Silent Songs

Valentin Silvestrov’s Silent Songs was rescued by ECM from Melodiya’s out-of-print archive. While a two-disc set of poetry settings for baritone and piano might not seem like everyone’s cup of tea, this is not the overwhelming drama of Schumann and Schubert. Sergey Yakovenko sings at the threshold of his capacity, creating a vulnerable quality that draws dark wonderment from Ilya Scheps’s touch of the keys. Having the translations in hand is well and good, but the melodies are so under-your-skin powerful that none are needed. As a bonus, we get Four Songs after Osip Mandelstam with Silvestrov at the piano.