Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Peter Schubert
Performer: Roderick Williams, Iain Burnside
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Release: 2020
Size: 1 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Ludwig van Beethoven:
An die ferne Geliebte (To the distant beloved), Op. 98
01. No. 1, Auf dem Hügel sitz’ ich, spähend
02. No. 2, Wo die Berge so blau
03. No. 3, Leichte Segler in den Höhen
04. No. 4, Diese Wolken in den Höhen
05. No. 5, Es kehret der Maien, es blühet die Au
06. No. 6, Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder
Franz Peter Schubert:
Schwanengesang, D957
07. No. 1, Liebesbotschaft
08. No. 2, Kriegers Ahnung
09. No. 3, Frühlingssehnsucht
10. No. 4, Ständchen
11. No. 5, Aufenthalt
12. No. 6, In der Ferne
13. No. 7, Abschied
14. No. 8, Der Atlas
15. No. 9, Ihr Bild
16. No. 10, Das Fischermädchen
17. No. 11, Die Stadt
18. No. 12, Am Meer
19. No. 13, Der Doppelgänger
20. No. 14, Die Taubenpost
Roderick Williams writes: “Although only twelve years separate the composition of Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte and Schubert’s Schwanengesang, the ethos and sound world of the two works are markedly different. Pairing them on the concert platform seemed an obvious choice on one hand, but I was reminded not to try to perform Beethoven in the way I perform Schubert. For one thing, the former still has the ring of the late classical, while the latter explores the darkness of the early romantic. For this reason, we decided to record the two works in slightly different soundscapes. In An die ferne Geliebte, the inventiveness of Beethoven is best expressed in the piano writing, while the vocal part is deliberately simple, strophic (the music is repeated for each stanza), and folk-like. …the sixth song states that these songs are offered ‘ohne Kunstgepräng’. And so we have set the voice slightly more distantly in the balance, giving the piano due prominence; the effect is almost as if I were singing over Iain’s shoulder. Schwanengesang is recorded more traditionally: in these most extraordinary and progressive songs the vocal line is supported by the piano, in equal partnership.”