Notes and Editorial Reviews
WEIT FLOG ICH
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Ildikó Raimondi (sop); Evelyn Peña Comas (flute); Werner Wölbern (reciter); Michael Lessky, cond, Vienna Youth Phil
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GRAMOLA 98891 (56:12)
MAHLER
Des Knaben Wunderhorn:
Wer hat dies Liedel erdacht; Rheinlegendchen; Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen.
DEHMEL
Ein Stelldichein.
SCHOENBERG
Ein
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Stelldichein.
Gurrelieder:
Lied der Waldtaube.
WEBERN
4 Lieder.
NONO
Epitaffio per Federico García Lorca:
Y su sangre ya viene cantando.
1
This disc barely pauses between tracks, giving the impression of a musical tapestry, merging from Mahler into Schoenberg, to Webern and Nono, before returning to Schoenberg’s Mahleresque epic,
Gurrelieder
. It is a neat trick in a fascinating, eclectic recital of vocal and instrumental pieces from, or influenced by, the Second Viennese School. The main point of interest, though, is Thomas Pernes’s orchestration of Webern’s Four Songs, op. 12, from poems by Rosegger, Bethge, Strindberg, and Goethe. Executed with real imagination and sensitivity to vocal lines, Pernes creates a suitably shifting nocturnal world, not always conveyed in Webern’s original piano score. It helps that Ildikó Raimondi sings them with a darker tone than normally heard.
I find Werner Wölbern’s reciting of Dehmel’s
Ein Stelldichein
(A Tryst) rather mannered and, although a useful introduction to Schoenberg’s instrumental realization, the spoken voice here rather breaks the spell of this musical collage. Schoenberg’s dark, ethereal fragment is well performed here, but it will remain a minor work for him.
In contrast, Nono’s second
Epitaph for Federico Garcia Lorca
, for flute, strings, and percussion, is the most striking and substantial item. Written to be played between two choir works (Epitaphs 1 and 3), it acts as a powerful instrumental lament for his author friend. Nono’s spare, bleak style would almost feel out of place in this otherwise more wistful program, were it not the similarly intense, but lusher,
Gurrelieder
afterward. Flutist Evelyn Peña Comas plays with a wonderfully full-bodied, sensual sound, adding heat and unease to this piece.
Ildikó Raimondi’s voice is a beautiful if curious instrument. Although a soprano, the sheer darkness of her timbre makes the music seem transposed down. Her keen, expressive accounts of the Mahler songs sound like a mezzo Lucia Popp, although that is hardly a criticism. Like Popp, she is a delightful communicator, and her flexibility makes her an ideal choice for the high mezzo lines of the Wood Dove’s song from
Gurrelieder
, here given in its chamber orchestration. Raimondi gives a rapt performance, not quite in the Fassbaender league, but the ideal voice for this cleaner, pared-down accompaniment, and it makes a soaring end to the disc. The sound is clear and well balanced, with a slight halo around Raimondi’s shimmery voice. I wanted more definition for the chamber works, especially
Ein Stelldichein,
but otherwise this has been recorded with care. The Vienna Youth Philharmonic plays beautifully for Michael Lessky.
So basically top marks for the disc’s contents, but, damningly, there are no texts supplied! Fine, I have copies of
Des Knaben Wunderhorn
and
Gurrelieder
to refer to, but how many people have a volume of Dehmel on their shelf? Likewise, there are few other recordings of the Webern songs from which to use the texts. This. Is. Not. Good. Enough. And preposterous for a highbrow program that is focused so closely on text and song. Instead of Gramola paying an actor to recite
Ein Stelldichein
, I would have so much preferred just to have been able to read it, while listening to Schoenberg’s interpretation. Here also is the strangest omission. Who is playing this quintet for piano, violin, cello, oboe, and clarinet? Sloppily, no one is credited. Also, are these
all
world premiere recordings, as proclaimed, misleadingly, on the cover? Despite mentions of chamber versions of
Des Knaben Wunderhorn
, we are never told if these are the versions recorded. To me the orchestra sounds hardly any less full-bodied than usual. It is certainly not the first
Ein Stelldichein
to have been recorded, either. Still, these are delightful performances full of life and color, and imaginatively programmed. So long as Gramola cleans up its act on presentation, I can recommend this.
FANFARE: Barnaby Rayfield
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Works on This Recording
1.
Ein Stelldichein by Spoken Word
Venue: Wien, Ehrbar Saal
Length: 1 Minutes 52 Secs.
2.
Ein Stelldichein (fragment, completed by Cerha) by Arnold Schoenberg
Conductor:
Michael Lessky
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1905; Austria
Venue: Wien, Ehrbar Saal
Length: 8 Minutes 7 Secs.
3.
Lieder (4), for voice & orchestra (after Mahler's Op. 12) by Thomas Pernes
Performer:
Ildikó Raimondi ()
Conductor:
Michael Lessky
Period: Contemporary
Venue: Wien, Ehrbar Saal
Length: 5 Minutes 20 Secs.
4.
Epitaffio per Federico García Lorca: no 2, Y su sangre ya viene cantando by Luigi Nono
Performer:
Evelyn Pena Comas (Flute)
Conductor:
Michael Lessky
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1951-1953
Venue: Wien, Ehrbar Saal
Length: 15 Minutes 5 Secs.
5.
Gurrelieder: Lied der Waldtaube by Arnold Schoenberg
Performer:
Ildikó Raimondi ()
Conductor:
Michael Lessky
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1900-1911; Vienna, Austria
Venue: Wien, Ehrbar Saal
Length: 12 Minutes 18 Secs.
6.
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: no 4, Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht? by Gustav Mahler
Performer:
Ildikó Raimondi ()
Conductor:
Michael Lessky
Period: Romantic
Written: 1892-1898; Hamburg, Germany
Venue: Wien, Ehrbar Saal
Length: 2 Minutes 12 Secs.
7.
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: no 7, Rheinlegendchen by Gustav Mahler
Performer:
Ildikó Raimondi ()
Conductor:
Michael Lessky
Period: Romantic
Written: 1892-1898; Hamburg, Germany
Venue: Wien, Ehrbar Saal
Length: 3 Minutes 12 Secs.
8.
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: no 9, Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen by Gustav Mahler
Performer:
Ildikó Raimondi ()
Conductor:
Michael Lessky
Period: Romantic
Written: 1892-1898; Hamburg, Germany
Venue: Wien, Ehrbar Saal
Length: 7 Minutes 36 Secs.
Sound Samples
Des Knaben Wunderhorn (text by A. von Arnim): No. 4. Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht?
Des Knaben Wunderhorn (text by A. von Arnim): No. 7. Rheinlegendchen
Des Knaben Wunderhorn (text by A. von Arnim): No. 9. Wo die schonen Trompeten blasen
4 Songs, Op. 12 (arr. T. Pernes): No. 1. Der Tag ist vergangen
4 Songs, Op. 12 (arr. T. Pernes): No. 2. Die geheimnisvolle Flote
4 Songs, Op. 12 (arr. T. Pernes): No. 3. Schien mir's, als ich sah die Sonne
4 Songs, Op. 12 (arr. T. Pernes): No. 4. Gleich und Gleich
3 Epitaffi per Federico Garcia Lorca: No. 2. Y su sangre ya viene cantando
Gurre-Lieder, Part I: Lied der Waldtaube (Song of Wood Dove) (version with chamber orchestra)
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