 7:35 AM on October 27, 2006

La Cieca: YES! Janowitz is an excellent choice--I actually did not know she had a recording of the last 4 songs in print and available. Thanks.
posted by maryMR at 9:59 AM on October 27, 2006

An additional comment re: alterrainbrain's note about the 1991 recording of Te Kanawa's last 4. It is a wonderful recording, but it is the 2nd one she made later in her career. There is another recording she did in the early 80s, earlier in her career and when her voice was in the lighter-lyric stage. The 91 recording has the full intereptive beauty but her voice is slightly heavier. I actually love both, but I would say the early recording is what I'd choose if I didn't like opera voices so much.

Finally, just fyi, that if you love the 4 songs, I heartily recommend listening to Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne. Absolutely as gorgeous. Also recorded by TeKanawa (and I also strongly recommend a recording by Frederika von Stade if you can find it). Alas this one has no instrumental version either.
posted by maryMR at 10:11 AM on October 27, 2006

Response by poster: Thank you for these responses!
posted by Peter H at 1:47 PM on October 27, 2006