Loewe had an astute ear for superior poetry setting;
Schiller, Byron, Heine, Rückert, Goethe. His prowess as a choral
conductor and as a pianist were memorably augmented by his success as
a singer – he sang across Europe. His great gift was to modify the simple
strophic style of previous ballads that meant, in effect, absorbing
late eighteenth century German ballad style and extending it musically
to include elements of antitheses and internal drama. These were generally
not taken to Schubertian extremes but Loewe claims clarity and directness
as cardinal virtues. His piano accompaniments are generally supportive
and don’t interfere unduly with the singer’s line. Lyric passages or
moments of heightened drama are generally effective and often much more.
One of the many pleasures of this disc is to listen to some of the lesser
know Loewe songs – none of the familiar favouites are here, so no Archibald
Douglas, or Erlkonig or Tom der Reimer.
Fischer-Dieskau’s legato is impressive in Der selt’ne
Beter, his repeated, descending las mir of great plangency
whereas the witty tale of Graf Eberstein with its top and tail
dance sections and tales of duplicity and intrigue is a splendid example
of both Loewe’s clarity and imagination and the singer’s powers of projection.
Fredericus Rex causes him one or two problems; whilst he’s finely
stentorian some aspects of the word setting cause him to falter slightly
over the runs. Equally whilst he manages the full compass of Der
gefangene Admiral there are undeniable strains at the top of his
voice. I enjoyed the very light pictorialism of the sea in Gruss
vom Meere – in the main Loewe avoids the relative simplicities of
the strophic end of the ballad tradition inflecting it instead with
moments of reflective intimacy and outburst and thematic figures, maybe
with minimal piano postludes, within the confines of a relatively strict
form. The Arabic songs are especially good; Der Asra is a witty
and tripping little setting, as the delicate filigree traces the implications
of Heine’s poem. Hartmut Höll shines here as well, constantly alert
to the minutest sheds of colour and adduced meaning in the piano accompaniment.
One of the highlights of the disc is Fischer-Dieskau and Höll in
Das Wunder auf der Flucht, a magnificent setting of a Rückert
poem. With its repeated treble notes for the pianist and with Fischer-Dieskau’s
refined and consummate musicianship it makes for a bravura piece of
storytelling. Contrasted immediately here is the following song, Ich
bin ein gutter Hirte. Its nobility of utterance can’t quite disguise
the fact that this song – not assigned an opus number incidentally –
hearkens back to the strophic simplicities of an earlier style. And
who could resist Bauernregel? A rustic little piece by Ludwig
Uhland it lasts all of thirty-eight seconds. It shows another side to
Loewe’s imagination – and is part of a thoroughly recommendable disc.
Jonathan Woolf
Hartmut Höll