Friedrich GERNSHEIM (1839 – 1916)
Verborgene Schätze (Hidden Treasures)
Sechs Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte Op. 14 (1875) [15:28]
Fünf Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte Op. 19 (1868/1873) [10:33]*
Vier Lieder und Gesänge für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte Op. 34 (1877) [5:51]*
Fünf Gedichte von Otto Julius Bierbaum für eine Singstimme mit Pianoforte Op. 74 (1903) [12:40]
Neue Lieder Op. 88 (1907) [8:38]*
Abendlied (1903) [4:07]
Gernsheim-Duo: Anna Gann (soprano), Naoko Christ-Kato (piano)
rec. 2019, Festeburgkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
German texts enclosed; lyrics in English available from Genuin website
World Premiere Recordings
* selections
GENUIN GEN19662 [58:55]
Friedrich Gernsheim was a German composer, conductor and teacher from the same generation as Brahms, and they were also friends. I believe he is best remembered as being the teacher of Engelbert Humperdinck, but his compositions were long forgotten. I first came across him twenty years ago when I happened to stumble over an Arte Nova twofer with his four symphonies, which I played through but seldom returned to. In present time there have been several issues of his orchestral music, the symphonies in an alternative reading, several concertos and quite a lot of chamber music. A couple of years ago I reviewed a set with Lieder im Volkston (review), composed in the early 20th century, and there I found an Abendlied, composed by Gernsheim, which is also included as the final song in the present disc – and there was also a song by his pupil Humperdinck. The Abendlied was attractive, which triggered me to bid for the present disc when it appeared on the latest wish-list.
Gernsheim’s literary taste was no doubt discriminating. Here we find poems by Eduard Mörike, Heinrich Heine, Friedrich Rückert, Nikolaus Lenau and Otto Julius Bierbaum, Ricarda Huch is also represented and Abendlied is a setting of Matthias Claudius, which also Brahms set in his collection Deutsche Volkslieder.
Gernsheim has a melodic vein that is quite pleasing. Im Frühling (tr. 1), Es war ein alter König (tr. 4), Still vom Frühlingsabendhimmel (tr. 21) and of course Abendlied (tr. 22) can without being ashamed stand side by side with better known songs by Schumann and Brahms. And several others are also enjoyable. There are also more dramatic songs, like An der Sturmwind (tr. 6) and Sturmlied (tr. 18), and by and large these songs are well worth exploring. The accompaniments are orchestrally conceived and flow almost uninhibitedly. This works well in for instance the two dramatic songs mentioned above, and also elsewhere they can be effective – and they are expertly played by Naoko Christ-Kato. But in the long run they tend to convey a sense of fatigue, one longs for fewer notes and more transparency. Still, listened to, one or two at a time, the songs have a great deal to offer.
Unfortunately the singing leaves a lot to be desired. Anna Gann has a basically beautiful lyric voice, but the delivery is uneven and high notes – and too often also not so high notes – tend to stick out and become shrill and under-supported. All too often the tone is flat and vibrato-less and gives the impression of being under the note, and at forte she produces a hooting sound. I wouldn’t say it sounds like a foghorn but it is the vicinity. Worst of all are the dramatic songs, in particular Sturmlied, which is a quite thrilling piece, but vocally it is completely out of reach for the singer, who has to resort to shouting.
I’m afraid I couldn’t derive much pleasure from the singing per se, even though I appreciated several of the songs, and I think it was a mistake to issue this disc at all.
Göran Forsling
