Auf den Wällen Salamancas, Op. 41 (Heinrich Heine)
Und als ich so lange, Op. 40 (Heinrich Heine)
Lieb Liebchen, leg's Händchen aufs Herze mein, Op. 66 (Heinrich Heine)
Mein süßes Lieb, wenn du im Grab, Op. 39 (Heinrich Heine)
Ein Lied der Liebe, Op. 67 (Reinhard Volker)
O lache nicht, Op. 32 (Michail Lermontow / anonymer Übersetzer)
Ein Schwan, Op. 52 (Henrik Ibsen / anonymer Übersetzer)
Edward (Ballade), Op. 17 (Johann Gottfried Herder)
Einsamkeit, Op. 60 (Wilhelm Müller)
Meeresleuchten, Op. 61 (Carl Siebel)
Ach Träume, ihr bunten Träume, Op. 45 (Josip Bersa)
Ich liebe dich, Op. 46 (Josip Bersa)
Wie oft!, Op. 44 (Josip Bersa)
Jelica (Romanze), Op. 73 (Josip Bersa)
Das Lied aus der Küste, Op. 72 (Petar Preradovic)
Wann! (Petar Preradovic)
Ich würde der Welt sagen, Op. 13 (Dichter Unbekannt)
Der schwarze Tag (Petar Preradovic)
Blase Wind, Op. 43 (Bozo Lovric)
Ich weiß nicht, was los ist, Op. 48 (Josip Bersa)
Die Sklavin (Bosnische Ballade), Op. 47 (Josip Bersa)
Armer Dummkopf!, Op. 33 (Anonymer Dichter)
Der König in Thule (Ballade), Op. 21 (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe / Giosuè Carducci)

I would like to begin this review by extending my sincerest gratitude to Bass-baritone Krešimir Strazanac for drawing my attention to this recording. Scanning monthly lists of hundreds of new classical music releases I would have most likely passed over this one. That would have been unfortunate because these are masterfully crafted vocal pieces presented here in their world premiere recording.

Croatian composer Blagoje Bersa (1873-1934) had a major influence on Croatian music and art at the turn of the 20th century. "He studied composition in Zagreb with Ivan Zajc (a renowned Croatian opera composer) and at the Conservatory in Vienna (1896-1899) with Robert Fuchs and Julius Epstein (who was a teacher of Mahler, Wolf, Sibelius and Zemlinsky)." {Booklet Notes}. This explains the subtle Mahlerian touches here and there within the music, as in Auf den Wällen Salamancas (On the walls of Salamanca). Bersa could very well be considered a Romantic in outlook like Mahler and Wolf for example, but his style of writing owes much to the Classical masters like Schubert. A fine example of this can be heard in Einsamkeit (Solitude) Op. 60.

However, most of the credit for the charm and allure of this collection of songs from an hitherto forsaken composer must be ascribed to Krešimir Strazanac. His bass-baritone voice is so supple, expressive and committed to the poetic beauty of each song, as to make you believe that he was performing something out of Schubert's Winterreise lieder cycle. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone invested in art songs from the late 19th century to early 20th century period. Looking for something previously unheard, look no further.