One of the great and fascinating singers of her day was the “black Venus” of Bayreuth, Grace Bumbry, who demonstrated her exceptionally wide range at the Salzburg Festival with a gripping Lady Macbeth by the Wagner antipode Verdi as well as with the impressive Lieder recital on this recording, exclusively devoted to the Wagner antipode Brahms – from an age that was more friendly towards Lieder recitals than today, yet still one full decade before Jessye Norman. This album was recorded live on Juli 28, 1965. “Dark, how dark” resounds like a viola the mellifluous voice of the “black Venus” and Lady Macbeth of those years, intelligently shaping her Brahms recital with impeccable diction and great expressiveness.
