Franz Berwald - 4 Symphonies

"Franz Berwald's 'Sinfonie sérieuse' was premiered on December 2, 1843, in Stockholm, conducted by Johan Fredrik Berwald, the composer's cousin. The performance was not what it should have been. In addition to not helping the composer's reputation, it became the only performance of any of his symphonies during his lifetime. Given that Berwald spent a number of years in Berlin and Vienna, the 'Sinfonie sérieuse' is comparable in style and structure to those of his contemporaries Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.

"The first movement 'Allegro con energia', is in the traditional sonata-allegro form. Without any introduction, the first theme group begins its passionate journey with a loud chord, and then quickly drops to piano. Berwald presents an abundance of motivic fragments, but as with Beethoven, his transitions seem to be just as significant as the primary themes. The more lyrical second theme calls to mind the earlier Romantic composer Carl Maria von Weber. A development section follows with bits of counterpoint utilizing transitional material from the first theme group. Prior to the 'official' recapitulation, Berwald sneaks in a statement of the second theme that, this time, is much more bold in character. The 'real' recapitulation unfolds in typical fashion, but unlike the serious opening in minor, the movement concludes with an exuberant flourish in major.

"As with most slow movements, the Allegro maestoso is in a ternary form (ABA). When hearing the solemn lyricism of the A section, with its chromatic lines and sustained pedal points, it is difficult not to think of the future works of Johannes Brahms and Carl Nielsen. In contrast, the B section is bolder and more dramatic. This leads into a development of sorts, before returning to the nobility of the opening.

"While not as facile and mercurial as many of Mendelssohn's scherzos, the third movement, 'Stretto', is, in essence, the typical scherzo movement: fast tempo, a meter of three, and the ABA form. Its themes drive it toward the more serene middle section. However, the second presentation of the A section dissipates rather than giving a sense of finality to the movement.

"Thematic material from the second movement serves as an introduction to the first theme group of the final movement. Again, sonata-allegro form is the large-scale structural determinant. The surging fervor of the second theme in the strings is contrasted and answered in the woodwinds. The development section has some truly contrapuntal moments using material from the first theme group to prepare the way for the recapitulation. From out of the wilderness, a valiant solo trombone signals the end of the muscular, energetic work." (Description of Symphony No. 1 in G Minor 'Sérieuse' by Rovi Staff for AllMusic. See here.)

"When Berwald's first symphony, the 'Symphony Sérieuse', was severely handled by the critics his second, 'Sinfonie capriciuse' had already been written. The composer never heard the work performed, the full score disappeared and only a 'short score' (i.e. not fully orchestrated) dated 18 June 1842 survived. The work was first performed in 1914 in a realization by Ernst Ellberg, and thereafter not until the 1960s in a realization by Nils Castergren. Since then it has taken its rightful place in the re-establishment of Berwald's music in today's symphonic repertoire. The symphony is well-named, its orchestral textures being light and airy. The first movement is swift, sunny and mainly in 3/4 time, rather like a fast waltz. The second is sweetly serious and melodic, with a Mozartean delicacy. The third movement, a scherzo, starts with short, fragmentary woodwind figures and continues on its good-humored way with quick interchanges between strings and woodwind, the brass only occasionally underlining the spirited rhythms. Today it is almost inconceivable that so original and enchanting a work could have been neglected for over 100 years." (Description of Symphony No. 2 in D Major 'Capricieuse' by Roy Brewer for AllMusic. See here.)

"Although Swedish composer Franz Berwald's Symphony No. 3, 'Sinfonie singulière' was completed in 1845, it did not receive its first performance until 1905. In fact, only one of Berwald's four symphonies was performed during his lifetime. Considered by many to be the first great Scandinavian composer, he has been described as a cross between Felix Mendelssohn, an acquaintance of Berwald's, and Finland's Jean Sibelius, born three years before Berwald's death.

"Not only is it widely held that the 'Sinfonie singulière' is Berwald's finest work, but that it may be the first great Scandinavian orchestral work. The symphony is unique for this time period in that it has only three movements rather than the traditional four. While Berwald's earlier symphonies are right at home in the German Romantic school of Schumann and Mendelssohn (Berwald lived in Berlin and Vienna at various times), this piece looks forward with the robust and rustic quality one associates with later Nordic composers such as Edvard Grieg, Sibelius, and Carl Nielsen or Nationalists such as Antonín Dvořák.

"The first movement, 'Allegro fuocoso', is in the traditional mid-nineteenth century sonata-allegro form. But, Berwald combines the organic compositional technique of Beethoven with one resembling tone painting to establish an atmosphere. Starting quietly, there is a feeling of great anticipation. Utilizing the interval of a fourth in various guises, Berwald uses motivic development and transformation rather than long, spun-out melodies, creating a sense of transition and evolution. This is a section of 'gestation' rather than introduction in the traditional sense. The middle movement, in ternary form (ABA), begins with a heartfelt, Brahmsian 'Adagio'. With a startling thump in the tympani about four minutes in, Berwald breaks into a scherzo that would have made Mendelssohn envious. Playful exchanges between winds and strings show Berwald's skill as an orchestrator and his mastery of manipulating thematic fragments. His not so subtle harmonic sequences are very much like Bruckner's in that they do not always advance the tonal scheme, but are, nonetheless, terrifically appealing. After a few minutes, the 'Adagio' returns as abruptly as it disappeared. The final movement is highly charged and dramatic. Another Brucknerian moment occurs with a soft woodwind chorale over pizzicato strings, which flowers into a grand statement of this same theme. There is a quotation of the middle movement's 'Adagio' melody about five minutes in, followed by a new lyrical theme that precedes a recapitulation of the beginning of this movement. A quiet return of the woodwind chorale in minor explodes into a joyfully victorious final statement, back in major, bringing this richly Romantic symphony to an end. In Franz Berwald's 'Sinfonie singulière' one can hear some of the stylistic qualities that anticipate later composers such as Brahms, Bruckner, Sibelius, and Dvořák." (Description of Symphony No. 3 in C Major 'Singulière' by Mona DeQuis for AllMusic. See here.)

"Berwald spent the early part of the year 1842 in Vienna, where his music was very well-received and where he wrote his first two symphonies, those with the nicknames 'Sérieuse' and 'Capricieuse'. Later that year he returned to his native Sweden hoping to continue his string of successes. But his music didn't make much of an impression there. Nevertheless he continued his composing, completing his other two symphonies - the so-called 'Singulière' and 'Naïve' - in the year 1845. He went to Paris in 1846, hoping to interest composer-conductor Daniel-François Auber in premiering the 'Sinfonie Naïve'. Nothing came of that, though, and the symphony, now sans title (by Berwald's choice) and simply known as the Symphony No. 4, waited until April 9, 1878, for its first performance. That premiere was conducted by Ludvig Norman, who did more than anyone else to keep Berwald's music before the public in the decades after the composer's death.

"Whether called 'Sinfonie Naïve' or Symphony No. 4, the work radiates a feeling of contentment and lightheartedness. The first movement, somewhat misleadingly marked 'Allegro risoluto', begins in a rather relaxed mood. A playful staccato figure leads into the peaceful second idea, which becomes the basis of the following development. This movement, and the work as a whole, displays Berwald's distinctive, pungent harmonic sense and melodic freshness. The noble, pastoral second-movement 'Adagio' leads without pause into an energetic scherzo, whose elfin quality calls the music of Felix Mendelssohn to mind. Rhythmic playfulness marks the 'Finale', an 'Allegro vivace' that concludes with a sudden acceleration and exciting coda." (Description of Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat Major by Chris Morrison for AllMusic. See here.)

Performers: Göteborgs Symfoniker, Neeme Järvi

1.1. Symphony No. 3 In C Major 'Singulière': I. Allegro Fuocoso

1.2. Symphony No. 3 In C Major 'Singulière': II. Adagio – Scherzo: Allegro Assai – Adagio

1.3. Symphony No. 3 In C Major 'Singulière': III. Finale: Presto

1.4. Symphony No. 2 In D Major 'Capricieuse': I. Allegro

1.5. Symphony No. 2 In D Major 'Capricieuse': II. Andante

1.6. Symphony No. 2 In D Major 'Capricieuse': III. Finale: Allegro Assai

2.1. Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major: I. Allegro Risoluto

2.2. Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major: II. Adagio

2.3. Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major: III. Scherzo: Allegro Molto

2.4. Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major: IV. Finale: Allegro Vivace

2.5. Symphony No. 1 In G Minor 'Sérieuse': I. Allegro Con Energia

2.6. Symphony No. 1 In G Minor 'Sérieuse': II. Adagio Maestoso

2.7. Symphony No. 1 In G Minor 'Sérieuse': III. Stretto

2.8. Symphony No. 1 In G Minor 'Sérieuse': IV. Finale: Adagio – Allegro Molto

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Alban Berg - Wozzeck; Lulu

"Karl Böhm was the conducting world’s tortoise to his contemporaries’ hares. Soft-spoken yet forceful, methodical and not given to telling people things twice, he was a 'quiet martinet,' the flip side to such volatile talents as Toscanini, Rodzinski, and Solti. Yet he resented them less than he resented those conductors who, he felt, put public image and ego ahead of interpretation, particularly Karajan, whose performances of Strauss and Wagner he intensely disliked, and Bernstein, whose performances of almost everything irked him. Ironically, he was particularly noted in America and England as a Mozart conductor, yet Mozart was the one composer whose music he conducted a bit too much on the slow side.

"As time wore on, however, Böhm's recordings of other music made it to our shores, and so little by little we came to admire his combination of fastidiousness and excitement in such music as that of Schubert, Beethoven, Strauss, and this surprising recording of Berg’s operas. Like many of his generation, Böhm respected Berg’s widow’s demands to perform Lulu incomplete, but no matter. This performance has an edge, an excitement, and a sense of instrumental precision that in my view eclipses the celebrated Boulez recording of the complete opera. More importantly, no one, not even the redoubtable Leif Segerstam on Naxos, has managed to eclipse this 'Wozzeck.' It is so perfectly performed in every respect that one comes away from it in awe. No matter that one may prefer a certain individual voice in certain roles, particularly that of Marie; everyone is so committed to Böhm's vision of the music, and his overall sweep, that one is carried away with it. Perfection is always rare, more so in music of this complexity. I hope this recording will remain in the catalog forever." (Review by Lynn René Bayley. See here.) 

 

Performers: Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Karl Böhm, Evelyn Lear, Patricia Johnson, Alice Oelke, Barbara Scherler, Walther Dicks, Loren Driscoll, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Donald Grobe, Gerd Feldhoff, Josef Greindl, Karl-Ernst Mercker, Ernst Krukowski, Leopold Clam, Helmut Melchert, Fritz Wunderlich, Gerhard Stolze, Karl Christian Kohn, Kurt Böhme, Robert Koffmane, Martin Vantin, Evelyn Lear, Walter Muggelberg

1.1. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene I: 'Langsam, Wozzeck, Langsam!'

1.2. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene I: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel

1.3. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene II: 'Du, Der Platz Ist Verflucht!'

1.4. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene II: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel Und Beginnende Militärmusik Im Hintergrund

1.5. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene III: 'Tschin Bum...! Hörst Bub? Da Kommen Sie!'

1.6. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene III: Verwandlung. Orchester-Überleitung

1.7. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene III: 'Was Erleb' Ich, Wozzeck?'

1.8. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene IV: Verwandlung. Orchester-Einleitung

1.9. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene IV: 'Geh Einmal Vor Dich Hin...'

1.10. Wozzeck, Akt II: Orchester-Einleitung/Szene I: 'Was Die Steine Glänzen!'

1.11. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene I: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel

1.12. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene II: 'Wohin So Eilig, Geehrtester Herr Sargnagel?'

1.13. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene II: Verwandlung. Überleitende Takte Und Kammerorchester-Einleitung/Szene III: 'Guten Tag Franz'/'Ich Seh' Nichts'

1.14. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene III: Verwandlung. Überleitende Takte Und Orchester-Vorspiel

1.15. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene IV: 'Ich Hab' Ein Hemdlein An, Das Ist Nicht Mein...'

1.16. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene IV: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel (Walzer)

1.17. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene V: 'Oh! Oh! Andres! Ich Kann Nicht Schlafen'

1.18. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene I: 'Und Ist Kein Betrug In Seinem Munde Erfunden Worden'

1.19. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene I: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel

1.20. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene II: 'Dort Links Geht's In Die Stadt'

 

2.1. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene II: Verwandlung. Orchester-Überleitung

2.2. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene III: 'Tantz Alle; Tantz Nur Zu...!'

2.3. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene III: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel/Szene IV: 'Das Messer? Wo Ist Das Messer?'

2.4. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene IV: Verwandlung. Orchester-Epilog: Invention Über Eine Tonnart

2.5. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene V: 'Ringel, Ringel, Rosenkranz, Ringelreih'n!'

2.6. Lulu, Prolog: 'Hereinspaziert In Die Menagerie'

2.7. Lulu, Akt I, Szene I: 'Darf Ich Eintreten?'/'Mein Sohn!'

2.8. Lulu, Akt I, Szene I: 'Gnädige Frau... Frau Medizinalrat...'/'Sie Bekommen Mich Loch Lange Nicht'/'Wie Ist Dir?'

2.9. Lulu, Akt I, Szene I: 'Machen Sie Auf!'/'Auf Einmal Springt Er Auf'/'Noch Nicht Wieder Zur Besinnung Gekommen?'/'Kanst Du Die Wahrheit Sagen?'

2.10. Lulu, Akt I, Szene I: 'Ich Möchte Tauschen Mir Dir, Du Toter!'/'Wollen Sie Mir Zuhaken'

2.11. Lulu, Akt I, Szene I: Verwandlungsmusik

2.12. Lulu, Akt I, Szene II: 'Eva?'/'Befehlen?'/'Ich Finde, Du Siehst Heute Reizend Aus'

2.13. Lulu, Akt I, Szene II: Kammermusik/'Den Hab' Ich Mir Auch Ganz Anders Vorgestellt'

2.14. Lulu, Akt I, Szene II: 'Was Tut Denn Ihr Vater Da'/Wenn Ich Ihr Man Währe'

2.15. Lulu, Akt I, Szene II: 'Nun?'/'Du Hast Eine Halbe Million Geheiratet'

2.16. Lulu, Akt I, Szene II: Verwandlungsmusik

2.17. Lulu, Akt I, Szene III: 'Seit Ich Für Die Bühne Arbeite'/'Noch Ettwas, Bitte'/'Ich Hatte Bei Herrn Dr. Schön Das Vergnügen'/'Sie Hatte Einen Ohnmachtsanfall'/'Das Hättest Du Bir Besser Erspart'/'Wie Kannst Du Die Szene Gegen Mich Ausspielen?'/'Mein Alter! Meine Welt!'/'Sehr Geehrtes Fräuhlein'

 

3.1. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Sie Glauben Nicht, Wie Ich Mich Darauf Freue'/'Könntest Du Dich Für Heute Nachmittag Nicht Freimachen?'

3.2. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Gott Sei Dank, Daß Wir Endlich Zuhause Sind'/'Er Hat Sie Nämlich Ersprünglich Heiraten Wollen'/'Hast Oben Abgeschlossen?'

3.3. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Die Matinée Wird, Wie Ich Mir Denke, Bei Elektrischem Licht Stattfinden'

3.4. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Wo Ist Denn Der Hin'/'Du Kreatur, Die Mich Durch Den Straßenkot Zum Martertode Schleift!'

3.5. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Wenn Sich Die Menschen Um Meinetwillen Umgebratch Haben'

3.6. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Nieder, Mörderin! In Die Knie!'

3.7. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Du Kannst Mich Nicht Dem Gericht Ausliefern'

3.8. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: Verwandlung (Filmmusik)

3.9. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: 'Er Lässt Auf Sich Warten Wie Ein Kapellmeister'

3.10. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: 'Sie Wollten Der Verrückten Rakete Noch Geld Geben!?'/'Mit Wem Habe Ich... Sie?'

3.11. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: 'Hü, Kleine Lulu'

3.12. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: 'O Freiheit! Herrgott Im Himmel!'

3.13. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: Variationen (Lulu-Suite)

3.14. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: Adagio (Lulu-Suite)

 

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Igor Stravinsky / Charles Wuorinen - The Flood; Abraham and Isaac; Variations; Requiem Canticles; A Reliquary for Igor Stravinsky

"'The Flood' is a musical play for tenor solo, two bass soloists, chorus, speaking parts, and large orchestra. It is a large-scale piece, though extremely concise, as it was written for television. Subtitled a 'dance drama,' Stravinsky began composing 'The Flood' after a request from CBS Television in 1959. The text of the work is derived from a number of sources, including mediaeval pageants and Genesis. It was Stravinsky's intention to represent the divine power of God, manifested in the flood, rather than dramatizing the life of Noah. For Stravinsky, 'Noah is mere history,' while the flood, replete with contemporary allusions, is 'the Eternal Catastrophe...[it] is also The Bomb.' Though the staging is quite complex, and the musical forces quite large, the work is nonetheless extremely concise, taking only a half an hour to perform. The short duration is a reflection of Stravinsky's desire to reach and please a television audience. 

 

"Stravinsky used different music and techniques to represent the different characters in this work. While no one character is represented specifically by one singer, Stravinsky does differentiate between the supernatural and mortal characters. God is represented by two basses, while the mortal characters utilize speaking parts. The work is divided into six parts: 'Prelude,' 'The Building of the Ark,' 'The Catalogue of the Animals,' 'The Comedy,' 'The Flood,' and 'The Covenant of the Rainbow.' 'The Building of the Ark' and 'The Flood' are choreographed sections, with pantomime and dancing. The other sections are divided into subsections, with singing juxtaposed with spoken narration. 

 

"'The Flood' is a serial work, and shows a particularly relaxed approach to serial composition, with the tone-rows effectively interrupted. Eric Walter White has noted that in certain sections notes are repeated, as Stravinsky disrupts the integrity of the row in order to suggest chant. It is also, as White points out, a work that is strongly based on harmony, or vertical organization, rather than melody, or horizontal considerations. This is important to note, as most of Stravinsky¹s oeuvre is remarkable for its contrapuntal texture." (Summary of 'The Flood' by Alexander Carpenter. From AllMusic. See here.)

Performers: London Sinfonietta, New London Chamber Choir, Oliver Knussen

1. The Flood: Prelude. 'Te Deum Laudamus'

2. The Flood: Melodrama. 'In A Worm's Likeness Will He Wend'

3. The Flood: The Building Of The Ark (Choreography)

4. The Flood: The Catalogue Of The Animals. 'The Lord Bade That I Should Bring'

5. The Flood: The Comedy (Noah And His Wife). 'Wife, Come In!'

6. The Flood: The Flood (Choreography)

7. The Flood: The Covenant Of The Rainbow. 'A Covenant, Noah, With Thee I Make'

8. Abraham And Isaac: 'Vay'hi Ahar Hadvarim Ha'eleh V'ha'Elohim'

9. Abraham And Isaac: 'Vayikakh Avraham Et Atze Ha'olah'

10. Abraham And Isaac: 'Vayi Sa Avraham Et Enav Vayat V'hineh'

11. Variations: Aldous Huxley In Memoriam

12. Requiem Canticles: Prelude

13. Requiem Canticles: Exaudi

14. Requiem Canticles: Dies Irae

15. Requiem Canticles: Tuba Mirum

16. Requiem Canticles: Interlude

17. Requiem Canticles: Rex Tremendae

18. Requiem Canticles: Lacrimosa

19. Requiem Canticles: Libera Me

20. Requiem Canticles: Postlude

21. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Reliquary

22. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Variation

23. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Lament

24. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Variation Continued

25. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Reliquary

26. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Coda

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Richard Strauss - Vier Letzte Lieder

"Richard Strauss was a boy of six when he wrote his first song, and an old man of 84 when he completed his last. In the intervening years he made a hugely successful career as a composer of symphonies, songs and operas, a master orchestrator and conductor. But it was the marriage of music and poetry – especially with the sound of the soprano voice in mind – to which he always returned, and his gloriously serene and transcendent Four Last Songs, written a year before his death, was to be his epitaph. 

"In 1948, Strauss felt himself slowing down. There was a new world order, he was old, and he felt tainted by the tribulations of the Second World War and the unfortunate appropriation of his music by the Third Reich. His individual, lushly Romantic style of composition was increasingly seen as old-fashioned in a post-war musical world that had rejected tonality. He’d even gone as far as making the self-deprecating remark: 'I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer!'

"However, he was not yet ready to put down his pen – his imagination had been caught by a piece by the lyric poet Josef von Eichendorff, 'Im Abendrot' ('In the Evening Glow'), and he set to work turning it into an orchestral song. It was to be the final song in the set that became known as the 'Four Last Songs', and within five months it was followed by 'Spring', 'September' and 'Going To Sleep'. 

"Into them Strauss poured the most fundamental aspects of his musical personality – a rainbow of orchestral colour, radiant lyricism and his life-long love affair with the soprano voice. And it was as if his life had come full circle: during 'Im Abendrot', he quotes from his tone-poem 'Tod Und Verklärung' ('Death And Transfiguration'), written in his 20s. A year later, as he lay fatally ill from a series of heart attacks, he calmly claimed, 'Dying is just like I composed it in 'Tod und Verklärung'.' 

"Strauss’s last wish was that his swansong should be premiered by the Wagnerian soprano, Kirsten Flagstad. Sadly, he died eight months before his wish came true. The 'Four Last Songs' was first heard in London in May 1950, performed by Flagstad, the Philharmonia and Wilhelm Furtwängler. It is the apotheosis of Strauss’s life and work: a man who, having lived to the full, contemplates eternity with perfect equanimity." (From the Classic FM website. Link here.)

Performers: Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan, Anna Tomowa-Sintow

1. Vier Letzte Lieder: Frühling
2. Vier Letzte Lieder: September
3. Vier Letzte Lieder: Beim Schlafengehen
4. Vier Letzte Lieder: Im Abendrot
5. Die Heiligen Drei Konige Aus Morgenland, Op. 56 No. 6
6. Cappricio, Op. 85: Mondschein-Musik
7. Cappricio, Op. 85: Monolog Der Gräfin

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Othmar Schoeck - Lieder

"'I still have a strong desire to sing his songs, even though every performance outside of Switzerland seems to meet with misunderstanding or a condescending failure of appreciation ('Helvetism', 'Provincialism').' This declaration by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau strikes to the heart of a problem. touching on a particularly sore point. Throughout his lifetime Othmar Schoeck suffered from a diminution in stature to that of an imitator — relegated to the rank of a footnote to such earlier giants as Schumann. Brahms and Wolf. His critics looked down on him as someone who had largely failed to recognize the signs of his time or, at least, had failed to play an active pad in it. Instead, they regarded him as having his view directed backwards to the past. as being stuck in the Romantic world of 19th-century song. 

"In Fischer-Dieskau's words, the singer must 'invest more in his assignment than he can hope to effect in its external presentation'. Singing Schoeck presupposes extensive experience with Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Wolf. but simultaneously it requires a clear understanding of early 20th-century music, with its melancholy, fin-de-siecle awareness of loss and alienation in a new world. 

"Keller's poem 'Ein Tagewerk I' ('A Day's Work I') focuses on this sense of loss: 'Jedoch mein Lied — es rang sich nicht zu Tee' ('But my song — it did not come to light'). The time is past when one could find one's song in the Romantic forests! Meyer's Reisefantasie longs for a return to the Middle Ages of castles and fortresses. For stalwart chivalry and a potent backdrop to life, instead of a weary zeitgeist that weighed down Meyer's feeling of aliveness to the point of depression. Many aspects of Schoeck reveal a spiritual affinity with this poet; or was it purely coincidental that he ended his Eichendorff cycle op. 20 with 'Nachruf' ('Obituary'), whose central strophe reads: 'Was wollen wir nun singen / hier in der Emsamkeit, / wenn alle von uns gingen, / die unser Lied ertreutl?' ('What is now the point of singing here and in solitude, when all have departed from us who took pleasure in our song?'). 

"No other interpreter could compare with Fischer-Dieskau in his ability to recapture the Romantic worlds of Eichendorff and Mörike and, simultaneously, to express the awareness of the loss of these worlds that resonates in Schoeck's lieder. Romanticism, insofar as it appears in these works as carefree happiness, is never taken by Fischer-Dieskau at face value; rather it is approached with a differentiated declamation that questions Romanticism's contradictory nature: an approach inclined to passionate outbursts, to the engagement of his whole artistic personality, to recreating emotional upheaval and blissful assuagement. The sound of his voice here takes on an unaccustomed brightness and softness, in combination with a suggestive lightness of articulation. There is nothing superficial to distract the attention — on the contrary, this is internalized singing, so to speak, that concentrates on the finest nuances of colour, on text-responsive diction, on carefully controlled vocal and verbal gestures. The sense is always perceptible behind the vocal timbre, a feeling not only for beauty or melancholy but also for its underlying poetic foundation." (Werner Pfister, tr. Richard Evidon. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Margrit Weber, Karl Engel

1. Ein Tagewerk I, Op. 55 No. 23/I
2. Ein Tagewerk I, Op. 55 No. 23/II
3. Frühgesicht, Op. 55 No. 17
4. Reisefantasie, Op. 60 No. 3
5. Das Ende Des Festes, Op. 60 No. 15
6. Nachruf, Op. 20 No. 14
7. Jugendgedenken, Op. 24b No. 10
8. Peregrina II, Op. 17 No. 4
9. Auf Ein Kind, Op. 20 No. 1
10. Dämmrung Senkte Sich, Op. 19a No. 2
11. Ach, Wie Schön, Op. 33 No. 1
12. Nachklang, Op. 19b No. 1
13. Höre Den Rat, Op. 19b No. 5
14. Venezianisches Epigramm, Op. 19b No. 13
15. Jetzt Rede Du, Op. 60 No. 28
16. Auskunft, Op. 8 No. 3
17. Aus Zwei Tälern, Op. 8 No. 2
18. Kennst Du Das Auch?, Op. 24b No. 4
19. Ravenna I, Op. 24b No. 9
20. Das Ziel, Op. 24b No. 8
21. Keine Rast, Op. 24b No. 7
22. Kindheit, Op. 31 No. 2
23. Im Kreuzgang Von Santo Stefano, Op. 31 No. 3
24. Liederzyklus, Op. 44: I. Nachtgefühl
25. Liederzyklus, Op. 44: II. Magie Der Farben
26. Liederzyklus, Op. 44: III. Verwelkende Rosen
27. Liederzyklus, Op. 44: IV. Abends
28. Liederzyklus, Op. 44: V. Mittag Im September
29. Liederzyklus, Op. 44: VI. Blauer Schmetterling
30. Liederzyklus, Op. 44: VII. Pfeifen
31. Liederzyklus, Op. 44: VIII. Sommernacht
32. Liederzyklus, Op. 44: IX. Für Ninon
33. Liederzyklus, Op. 44: X. Vergänglichkeit

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Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Missae Papae Marcelli; Motets

"Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli enjoys an almost mythical reputation. The first six-part work published by the composer, and the only one overtly dedicated to a pope – Marcellus II – it is also credited with having 'saved' polyphony by ensuring the 'intelligibility of text' that was one of the conditions for sacred music laid down by the Council of Trent. Having undergone numerous adaptations over the years, it is now perhaps the composer's best-known and most representative work, the subject of many recordings and academic studies.

"[...] Close study of the Missa Papae Marcelli and its historical-ecclesiastical context reveals that its composer was a man who lived with an eye to the future. He accepted the challenge implied in the Council of Trent’s deliberations on sacred music, and set out to find a new idiom that would meet the Church’s new needs.

"Today, paradoxically, we find ourselves in a similar situation. The last ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, Vatican II, called on us to engage in dialogue with modern culture: only a superficial and ideological understanding of its reforms would conclude that this implied jettisoning the Church’s rich legacy of liturgical music. Our challenge is to combine this with the demands of the modern world, and that means learning from all the studies of Renaissance polyphony and Gregorian chant in order to find ways of translating the notes on the page into patterns of sound as part of our liturgical celebrations. 

"The history of the Sistine Chapel Choir tells us that its period of greatest splendour was achieved when it was 'living in the present', experimenting with new idioms, employing some of the finest singers in Europe, and working in true partnership with the Church. Over the years, however, it increasingly began to see its function as one of 'conservation' and to associate its greatness with its glorious past, convinced that any novelty – including semiological studies and Vatican II – was to be avoided or ignored. It therefore began to go into decline, overly concerned as it was with cultivating and conserving outdated performance practices that had nothing in fact to do with 'early music'.

"Our quest for aesthetic relevance and our efforts to be 'unfaithfully faithful' to a long-distant world demand daily study, research and experimentation. This is how we have to respond to Vatican II’s demands in respect of the Church’s rich musical heritage, by restoring an authentically original sound to the liturgy, balancing an awareness of the past with an understanding of the present. That 'living' sound – our music – can then inspire the worshippers of today as they travel the path of faith." (Massimo Palombella, tr. Susannah Howe. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina, Massimo Palombella

1. Missa Papae Marcelli: Kyrie
2. Missa Papae Marcelli: Gloria
3. Missa Papae Marcelli: Credo
4. Missa Papae Marcelli: Sanctus
5. Missa Papae Marcelli: Agnus Dei
6. Tu Es Pastor Ovium
7. O Bone Iesu
8. Confitemini Domino
9. Ad Te Levavi Oculos Meos
10. Benedixisti, Domine
11. Veritas Mea Et Misericordia Mea
12. Iubilate Deo
13. Confirma Hoc, Deus
14. Ave Maria

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