This
recording truly is one of the “Great Recordings of the Century”,
as EMI calls this series. Frankly, it is inconceivable that
anyone could know Wolf without knowing of these recordings:
Schwarzkopf’s performances are landmarks, bringing Wolf to wider,
international acclaim. After fifty years, these performances
are still shining exemplars, the ne plus ultra, to which
all subsequent work will be compared. This recording really
is one of those essentials which anyone hoping to appreciate
Wolf cannot be without. In fact it was these performances which
brought me to Wolf many years ago, and made me study German
seriously enough to appreciate the poetry. So perhaps this reissue
will inspire someone else on their own lifetime adventure! There
will always be new audiences for Wolf and for Schwarzkopf.
Obviously,
only songs for soprano are included, but Wolf had a special
affinity for the voice type. Included is the composer’s first
published work, Sechs Lieder für eine Frauenstimme. Started
when he was 17, they are already surprisingly mature, bearing
distinctive elements of his style, for example, lyricism, delicacy
and robust character definition. Mausfallensprüchlein shows
Wolf’s droll humour, which Schwarzkopf captures with delicious
glee. Her diction is so crisp it dances, sparkling like the
trills in the piano part. Her deft touch, though, is revealed
in the way she colours words with feeling. Each repeated hörst
du is defined, and then, with witt, witt, a mock
growl injects a frisson of danger, before the final hörst
du, sung with such warmth you can almost see Schwarzkopf
smiling. And it’s only one song of sixty-two.
For
many, Kennst du das Land is one of the finest songs ever
written, and this performance shows why. It’s achingly beautiful,
even by Wolf standards. Mignon, the kidnapped orphan sings of
her homeland. “Kennst du das Land”, sings Schwarzkopf,
with simplicity, making the next phrase “wo die Zitronen
blüh’n” soar all the more. Goethe describes the land through
images of citrus, myrtle and tall laurels. Wolf sets the words
evocatively – “vom blauen Himmel weht”, rising in a gorgeous
arc, the music itself lifting upwards towards the heavens. Then
Schwarzkopf breathes life into the words. Note the sensuality
of her lower register as it wraps around the sensual “dunkeln
Laub der Goldorangen” . Then Goethe describes Mignon’s lost
home, shining with marble. Wolf picks up on the gleaming imagery,
and Schwarzkopf half whispers the muted lines “es glänzt
der Saal, es schimmert das Gemach” to evoke the shimmering
stillness. Only then comes the full impact of the tragedy, when
the statues ask, tenderly, “What have they done to you, poor
child?”. Wolf contrasts the gentle contemplation of the main
stanzas with the dramatic release of the refrains, underpinned
by soaring piano chords. Gerald Moore (1899-1987) is brilliant,
mirroring Schwarzkopf’s passionate “Dahin! Dahin!” which
subsides into the imploring extended line, ending in the inexpressibly
intense longing with which Schwarzkopf infuses the word “zieh’n”.
Schwarzkopf and Moore understood Mignon’s personality as depicted
in Goethe’s narrative, so there’s no mawkish sentiment here:
this Mignon is clear, pure and dignified. Similar lucid grace
shapes the other Mignon songs in this group.
For
Wolf, song ennobled itself by association with great poetry.
The Wolf aesthetic focuses on deep understanding of the poets
he sets and their inner world. He himself described his music
as merely an enhancement of great poetry. Ravishingly beautiful
as it is, Wolf’s music perhaps demands more appreciation of
meaning than most. Every subtle nuance, every shading of emotion
matters. If ever there was music that bears repeated, intensive
listening, this is it. There was always a dedicated Wolf following
in German speaking countries, but access was limited to those
who attended recitals and heard broadcasts - recordings of Wolf
on early German radio haven’t been easy to come by until recently.
Raising money from private subscription – much of it from Japan
– Walter Legge embarked on a mission to get singers of the 1930s
to record Wolf. As soon as possible after the end of the war,
he was in Austria, searching for singers who could sing Wolf
well. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (1915-2006) was his ideal match,
for her voice was light and flexible enough for the delicacy
of Wolf's settings, but she also had the intelligence to understand
the mental and emotional challenge of the poetry and music.
Despite the ravishing beauty of Wolf’s music, vocal gymnastics
are not enough. Thus Legge and Schwarzkopf spearheaded the text-sensitive,
intuitive approach we have now to song. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
was one of their protégés. Schwarzkopf and Fischer-Dieskau were
a team, whose performances together have influenced the way
we listen to song to this day. This isn’t just another recording.
It’s a piece of history, and exquisitely beautiful.
Anne Ozorio
Detailed Track-Listing
Disc 1:
1 Goethe-Lieder
Mignon I [4:10]
2 Goethe-Lieder
Mignon II [2:19]
3 Goethe-Lieder
Mignon III [4:10]
4 Goethe-Lieder
Philine [3:18]
5 Goethe-Lieder
Mignon ('Kennst du das Land?') [6:58]
6 Goethe-Lieder
Epiphanias [4:39]
7 Goethe-Lieder
Sankt Nepomuks Vorabend [3:10]
8 Goethe-Lieder
Der Schäfer [2:22]
9 Goethe-Lieder
Blumengrass [1:23]
10 Goethe-Lieder
Gleich und gleich [0:54]
11 Goethe-Lieder
Die Spröde [2:00]
12 Goethe-Lieder
Die Bekehrte [2:51]
13 Goethe-Lieder
Frühling übers Jahr [1:58]
14 Goethe-Lieder
Anakreons Grab [3:20]
15 Goethe-Lieder
Hockbeglückt in deiner Liebe [1:56]
16 Goethe-Lieder
Als ich auf dem Euphrat schiffte [1:37]
17 Goethe-Lieder
Nimmer will ich dich verlieren [1:12]
18 Goethe-Lieder
Ganymed [5:08]
19 6 Lieder
für eine Frauenstimme Morgentau (anon) [1:41]
20 6 Lieder
für eine Frauenstimme Das Vöglein (Hebbel) [1:32]
21 6 Lieder
für eine Frauenstimme Die Spinnerin (Rückert) [2:50]
22 6 Lieder
für eine Frauenstimme Wiegenlied im Sommer (Reinick) [3:21]
23 6 Lieder
für eine Frauenstimme Wiegenlied in Winter (Reinick) [3:40]
24 6 Lieder
für eine Frauenstimme Mausfallen-Sprüchlein (Mörike) [1:13]
25 Eichendorff
Lieder Die Zigeunerin [3:00]
Disc 2:
1 Mörike-Lieder (1888) Im Frühling
[5:12]
2 Mörike-Lieder (1888) Elfenlied
[1:59]
3 Mörike-Lieder (1888) Auf eine
Christblume I [5:15]
4 Spanisches Liederbuch
(Anon. transl. Heyse) In dem Schatten meiner Locken [2:28]
5 Spanisches Liederbuch (Anon.
transl. Heyse) Wenn du zu den Blumen gehst [2:46]
6 6 Alte Weisen Tretet ein, hoher
Krieger [2:52]
7 6 Alte Weisen Singt mein Schatz
wie ein Fink [1:10]
8 6 Alte Weisen Du milchjunger
Knabe [1:31]
9 6 Alte Weisen Wandl' ich in
dem Morgentau [2:70]
10 6 Alte Weisen Das Köhlerweib
ist trunken [1:16]
11 6 Alte Weisen Wie glänzt der
helle Mond [3:26]
12 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Auch kleine Dinge [2:38]
13 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Mir ward gesagt [2:50]
14 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Wer rief dich denn? [1:19]
15 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Nun lass uns Frieden schliessen [1:53]
16 Italienisches Liederbuch
(Heyse) Du denkst mit einem Fädchen [1:17]
17 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Wie lange schon [2:20]
18 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Nein, junger Herr [0:54]
19 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Mein Liebster ist so klein [1:33]
20 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Ihr jungen Leute [1:80]
21 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Wir haben beide [2:22]
22 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Mein Liebster singt [1:43]
23 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Man sagt mir [0:51]
24 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Ich esse nun mein Brot [1:48]
25 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Mein Liebster hat zu Tische [1:00]
26 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Ich liess mir sagen [1:40]
27 Italienisches Liederbuch
(Heyse) Du sagst mir [1:13]
28 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Wohl kenn' ich Euren Stand [1:57]
29 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Wie soll ich fröhlich sein [1:38]
30 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Was soll der Zorn [1:52]
31 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Wenn du, mein Liebster [1:45]
32 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Gesegnet sei das Grün [1:33]
33 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
O wär' dein Haus durchsichtig [1:36]
34 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Schweig einmal still [1:08]
35 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Verschling' der Abgrund [1:18]
36 Italienisches Liederbuch (Heyse)
Ich hab' in Penna [1:10]
37 4 Gedichte nach Heine,
Shakespeare und Lord Byron Sonne der Schlummerlosen (Byron) [2:42]
