Die schöne Magelone Op. 33 (1869) [57:28]
Christopher Maltman (baritone)
Graham Johnson (piano)
rec. 11-13 February 2013, All Saints Church, East Finchley, London
HYPERION CDJ33125 [57:28]
This is Volume 5 in Hyperion’s continuing series of recordings
of the Brahms songs which represent a substantial proportion of the composer’s
output. This volume, however, is unique, since Die schöne Magelone
is the only song-cycle he created. The Four Serious Songs form
a cohesive collection but they were not conceived as a cycle.
These songs are by no means well known. They were based upon a sequence
of narrative poems (1797) by Johann Ludwig Tieck (1773–1853), interspersing
prose and poetry. They deal with the story of Peter of Provence, a medieval
knight who fell in love with Magelone, who was the daughter of the King
of Naples. Their relationship was disrupted when he became lost during
a Mediterranean sea voyage and was dragged off as a slave by his Moslem
captors.
Brahms suggested the option of performing this substantial hour-long cycle
of songs with attendant readings of the related prose. This would make
for a long evening in more senses than one. Perhaps therefore this Hyperion
issue offers the best of both worlds: the songs well performed on disc
with the supporting material gathered in the booklet. The latter is beautifully
produced although, to gain benefit from it, the reader may need a magnifying
glass to hand in addition to reading glasses. The poems are provided in
the original German side by side with English translations. The prose
sections are in English only.
The partnership of Graham Johnson - who, as ever, provides the lucid liner-notes
- and Christopher Maltman would be hard to better. They sound well and
their performance is beautifully shaped in its ebb and flow, an important
consideration in any song cycle. Maltman colours his voice skilfully as
he represents the different protagonists in the story.
This Volume 5 is an important addition to the Brahms discography and continues
and complements the admirable traditions already established by the earlier
outings in Hyperion's handsomely delivered series: Angelika Kirchschlager
(CDJ33121), Christine Schäfer (CDJ33122), neither reviewed here as
yet, Simon Bode (CDJ33123)
and Robert Holl (CDJ33124).
Terry Barfoot
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