Samuel Barber, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1910, began composing music when he was seven, and as a juvenile opera singer he revealed a predilection for writing for voice. He studied voice at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute, where he was a member of the conservatory’s very first class, and he continued to hone his baritone in Vienna. After returning home, he sang on NBC radio and recorded Dover Beach , one of his own vocal compositions.

 

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Samuel Barber, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1910, began composing music when he was seven, and as a juvenile opera singer he revealed a predilection for writing for voice. He studied voice at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute, where he was a member of the conservatory’s very first class, and he continued to hone his baritone in Vienna. After returning home, he sang on NBC radio and recorded Dover Beach , one of his own vocal compositions.

Now a new compact disc from Bridge Records showcases the 28-year-old Samuel Barber’s singing. He elegantly interprets six folk songs and six Lieder with the lyric sensibility that would characterize his composing. His tone is rich, the timbre simply beautiful. The recording also includes a later concert with the stellar soprano Leontyne Price. At 26 she took a night off from her role as Bess in a Porgy and Bess revival and premiered Barber’s Hermit Songs as well as giving radiant performances of other songs of his. Barber himself accompanied her on the piano.

The 80-minute CD is the fruit of an agreement that for the last 10 years has enabled Bridge to issue previously unreleased musical material archived at the Library of Congress. It begins with the 1953 Price plus Barber concert, which was held in the library’s Coolidge Auditorium, and then segues to Barber accompanying himself on piano during a 1938 Curtis Institute recital.

Leontyne Price & Samuel Barber: Historic Performances is volume 19 in the Bridge Library of Congress series. Several albums in the series spotlight the Budapest String Quartet, which played more than 450 concerts over 22 years as the library’s quartet in residence. One disc captures the American mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani performing at Aaron Copland’s eighty-first birthday concert in 1981, and another presents a 1940 appearance of the Golden Gate Quartet with Josh White.

For more information, peruse the label’s catalogue online at www.bridgerecords.com , or call Bridge Records at 914-654-9270.

—David Lander