Decades: A Century of Song - Volume 1: 1810-1820
Michael Schade (tenor); Lorna Anderson, Sylvia Schwartz (sopranos); Ann Murray (mezzo); Florian Boesch (bass); Malcolm Martineau (piano)
rec. 5-7 November, 2014; 22 and 24 May, 2015; 4 and 24 June, 2015, All Saints Church, East Finchley, London
Original texts and English translations included
VIVAT 112 [78:33]
This is the first volume in a projected series of discs, each
of which will cover a decade of songs composed in the 100-year span between
1810 and 1910. The intention is to create a comprehensive survey of song right
through the nineteenth century. Each disc will feature a variety of singers
and composers. If future volumes follow the pattern of this one then we’ll
find composers whose songs are familiar – in this case Beethoven and
Schubert – placed alongside composers whose songs are much less well
known. Indeed, in that latter category it seems we may encounter composers
whose entire œuvre is nowadays hidden in the shadows. For me
the music of Joseph Fabry-Garat, Sophie Gail, Václav Tomášek and Giovanni
Battista Viotti would certainly fall into that category.
The series is to be curated by Malcolm Martineau and it’s testimony
to his stature in the world of art-song that he’s attracted singers
of the calibre of Michael Schade, Dame Ann Murray and Florian Boesch to participate
in this first instalment. In the next two volumes I understand that the artists
we shall encounter will include Sarah Connolly, John Mark Ainsley, Christopher
Maltman and Angelika Kirchschlager.
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, this first volume is dominated by Schubert: a group
of his songs is placed at the beginning and end of the programme and most
of these are in the hands of Michael Schade. In fact, he has the lion’s
share of the programme as a whole. Schubert’s songs are almost always
worth hearing, though some are less inspired than others, and the first group
is a little mixed. Der Blumenbrief is charming but needs something
made of it if it’s to make an impression. Fortunately, Schade and Malcolm
Martineau are both experienced and highly intelligent musicians so the song
is in good hands and does indeed make its mark. Die Sommernacht is
unconventional. The poet mourns his lover and Schubert sets most of the text
as recitative, only breaking into a lovely, poignant melody for the last three
lines. Schade’s delivery is most expressive. An den Mond is
a wonderful song and here Schade displays expert control of line in the slow
outer verses. Two of the group are allotted to the Spanish soprano, Sylvia
Schwartz, who I don’t think I’ve heard before. She sings Freude
der Kinderjahre and Wiegenlied. Her voice is bright in tone
– actually, a bit too bright for my taste. The songs don’t represent
Schubert at his best, I think, but Miss Schwartz puts as much expression as
she can into them. The timbre of Michael Schade’s voice engages my sympathy
rather more and he does not disappoint in Das Heimweh or Seligkeit.
He floats the vocal line most delicately in the former while his light timbre
and nimble articulation are well suited to what Susan Youens rightly calls
the “irresistible lilt” of the latter.
Then we encounter the first of the less familiar composers – or, in
some cases, composers who are less familiar as composers of songs. Fernando
Sor certainly falls into that latter category. Appropriately, since he was
a Spaniard, the three songs by him are sung by his compatriot, Sylvia Schwartz.
The songs are well suited to her bright tone and she sings them enthusiastically.
Unfortunately, the songs themselves didn’t do a lot for me; once heard
they were immediately forgotten. To be truthful, it seemed almost cruel to
place these slight pieces between songs by Schubert and Beethoven, inevitably
inviting comparisons.
Beethoven’s songs are not the most celebrated part of his output but
there are some notable ones among them. I must say a wry smile crossed my
face when I read in the notes his admission that he didn’t like writing
songs and that “… with vocal compositions I must always be asking
myself: can this be sung?” Those of us who have at any time battled
with the chorus parts in either the Ninth Symphony of the Missa Solemnis
might question whether he asked himself that question often enough. As it
happens, the vocal lines in the songs included on this album are not among
his most taxing. Schade does this set of three Goethe songs very well. The
first is a serious offering while the other two have a lighter countenance.
In the notes the point is made that at this stage in the nineteenth century
French art-song lagged considerably behind the development of the form in
the Austro-German part of Europe and would continue so to do for some time
to come. That’s all too starkly illustrated by the offerings from Joseph
Dominique Fabry-Garat and Sophie Gail. The description in the booklet is “charming
trifles, strophic settings of anonymous and somewhat vapid verse.” I’m
afraid that’s all too accurate. Both songs are pretty but not at all
memorable. Lorna Anderson sings them nicely but I wish she’d been given
something more interesting to sing as well.
The Goethe songs by the Prague composer, Václav Tomášek are a different
matter. These are fully in the Austro-German Lieder tradition and
they’re rather good. Certainly they afford the singer far more opportunities
for expressive singing. Tomášek seems to have been a devotee of Goethe
– by 1820 when these present songs were written he’d composed
forty-one songs using the great German poet’s lines. For me, Schäfers
Klagelied is the pick of the bunch but Michael Schade and Malcolm Martineau
do all four very well, investing each one with expressiveness and a thoughtful
approach.
Viotti is best remembered as a virtuoso violinist and as a composer of no
fewer than 29 concertos for his instrument. It appears that his small output
of songs was composed for friends. It’s nice to hear Ann Murray again,
however briefly, recorded some 18 months after what we thought was to be her
last recording (review).
These two songs are fairly slight - Privez l’amour de sa fleche
cruelle seems to be over before it gets going – but Murray does
them well. I like the gentle melancholy of Stanco di pascolar, a
pretty song.
There’s a brief return to Beethoven and then we hear from Weber. I must
admit I’m not au fait with his songs but Abschied vom Leben
is impressive. It’s dramatic and expressive, especially as rendered
by Schade. The composer’s operatic pedigree is put to good use here.
Not all the unfamiliar songs in this collection can stand comparison with
Schubert but this one can.
We return to Schubert. Again we are mainly in the hands of Michael Schade
but the group begins with the solitary contribution from Florian Boesch. Das
Grab was, apparently, originally composed for unison male voice choir.
The music displays imagination and reach and some of the harmonies are very
unexpected. Susan Youens refers to the “lugubrious grandeur” of
the setting. Boesch captures this perfectly, singing with quiet, controlled
intensity. What a shame this is the only item on the programme that he is
allotted.
Schade then takes over for all but the last song on the programme. His gently
plangent tone is just right for the poignant Erster Verlust. He’s
also well suited to the simple, expressive An den Mond, which is
beautifully done. With its melancholic melodic flow this song is echt-Schubert
and it receives a graceful performance. Schade excels also in the eloquent
Wanderers Nachtlied I. It’s left to Sylvia Schwartz to round
off the proceedings with Wer kauft Liebesgötter. It’s another
pretty, even pert song. Her bright delivery suits the piece but I’d
like to hear her in something more slow and expressive and, frankly, something
with a bit more emotional depth to see what she can do.
The lesser-known songs on this programme are variable in quality; the Weber
and Tomášek pieces are the best in my view though some listeners may
find more in some of the other unfamiliar pieces. Nonetheless, it’s
valuable to have all these compositions in order to establish a wider context
for European art-song than we may sometimes hear in recital or on disc. Malcolm
Martineau has chosen both his singers and their repertoire shrewdly.
The performances have been well recorded. The sound is pleasing and natural
with a good balance between singers and piano. That should come as no surprise
since the engineering was in the experienced hands of David Hinitt who, on
this occasion, acted as producer as well.
The documentation is comprehensive. Not only are all the texts provided but
also there’s an extensive eleven–page essay by Susan Youens, who
is to be the consultant for the series as a whole. My only complaint is that
the booklet is set in a very small font and I found it a trial to read, sometimes
resorting to a magnifying glass. That’s a shame because the essay itself
is excellent.
On the evidence of this CD this will be an important and rewarding series.
I understand that it is planned to release the discs at four-monthly intervals.
The next volume will take us from 1820 to 1830. There will be more from Schubert
– naturally – and also offerings from Loewe, Mendelssohn, Berlioz
and Glinka.
John
Quinn
Contents
Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Der Blumenbrief, D622 [2:10]
Die Sommernacht, D289 [2:46]
Täglich zu singen, D533 [2:00]
An den Mond, D193 [3:05]
Freude der Kinderjahre, D455 [2:27]
Wiegenlied, D304 [3:12]
Das Heimweh, D456 [2:40]
Seligkeit, D433 [1:56]
Fernando SOR (1778-1839)
De amor en las prisiones [1:30]
Las mujeres y cuerdas [1:44]
Mis descuidados ojos [1:58]
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Wonne der Wehmut, Op 83/1 [2:41]
Sehnsucht, Op 83/2 [2:11]
Mit einem gemalten Band, Op 83/3 [2:00]
Joseph Dominique FABRY-GARAT (1774-?)
Plainte ŕ Hortence [3:45]
Sophie GAIL (1775-1819)
Bolleros [2:16]
Václav TOMÁŠEK (1774-1850)
Songs from Gedichte von Goethe: Nähe des Geliebten [2:17]
An die Entfernte [1:27]
Schäfers Klagelied [3:49]
Rastlose Liebe [0:55]
Giovanni Battista VIOTTI (1755-1824)
Stanco di pascolar, VW11:10 [1:34]
Privez l’amour de sa fleche cruelle, VW11:4 [1:08]
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Abendlied unterm gestirnten Himmel,
WoO 150 [4:45]
Carl Maria von WEBER (1756-1826)
Abschied vom Leben, Op 41, Heft 1, No 2 [4:24]
Franz SCHUBERT Das Grab, D569 [2:59]
Der Fischer, D225 [2:53]
Erster Verlust, D226 [1:56]
An den Mond, D259 [3:06]
Wanderers Nachtlied I, D224, Op 4/3 [1:31]
Rastlose Liebe, D136 [1:20]
Ganymed, D554, Op 19/3 [3:59]
Wer kauft Liebesgötter, D261 [1:47]
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