Performer: Benjamin Appl, James Baillieu
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Alpha
Catalogue: ALPHA912
Release: 2023
Size: 1.29 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. anon.: I will give my love an apple
02. Fauré: Requiem: In Paradisum
03. anon.: The Lord God had planted a garden in Eden
04. Gurney: The Apple Orchard
05. anon.: The Lord God Took the Man and Put Him in the Garden of Eden
06. Wolf: Ganymed (No. 50 from Goethe-Lieder)
07. Weill: Youkali
08. anon.: It is not Good for the Man to Be Alone
09. Poulenc: L’offrande
10. anon.: Gardens of pleasure
11. Hahn: A Chloris
12. Strauss: Das Rosenband, Op. 36 No. 1
13. Wolf: An die Geliebte (No. 32 from Mörike-Lieder)
14. anon.: Adam and His Wife Were Both Naked, and They Felt No Shame
15. Quilter: Now sleeps the crimson petal, Op. 3 No. 2 (Tennyson)
16. anon.: And They Became One Flesh
17. Wolf: Und willst du deinen Liebsten sterben sehen (No. 17 from Italienisches Liederbuch)
18. Debussy: La chevelure
19. anon.: You’re Free to Eat From Any Tree in the Garden
20. Poulenc: Couplets bachiques
21. Schoenberg: Brettllieder: No. 7, Arie Aus dem Spiegel von Arkadien “Seit ich so viele Weiber sah”
22. Casucci: The Fruit of the Tree Was Pleasing ro the Eye / Just a Gigolo (Arr. for Voice and Piano by James Baillieu)
23. Grieg: To a Devil, EG154
24. anon.: Now the Serpent Was More Crafty Than Any of the Wild Animals
25. Poulenc: Le serpent (for Le Bestiaire)
26. anon.: But of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil You Shall Not Eat
27. Schumann: Loreley Op. 53 No. 2 (August Wilhelmine Lorenz)
28. Schumann: Frühlingsfahrt, Op. 45 No. 2
29. anon.: You will be like God, knowing good and evil
30. Mendelssohn, Fanny: Lieder, Op. 9: Die None
31. Brühne: She Took of Its Fruit and Ate / Kann Denn Liebe Sünde Sein
32. Heggie: The Snake
33. anon.: The Eyes of Both of Them Were Opened
34. Schubert: Heidenröslein, D257
35. Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrade, D118
36. Eisler: Balladenbuch, Op. 18: No. 2, Die Ballade zum Paragraphen 218
37. anon.: The Serpent Tricked Me, and I Ate
38. Schumann: Wer nie sein Brot mit Tränen ass, Op. 98a No. 4
39. anon.: He Placed Cherubim To Guard the Way To the Tree of Life
40. Fauré: Requiem: In Paradisum
41. Mahler: Urlicht (from Symphony No. 2)
Temptation, prohibition, good, evil… ‘how relevant are these in today’s world?’ asks Benjamin Appl. With the complicity of pianist James Baillieu, we are taken on a musical arc from simple folk songs through to the great song composers such as Schubert, Schumann and Wolf, along the way visiting the Impressionists Debussy and Poulenc, exploring ‘new objectivity’ with Weill and Eisler and enjoying compositions by Casucci, Heggie and others. The metaphor of forbidden fruit gives Benjamin and James a wide ran ge of possible interpretations. Whilst some of the song settings centre on sensuality, others focus on socially immoral topics such as incest or sensitive subjects such as abortion. The German baritone embodies each of these stories with a passion and dram atic sense that makes this album a kaleidoscopic and astonishing journey through time and space.