When CPO decided to
record the "complete works"
of Carl Loewe, they embarked on a noble
undertaking. Deservedly so, for Loewe
represents a tradition in Lieder that
links traditional song and balladry
to song as it was understood until the
end of the nineteenth century. He connects
Zelter and Reichardt to Mendelssohn,
Liszt and Brahms. Indeed, Loewe and
Brahms set the same poets – Tieck and
Uhland being represented here. Schubert
and Schumann were peaks, so exceptional
that they stand out like spectacular
mountains over the plain. Loewe represents
the tradition that evolved less dramatically,
but has a richness and validity of its
own. Many of Loewe's works, such as
Herr Oluf, Tom der Reimer,
Die Glöcke, Odin's Meeresritt,
etc are great classics on their own
terms, with an enduring place in the
canon of great lieder. Loewe was an
exact contemporary of Schubert, and
a full comparison of their works does
him no discredit. He was admired by
no less a perfectionist than Hugo Wolf.
The CPO series is uneven,
some of the volumes being outstanding,
such as those featuring Kurt Moll, Edith
Mathis, Christoph Prégardien,
and Kurt Moll, vols. 5. 9 and 14 respectively;
others perhaps less so. Loewe's less
overtly approachable songs benefit from
being performed by good artists who
can bring out the underlying interest
in the material. Ingeborg Danz is one
of these – intelligent, and graced with
an instinctive feel for meaning. She
trained under Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,
a teacher who does not suffer fools.
A volume of ballads set to strophic
poems could go either way – deadening
or delightful – but the inherent elegance
of Danz's singing makes this volume
worth listening to. I first heard Danz
in recital more than a decade ago, when
she was starting her career, and thought
she had great potential. She has done
well, with a solid background in opera,
Bach and the baroque. So I was delighted
to hear this recording, and know my
hopes were justified. Danz's voice is
rich and dark hued, and she uses it
with confidence and style.
Die Einladung (the
invitation) for example, is a very long
ballad which runs to seventeen verses,
all written in the same meter. Loewe
retains the simplicity of the text,
which is about a peasant who prays that
Jesus might sup at his table. So convinced
is he that Jesus will come that he gets
his family ready. As times passes, the
children start to grumble as they are
hungry. Then, as if by a miracle, Jesus
turns up! A song of such innocent faith
needs the sincerity Danz brings to it
– the clarity of her diction and purity
of tone make its almost hymn-like setting
beautiful to listen to. The breathless
excitement she brings to the last verses
express a happiness no cynic could knock.
German Romantics had
a passion for Muslim culture and exotic
themes seemed to liberate composers
from their Northern reserve. Loewe's
settings of Heinrich Steglitz's "Islamic"
poems are very lyrical. Maisuma am
Brunnen (Maisuna at the well) is
lyrical, with lovely heights and depths
in the setting, which Danz navigates
agilely. Passages on the piano sound
almost downbeat, despite the song being
written as early as 1833. Even more
unusual is the setting of Ali und
Fatme. Ali's song sounds almost
jazzy. Danz sings the recurring line
"der Sternennacht"
with a seductive sensuality. A beautiful
melodic interlude divides his song from
Fatme's which is quite different, fast
and tense. From this same group come
Der Oasis and Lied eines Vögleins
in der Oasis, the former particularly
lovely. Loewe captures the image of
the desert and its contrast with the
lushness of the oasis. Danz sings the
lines "und aus der Blüthen,
rein und hell, springt murmelnd auf
der frische Quell" so evocatively
that you can almost smell the clear,
fresh waters of the spring welling up,
the air scented by blossom. These surprisingly
modern sounding songs are a discovery.
One of the clichés
often repeated about Loewe is that his
works showed no development, artistically.
Fortunately, here we have evidence that
this is not so. The Serbischer Liederkreis
which the booklet says dates from 1824,
is a charmingly delicate setting of
folksongs and children’s lullabies,
two with a discordant ferocity which
comes as a shock. In contrast there
is Der Teufel, Op. 129, dating
from 1859, when the composer was in
his mid-sixties. This, too, is a strophic
ballad but Loewe
infuses it with drama. St Johannes
und das Würmlein (St John and
the firefly) from 1834 lifts a text
by Wilhemlmine von Chezy, the maligned
librettist for two operas, Schubert's
Rosamonde and Weber's Euryanthe.
Supported by a rippling introduction,
reminiscent of Schubert, the song has
considerable charm. Der fünfte
Mai is another distinctive song,
but a little heavy-handed, reminding
the French king to be mindful of St
Helena. Two of Loewe's five Napoleon
songs are represented here.
Perhaps the best known
song in this set is Die Sterne,
from 1836. Intensely and flowingly lyrical,
it is also perhaps the loveliest song
on the recording. Loewe wrote it for
a dear friend, to a poem written for
her by her deceased lover. How it must
have pleased her! This song alone is
worth getting to know. The performance
is flawless.
Anne Ozorio
Ingeborg Danz (soprano); Cord Garben (piano) 