Composer: Igor Stravinsky
Performer: Fritz Wunderlich, Doris Schade, Chor des Süddeutschen Rundfunks, Chor des Hessischen Rundfunks, Schwanheimer Kinderchor
Orchestra: Sinfonie-Orchesters des Hessischen Rundfunks
Conductor: Dean Dixon
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Audite
Catalogue: AUDITE95619
Release: 2011
Size: 141 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Persephone (sung in German)
01. The Abduction of Persephone
02. Persephone in the Underworld
03. Persephone Reborn
Tenor legend Fritz Wunderlich and the great German actress Doris Schade in Stravinsky’s rarely performed lyrical melodrama – a unique document from 1960.
Fritz Wunderlich sings Stravinsky – a rare combination! Not only is the combination of singer and work an unusual one, but the work itself also is, and has always been, a rarely performed part of Stravinsky’s oeuvre. The part of Eumolpius, Greek for “he who sings beautifully”, in Igor Stravinsky’s Perséphone could have become Fritz Wunderlich’s calling card if he had sung it more than the once, in 1960, for the Hessische Rundfunk in Frankfurt am Main. Dean Dixon, who was the first Afro-American to become chief conductor of a German Radio Symphony Orchestra in the following year, had programmed this virtually unknown jewel by Stravinsky. The great German actress Doris Schade took on the speaking part of Perséphone. This lyrical melodrama, based on a text by André Gide, was written during Stravinsky’s neo-classical period, its subject matter being the ancient classical myth of death and re-birth. The rewarding tenor role of the priest live recording 1960
Eumolpius presents Fritz Wunderlich at the pinnacle of his art. This live recording of this rarely performed work is a unique document and closes a gap in the discographic legacy of the singer who died so prematurely.
Perséphone remains one of Stravinsky’s most obscure works. It’s a hybrid form in the way Oedipus Rex is: in this case the elements include melodrama (music accompanying spoken text), ballet, and singers: a tenor soloist, chorus, and children’s choir. It’s not such a leap for listeners accustomed to the bizarre juxtapositions of Oedipus Rex to the even stranger combination of styles in Perséphone. This recording, taken from a live 1960 performance in Frankfurt, is released for the first time on Audite. The sound is obviously dated, but it is vibrant and clean, with a dramatically charged ambience. The work is performed in German, rather than in the original French of André Gide, but that doesn’t seem to have diminished its impact. Fritz Wunderlich is most often associated with Mozart and Viennese operetta, but he was committed to 20th century music and dove with enthusiasm into contemporary repertoire. It’s thrilling to hear a singer with a ringing, heroic voice of such inherent beauty and with such mastery of characterization tackle this often spiky material. Perséphone might have a higher reputation in the composer’s canon if it received more performances like Wunderlich’s. Actress Doris Schade is entirely convincing as the protagonist, conveying both her youthful impetuous enthusiasm and her womanly compassion. American conductor Dean Dixon draws precise and emotionally potent performances from Hessischen Rundfunks Symphony Orchestra and a number of German choirs. The musicality and sheer visceral drama of this performance probably make it the best recorded introduction to this rarity. It should be of special interest to the composer’s fan’s who don’t know the piece or have had lukewarm reactions to other recorded versions.