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Johannes
BRAHMS (1833–1897) Volkslieder Ich will – allzeit – unsonst! [3:37] Es steht ein Lind [5:32] Dort hoch auf jenem Berge [4:14] Schwesterlein, hüt du dich! [5:04] Komm du, mein Liebchen komm! [5:12] Erlaube mir feins Mädchen [3:25] Die Meere (1) [3:05] Da unten im Tale [3:30] Ach Gott, wie weh tut scheiden [4:59] Die Sonne scheint nicht mehr [4:20] Mein Mädel hat einen großen Mund [2:57] Es ging ein Maidlein zarte [4:59] Die Meere (2) [3:03] Du la la la la la [3:03] Bolero [6:35] Steh still, steh still [4:39] In stiller Nacht [2:27] Franui:
Johannes Eder (clarinet, bass clarinet); Andreas Fuetsch
(tuba); Romed Hopfgartner
(soprano and alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet);
Markus Kraler (double bass, accordion); Angelika Rainer
(harp, zither, voice); Bettina Rainer (dulcimer, voice);
Cornelia Rainer (bandoneon, voice); Markus Rainer (trumpet,
cornet, voice); Sylvia Rainer (voice); Andreas Schett
(trumpet, cornet, voice); Martin Senfter (valve trombone,
voice); Nikolai Tunkowitsch (violin, viola)
rec. Veranstaltungszentrum Tulfes, 1–3 August 2008 Sung texts and English translations enclosed COL LEGNO
WWE1CD20302 [70:41]
The
header is basically wrong in giving Johannes Brahms as
composer of this programme. But since the real originators
prefer this presentation - as can be seen on the cover
above - I took the hint and listed this as a Brahms disc,
which, I hope, will entice more readers to read the review.
The liner-notes say explicitly ‘All music written by Markus
Kraler/Andreas Schett (AKM) inspired (my italics)
by Johannes Brahms’ Deutsche Volkslieder’. This
tells us that this involves not just arrangements but compositions
with an intrinsic value. Stravinsky’s adaptations of Pergolesi
pieces for his Pulcinella ballet may be something
similar but Kraler/Schett go one step further, as they
have also done with
Schubert (see review). So
what do they do? They have picked twenty out of the 49 Deutsche
Volkslieder and added Die Meere from Drei
Duette für Sopran und Alt mit Klavier op. 20 and also,
somewhat incongruously In der Fremde from Robert
Schumann’s Liederkreis op 39. These themes have
been employed rather freely. Sometimes two, even three
are worked into the same piece and several of the themes
return in more than one of the compositions. Rhythms are
changed as are tempos. There is fragmentation and repetition
and the orchestration is multifarious. In some of the pieces
it isn’t easy to recognize the original themes at all.
A majority of the pieces are vocal, mostly choral, and
the original texts are also changed and/or minimized. Mein
Mädel hat einen Rosenmund (My lass has a rosebud mouth)
in the original becomes Mein Mädel had einen grossen
Mund (My lass has a big mouth) and the full text reads – in
free translation: My
lass she has so big a mouth that
when she speaks it hangs down south! I
can imagine two reactions to this treatment of more than
century-old music. Those who, like me, have known the originals
- which in themselves were rather artfully recast in comparison
with the folk songs, themselves culled from Brentano’s
collection which also was arranged - will either be horrified
(I wasn’t) or exhilarated (I was). Those who are unfamiliar
with the original Brahms arrangements will presumably derive
a lot of pleasure from this disc anyway. For a deeper understanding
of it I would recommend them to procure a set of the Brahms
songs – I have adored the Schwarzkopf/Fischer-Dieskau recording
on EMI since the mid-1960s. In the booklet for the present
issue there is also a heading ‘Songs Used’ which lists
all the Brahms (and Schumann) songs utilized and in which
compositions they are employed. Let
me give a few examples of what the music is like. Ich
will – allzeit –umsonst (tr. 1) which is an adaptation
of the first song in Brahms’s collection Sagt mir, o
schönste Schäf’rin mein the style is 1920s cabaret
and the instrumentation is Weill-like. Dort hoch auf
jenem Berge is a nod to the Tyrolean music. Komm,
du mein Liebchen, komm is arranged in a way partly
reminiscent of Gil Evans’s writing for Miles Davis’s tuba
band. Erlaube mir feins Mädchen is a jazz waltz
with a Johnny Hodges-like saxophone solo. Ach Gott,
wie weh tut scheiden is a bleak minimalist composition,
while Mein Mädel hat einen grossen Mund is a agglomeration
of three songs and is played in the strutty manner of Spike
Jones. The instrumental Bolero has the insistent
rhythm we know from Ravel’s composition. Other
titles are soft and beautiful. Die Sonne scheint nicht
mehr, which incorporates the Schumann song, is sweet-as-sugar,
sung by angelic female voices. In stiller Nacht is
a truly poetic nocturne. These random samples will, I hope,
give an impression of the scope of this enterprise – in
other words there is something for practically every taste. The
quality of the recording is superb, the playing and singing
highly professional and performed with more than one twinkle
in Franui’s collective eye. My wife, who isn’t very familiar
with the Brahms songs, came down flop when she heard the
disc. I suspect it will be a frequent visitor to our CD-player
during our after-dinner musical séances on Saturday evenings. Göran
Forsling
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