Description

MARK RAPHAEL (LONDON, ENGLAND, 1900 – LONDON, ENGLAND, 1974)

 

 

 

 

His real name was Harris Fürstenfeld. He was the son of strict Jewish parents, his father Barnet Fürstenfeld died a few weeks after his birth. In 1909 he was admitted as a boy in the choir of the Great Synagogue Dukes Place London and taught by its director Samuel Alman . In 1910, he sang along with the famous cantor and tenor Gerson Sirota a duet in the Great Assembly Hall and the Olympia Theatre London. In 1912, he took a small role in the opera ” King Ahaz,” who had his teacher Alman composed and brought in Yiddish People’s Theatre London for the performance. After a brief service as a soldier in the British army in 1918 it came to the serious training his voice. He was a student of Raymond of to mills in London, by Henri Albers in Paris and Emilio Piccoli in Milan. In 1921, he was under the name of Mark Henry Raphael a first successful concert at London’s Wigmore Hall, where he lectured also composed his own songs, which is then followed by a series of similar concerts. So he gave in 1925 at the Wigmore Hall, a memorial concert for Gabriel Fauré. They admired particularly his song presentation, on the one hand, the German art song by Schubert, Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Wolf and Robert Franz was the focus of its programs, on the other hand, he was regarded as an excellent interpreter of the French song creation of Massenet, Duparc, Reynaldo Hahn and Gabriel Fauré. He sang the cycle ” Nuits d’ été ” by A. Honegger in the first performance of the work in England. But he also devoted himself to like the lecture Old Italian arias. Concert tours brought him in England as well as at the international level great success, he appeared as a singer of songs, among others in Vienna and Frankfurt aM In 1925, he appeared on British radio BBC , where he also had a long career . However, he could strike for health reasons no stage career and appeared only once at the Lyric Theatre in London performances of the ” Beggar’s Opera” with. 1961-74 he worked as a teacher at the Royal College of Music in London, at the same time he directed the choir of the West London Synagogue reform. He composed himself songs on texts English poet and Jewish religious vocal music.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Cherry Valley Op. 22, No. 2
2. Come Away, Death Op. 6, No. 1
3. Fear No More The Heat O’ The Sun Op. 23, No. 1
4. Go, Lovely Rose Op. 24, No. 3
5. I Dare Not Ask A Kiss Op. 28, No. 3
6. It Was A Lover And His Lass, Op.23 No.3
7. Love’s Philosophy Op. 3, No. 1
8. O Mistress Mine Op. 6, No. 2
9. O, The Month Of May Op.24, No.4
10. Over The Land Is April Op. 26, No. 2
11. Song Of The Blackbird Op. 14, No. 4
12. Take, O Take Those Lips Away Op. 23, No. 4
13. The Jealous Lover Op. 28, No. 1
14. To Daisies Op. 8, No. 3
15. When Soft Voices Die, Op.25 No.6 (B) Love’s Philosophy, Op.3 No.1
16. Where Be You Going Op. 18, No. 2
17. You No More Op. 12, No. 1