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Kurt Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins

Wallis Giunta (mezzo-soprano), Jennifer France (soprano), Katarina Andreasson (violin), Benjamin Herzl, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Hk Gruber

[Giunta] does amazingly well to make the translation (WH Auden and Chester Kallman) both audible and engaging.

Kurt Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins

Wallis Giunta (mezzo-soprano), Jennifer France (soprano), Katarina Andreasson (violin), Benjamin Herzl, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Hk Gruber

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[Giunta] does amazingly well to make the translation (WH Auden and Chester Kallman) both audible and engaging.

About

Following his acclaimed recording of Kurt Weill’s symphonies 1 and 2 and excerpts from The Silver Lake (BIS2579), HK Gruber and his congenial partner, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, present three more works by the famous musical theatre composer, this time featuring sopranos Wallis Giunta and Jennifer France and violinists Katerina Andresson and Benjamin Herzl. This release opens with the ballet-chanté satire The Seven Deadly Sins, a scathing critique of capitalist society that highlights the perpetual struggle between money and morality. Anna, a young girl, is sent away from her family with the mission of bringing back enough money to build a house on the Mississippi. The cantata The New Orpheus, which blends the very different styles of aria and song, tells the sad story of the singer who sets out to conquer the dreary walls of modern cities to save Eurydice, and with her, all of humanity. Finally, the Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra, a central work from Weill’s early creative period, displays a theatricality that heralds the stage works to come. An exciting programme showcasing Weill’s inimitable language of mixing the sophisticated and the popular, the melodic and the dissonant, the complex and the streetwise.

Contents and tracklist

Prologue
Track length3:37
No. 1, Sloth
Track length3:55
No. 2, Pride
Track length4:49
No. 3, Anger
Track length4:38
No. 4, Gluttony
Track length3:15
No. 5, Lust
Track length5:19
No. 6, Covetousness
Track length3:11
No. 7, Envy
Track length5:00
Epilogue
Track length1:55
Part One
Track length9:03
Part Two
Track length8:03
I. Andante con moto
Track length10:02
IIa. Notturno. Allegro un poco tenuto
Track length3:30
IIb. Cadenza. Moderato
Track length3:16
IIc. Serenata. Allegretto
Track length3:25
III. Allegro molto, un poco agitato
Track length7:08

Spotlight on this release

  • HK Gruber on Kurt Weill and more

    9th Jun 2026by Ben Hogwood

    The Austrian composer, conductor and chansonnier discusses his recent album Dancing on a Volcano (made on tour with Ensemble Modern for the ensemble’s own label) and his own music, including the Piano Concerto written for Emmanuel Ax.

Awards and reviews

February 2026

[Giunta] does amazingly well to make the translation (WH Auden and Chester Kallman) both audible and engaging.

May 2026

this BIS release, with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra under HK Gruber’s masterly control, strikes a faultless balance. I’ve never heard the composer’s instrumental inspirations more powerfully played and communicated.

28th January 2026

Whatever the musical inflections, Gruber’s handling of his orchestra is almost beyond superb. I can’t recall ever hearing Weill played with such clarity and understanding, with such tender phrasings and such potent emotional colourings.
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