For more than half a century,
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's 1952 and 1953 recordings of Bach's cantatas Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56, and Ich habe genug, BWV 82, have been among the great German baritone's most sublime recordings. The depth, the tone, the understanding, and the compassion of his performances were not only amazing in their own right; they were amazing coming from a 27/28 year old. Here, as if by magic, are two earlier recordings of
Fischer-Dieskau performing the same two cantatas with the same conductor from a live radio broadcast from a year earlier and they are perhaps even more amazing. Live,
Fischer-Dieskau's artistry is as consummate as it is in the studio, but before an audience, his spontaneity is perforce increased, thus his intensity is even greater. While one would not want to be without either of
Fischer-Dieskau's later studio recordings, these performances deserve to be heard by anyone who loves great singing. Coupled with his 1950 recording of Brahms' Vier ernste Gesänge with pianist
Hertha Klust, this disc is emotionally unrelentingly dark but artistically unendingly consoling. Profil's remastering of the 50-year-old radio broadcast original may be a bit close, but it is, in its way, incredibly thrilling.