Lieder und Gesänge aus Wilhelm
Meister, Op. 98a (1849)
1. Mignon [3:15]²
2. Ballade des Harfners [5:08]¹
3. Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt
[1:43]²
4. Wer nie sein Brot mit Tränen
aß [2:05]¹
5. Heiß mich nicht reden, heiß
mich schweigen [2:48]²
6. Wer sich der Einsamkeit ergibt
[2:54]¹
7. Singet nicht in Trauertönen
[2:09]²
8. An die Türen will ich schleichen
[2:05]¹
9. So lasst mich scheinen, bis ich
werde [2:36]²
Liederkreis, Op. 30 (1840)¹
10. In der Fremde [1:47]
11. Intermezzo [1:40]
12. Waldesgespräch [1:54]
13. Die Stille [1:34]
14. Mondnacht [3:39]
15. Schöne Fremde [1:11]
16. Auf einer Burg [2:19]
17. In der Fremde [1:18]
18. Wehmut [2:22]
19. Zwielicht [2:43]
20. Im Walde [1:20]
21. Frühlingsnacht [1:19]
Gedichte der Königin Maria
Stuart, Op. 135 (1852)²
22. Abschied von Frankreich [1:32]
23. Nach der Geburt ihres Sohnes
[1:18]
24. An die Königin Elisabeth
[1:22]
25. Abschied von der Welt [2:36]
26. Gebet [2:03]
3 Duette¹²
27. Herbstlied, Op. 43 No. 2
(1840) [1:52]
28. So wahr die Sonne scheinet, Op.
37 No. 12 (1840) [1:46]
29. Ich bin dein Baum, o Gärtner,
Op. 101 No. 3 (1849) [2:58]
Before 1840 Robert
Schumann composed almost exclusively
for piano but that year he wrote 168
songs. Scholars seem to agree that the
source of his inspiration was his love
for Clara Wieck, who became his wife
on 12 September 1840. By no means all
of the songs are in a happy mood. They
are surely affected by doubt, apprehension
and his strained relationship with his
father-in-law. The inspiration and the
melodic beauty of these songs have made
them eternally popular, to such a degree
that they have tended to overshadow
the rest of his song output. Maybe he
never again reached the level of his
Liederjahr, but this doesn’t
mean that the later songs are not worth
hearing. On this disc we get one of
the cornerstones in the song repertoire:
Liederkreis, Op. 39 from 1840,
settings of poems by Eichendorff (1788–1857).
The other songs, however, belong in
the category ‘popping up every now and
then’ but not often enough to have achieved
standard work status.
The singers sharing
the space on this disc are well established
but still relatively young. Baritone
Christian Hilz entered his professional
career in 1995 and has sung in baroque
music as well as in contemporary works.
He already has an impressive discography,
including a disc with songs by Bruno
Walter and Gustav Mahler. Norwegian
mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland
graduated in 2000 and then quickly rose
to stardom in her native country as
well as the rest of Europe. I had previously
only heard her singing Bach, where she
frequently applies a vibrato-less style
of singing, making her sound very much
like a countertenor. Here though she
sings with a more ‘normal’ mezzo voice,
big and intense but also able to lighten
the tone in quick songs. After her fine
singing in Mignon (tr. 1) the
contrast with Christian Hilz is very
apparent: his is a light, tenoral voice,
finely nuanced but small-scale. When
they sing together in the three duets
that round off the disc it is Kielland’s
voice that dominates.
Before I go into the
songs in more detail I would like to
vent my disappointment concerning the
recorded sound. The venue seems rather
large and there is so much reverberation
that it tends to muddle some of the
singing but most of all it affects the
piano sound. The effect is that it seems
that Katia Bouscarrut is constantly
using the sustaining pedal. This robs
the music of much of its intimacy. The
ears slowly adjust to the sound-picture
but all too often one that impression
of haziness returns. This is a pity
since there is great deal of very accomplished
singing here and Ms Bouscarrut is no
doubt an able pianist.
In the nine songs from
Goethe’s Mignon they sing alternately
which is a good idea since it creates
variety. The two highlights here are
undoubtedly Kielland’s light and bouncy
Singet nicht in Trauertönen,
exquisitely performed, and the final
song So lasst mich scheiden. Hilz
is at his best in the meditative and
beautifully sung An die Türen
will ich schleichen.
Schumann’s inspiration
did not flow as effortlessly in all
these songs as it did nine years earlier
when he composed Liederkreis. Hilz
has the whole cycle to himself and there
is no doubt that he has worked himself
deep into the songs. He delivers a youthful
and eager Waldesgespräch
and Mondnacht is restrained and
sung with fine legato tone. This well-known
song is probably his best effort here.
Auf einer Burg is sung with great
care, but this is also a word to apply
to his whole reading; in the long run
it becomes a bit bloodless. Schumann
is intimate and quiet in many places
but bloodless? No! Competition is formidable
and I need only mention two: Dietrich
Fischer-Dieskau (his DG recording with
Eschenbach from 1977) and Peter Schreier
(on Orfeo with Andras Schiff as recently
as 2002). Disregarding such competition
Hilz’s version is still well sung and
well considered.
The tragic fate of
Maria Stuart is well-known and these
five songs to texts by Gisbert, Freiherr
von Vincke (1813–1892) are based on
the Queen’s own poems. It is an unhappy
woman who speaks through them. This
is movingly conveyed with such powerful
and dramatic but at the same time sensitive
effect by Kielland. These are the songs
on this disc that I will return to most
often.
I was also charmed
by the three duets, the first two from
the great song year 1840. Here we find
a relaxed Schumann who wallows in the
melodies he creates. The voices sound
well together.
There is some very
good singing here, some of it more careful
than it needs to be. Kielland’s rendering
of the Maria Stuart songs is really
captivating. The drawback is the hazy
sound.
Göran Forsling
Christian Hilz (baritone)¹, Marianne Beate
Kielland (mezzo)², Katia Bouscarrut (piano)
