Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Stephan Genz, Roger Vignoles
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Catalogue: CDA67055
Release: 1999
Size: 237 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. An die Hoffnung, Op. 94
Lieder, Op. 52
02. IV. Maigesang
03. Adelaide, Op. 46
04. Der Liebende, WoO 139
05. Klage, WoO 113
Lieder, Op. 75
06. II. Neue Liebe, neues Leben
Lieder von Gellert, Op. 48
07. I. Bitten
08. II. Die Liebe des Nächsten
09. III. Vom Tode
10. IV. Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur
11. V. Gottes Macht und Vorsehung
12. VI. Busslied
Lieder, Op. 75
13. III. Aus Goethes Faust
14. Wonne der Wehmut, Op. 83 No. 1
15. Sehnsucht, Op. 83, 2
Lieder, Op. 52
16. III. Das Liedchen von der Ruhe
17. An die Geliebte, WoO 140
18. An die ferne Geliebte (To the distant beloved), Op. 98
While Beethoven remains the single most influential figure in the history of Western music, his songs have always been somewhat sidelined. He saw music as a world of infinite possibilities, largely unencumbered by textual concerns, but when issues about which he felt strongly enough to express them through a sung text did occur the results were remarkable. At the large end of the scale we have the Ninth Symphony finale, Fidelio, and the Missa Solemnis. And then there are some eighty fascinating Lieder. This charming recital of many rarely-performed songs includes the monumental An die ferne Geliebte cycle, and the six Gellert settings. Although many of Beethoven’s own settings are essentially strophic in nature, his songs mark the first moves towards the ‘through-composed’ form later perfected by Schubertthe inherent simplicity of the strophic model was far too limited in scope for someone of Beethoven’s profound musical intelligence. The supreme effort of producing these songs seems to have come from an elemental desire to express his innermost feelingsthere is little surviving evidence of any formal performances of Beethoven’s songs during his own lifetime.