Composer: Walter Braunfels, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Joseph Marx, Hans Pfitzner
Performer: Juliane Banse
Orchestra: Münchner Rundfunkorchester
Conductor: Sebastian Weigle
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BR Klassik
Catalogue: 900322
Release: 2017
Size: 553 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Marx: Lieder und Gesänge, Vol. 3
01. No. 2, Waldseligkeit (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
Marx: Lieder und Gesänge, Vol. 1(Version for Voice & Orchestra)
02. No. 24, Und gestern hat er mir Rosen gebracht
03. No. 17, Marienlied
Marx: Lieder und Gesänge, Vol. 2
04. No. 3, Der bescheidene Schäfer (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
Marx: Lieder und Gesänge, Vol. 3
05. No. 9, Selige Nacht (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
Marx: Italienisches Liederbuch
06. No. 2, Ständchen
Marx: Lieder und Gesänge, Vol. 1
07. No. 22, Sommerlied (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
Braunfels: 3 Chinesische Gesänge, Op. 19
08. No. 1, Die Einsame
09. No. 2, Ein Jüngling denkt an die Geliebte
10. No. 3, Die Geliebte des Kriegers
Korngold: 6 Einfache Lieder, Op. 9 (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
11. No. 1, Schneeglöckchen
12. No. 3, Das Ständchen
13. No. 4, Liebesbriefchen
14. No. 6, Sommer
Pfitzner: Lieder, Op. 11
15. No. 4, Venus mater (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
Pfitzner: Lieder, Op. 26
16. No. 4, Trauerstille (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
Pfitzner: Lieder, Op. 11
17. No. 5, Gretel (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
18. Pfitzner: Untreu und Trost (version for voice and orchestra)
Pfitzner: Lieder, Op. 26
19. No. 2, Nachts (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
Juliane Banse’s current concept album, entitled “Love’s Embrace”, is devoted to orchestral Lieder of the early twentieth century and presents works and composers who have been very unjustly forgotten. The romantic lyrics have catchy melodies and lightweight orchestration; they are easily on a par with the well-known orchestral Lieder by Mahler or Strauss. An excellent opportunity to regain familiarity with Late Romantic orchestral Lieder by Hans Pfitzner, Joseph Marx, Walter Braunfels and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and to experience them in exemplary interpretations. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Golden Age of the orchestral piano Lied and the original orchestral Lied had begun – with Hugo Wolf and, above all, Gustav Mahler. “Away with the piano!” was the latter’s fierce demand: “We moderns need a larger device to express our thoughts, whether great or small.” Richard Strauss, Hans Pfitzner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Max Reger thought and composed in very much the same manner as such now-forgotten and soon to be finally rediscovered masters as Joseph Marx or Walter Braunfels. Together with the Munich Rundfunkorchester conducted by Sebastian Weigle, Juliane Banse recorded the orchestral Lieder in a studio production by the Bayerische Rundfunk in March 2015.
Behind a rather mundane album cover hides a wonderfully interesting record, with rare – extremely rare in fact – orchestral Lieder from Joseph Marx, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Hans Pfitzner and Walter Braunfels, four composers who all lived and worked from the very end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century. But don’t get confused: these are not Lieder that were initially written for piano and orchestrated later on (either by the composer himself or someone else), but rather Lieder imagined from the very beginning for the ample sound of orchestra, on which the singing sits – although some were initially written with piano notes, most likely to facilitate editing, or maybe to be more easily apprehended by new listeners. In all of these composers’ works you’ll most likely hear reminiscences of Wagner, Strauss maybe (who was their contemporary, but incredibly influent from his first maturity), Mahler of course, Puccini, or even Elgar at times (in Braunfels’ specifically), but each of these four composers possess their own personal language, their own orchestral touch, their own harmonic framework. Marx in particular was – rightly so – considered as a magician of rich harmony, so how in the world has he disappeared from radars for so long, even though during his time he was the most popular Austrian composer in his own country? Maybe because of some intrusive homonymies with a certain political agitator and a New York family comedy act? Nevertheless Juliane Banse offers us here a nice and broad selection of works we would absolutely love to hear live!