Voices of Spring: Song of the Day with Clara Osowski

An active soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Europe, prize-winning mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski has handpicked a variety of art songs as Song of the Day for April's Voices of Spring. Read her thoughts on these pieces below:

Clara Osowski's Song of the Day

Harry Burleigh: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
Contralto: Marian Anderson
"One of the greatest contraltos of all time, if not the greatest. Her storytelling is unmatched."

John Browne: To Gratiana Dancing
Tenor: Ian Bostridge
Pianist: Julius Drake
"Simplest of tunes, played and sung so beautifully by two of the most famous collaborators of song."

Benjamin Britten: Fish in the Unruffled Lakes
Soprano: Felicity Lott
Pianist: Graham Johnson
"Unbelievable text setting with incredible opportunities for the performers."

Frank Bridge: When you are old and gray
Tenor: Peter Pears
Pianist: Benjamin Britten
"Beautiful text, performed by contemporaries. It's listening into history being made."

Libby Larsen: My Antonia from Antonia in the field
Soprano: Tracey Engleman
Pianist: Lara Bolton
"Beautiful song, by three fellow Minnesotan colleagues."

Franz Schubert: Du bist die Ruh
Mezzo-soprano: Janet Baker
"One of his most beautiful songs by one of my favorite mezzos."

Richard Strauss: Heimliche Aufforderung
Dramatic-soprano: Jessye Norman
"Truest, most honest interpreter of Strauss songs and one of my first loves of Lieder."

Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Mond, so gehst du
Mezzo-soprano: Anne Sofie von Otter
"This woman can do anything with her voice, and her brilliance shows in her technique and interpretation on this recording."

Clara Schumann: Loreley
Soprano: Barbara Bonney
Pianist: Vladimir Ashkenazy
"The Schumann that Brahms and I both love; drama-infused Lieder with so much taste in this recording."

Franz Schubert: Litanei
Lyric Baritone: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Pianist: Gerald Moore
"Two masters singing a masterpiece. Period."

Henri Dutilleux: Fantasio
Baritone: Francois Le Roux
Pianist: Olivier Godin
"A nod to the humor and joy that these three individuals sing. Frequent collaborators at Source Song Festival, and all of us have this commitment to collaborating with contemporary composers."

Gabriel Fauré: Diane, selénè
Baritone:Gérard Souzay
"I heard this song live by Francois Le Roux at Source, and hearing Souzay do it makes me feel so grateful for recordings in general to keep longebity with the greats."

Ned Rorem: Ode
Mezzo-soprano: Susan Graham
"I love this song, and I sang it once, and it was so deceivingly difficult, Susan Graham makes it sounds like it's just a small vocalise. Unbelievable."

Francis Poulenc: Sanglots
Baritone: Pierre Bernac
Pianist: Francis Poulenc
"Tradition. History."

Claude Debussy: La flūte de pan
Mezzo-soprano: Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson
Pianist: Peter Serkin
"One of the most individual mezzo voices and storytellers ever. Everything was unique and informed from LHL."

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: None but the lonely heart
Baritone: Dimitri Horostovsky
"One of my favorite songs, by a beautiful russian voice.

Edvard Grieg: Med en Vandilje
Mezzo-Soprano: Anne Sofie von Otter
"Another ASvO, but I'll never tire of the incredible risks she takes."

Jean Sibelius: Var det en dröm
Mezzo-soprano: Jamie Barton
Pianist: Brian Zeger
"Voice of our generation, and a song that conjures up so much atmosphere for everyone that hears it, you needn't be fluent in Swedish."

Gioachino Rossini: Anzoleta co' passa la Regata
Mezzo-soprano: Joyce diDonato
Pianist: Julius Drake
"Effervescent playfulness and joy between these two in these songs that not a lot of people know."

Joaquín Turina: Farruca
Soprano: Victoria de los Ángeles
Pianist: Gerald Moore
"The song itself has such great poetry, and it's performed to perfection. Her voice was so technically masterful."