Marlis Petersen / Anke Vondung / Werner Güra / Konrad Jarnot / Christoph Berner / Camillo Radicke SCHUMANN Spanische Liebeslieder op. 138

The Liederspiel was an early 19th-century genre in which songs, often on well-known texts, were added into plays. Schumann revived the form in 1849 with the three works presented on this recording, but without including any dialogue. Each work requires a vocal quartet, but unlike Brahms’s much more familiar sets of Liebeslieder Waltzer , most of the musical numbers are solo songs or duets, with relatively few full-ensemble settings. The texts—10 translations apiece by Emanuel Geibel of 15th- and 16th-century Spanish love poetry in opp. 74 and 138, and eight Rückert love poems in op. 101—present no apparent narrative, but the perceptive Schumann biographer John Daverio points out the outline of a dramatic progression in op. 74 “from the first meeting of the lovers to the burgeoning of their love in the form of grief, from their fear that neither returns the other’s feelings to union in mutual bliss.”  

In the excellent booklet notes, Roman Hinke cites the “imitation of Spanish color” as a musical link between op. 74 and 138, but to my ear, Schumann’s attempts at capturing a Spanish musical flavor take the form of a few generically ethnic flourishes—a recurrence of minor keys, changing meters in op. 138’s piano interlude, occasional repeated chords that may signify guitar strumming—so subtle as to be an almost negligible element in the music. The baritone’s wild song “Der Contrabandiste,” included as an appendix to op. 74, is the most exotic piece here. Its middle section sounds like Klezmer music.  

As with quite a few other late Schumann works, the Liederspiele invent their own unclassifiable, hybrid genre. They’re not exactly song cycles, the Spanish text origins don’t result in a strong Spanish musical influence, and the vocal quartet sings together only occasionally, but what matters is that the three collections offer consistently delightful music, an entertaining variety of moods, and, in this performance, a showcase for some bright, healthy singing and unfailingly stylish and sensitive piano playing.
Some of the reticence and occasional bleakness of Schumann’s late style is here, but there is also infectious good humor, particularly in the pieces for full quartet, and there are many examples of the uniquely touching quality that Schumann achieves in his best songs, early and late.
The most memorable song in op. 101 is the heartfelt “Mein schöner Stern” with its almost painfully surging opening phrase. It is beautifully sung by tenor Werner Güra with finely focused sound and a minimum of vibrato, but the performance by Elly Ameling in her classic 1967 Schumann recital with Jörg Demus on Harmonia Mundi remains unsurpassed. The most striking singing here comes from the radiant soprano Marlis Petersen, Natalie Dessay’s last-minute replacement in the Metropolitan Opera’s Hamlet last season and a fine Pamina on René Jacobs’s new Zauberflöte recording. Konrad Jarnot phrases well, but his so-called bass baritone is a light, slender instrument. His solo in op. 138, “Flutenreicher Ebro,” a delightfully Schubertian strophic song, is given a much more satisfying (and slower) performance by a real bass-baritone, William Warfield, on an old recording with the duo pianists Gold and Fizdale along with the great tenor Léopold Simoneau, who sounds awkward in this repertoire and has very strange German pronounciation.
Harmonia Mundi’s pairing of the two Spanish Liederspiele with the less familiar Minnespiel (Love Songs) makes great sense. The two “Spanish” works are more often combined with the Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzer on recordings and, surprisingly, this seems to be the first disc to include all three works. It’s a delightful disc with vibrant recorded sound that I’m certain will give great pleasure to all lovers of Schumann and German Lieder. (Paul Orgel)

Laurence Equilbey / Insula Orchestra / Accentus MOZART Requiem

Laurence Equilbey's 2014 Naïve release of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's unfinished Requiem in D minor belongs to the category of historically informed performances, both in the actual execution and in the intentions of the performance. Obviously, presenting the Requiem with her hand-picked choir Accentus, and Insula, a small orchestra that uses original 18th century instruments, defines it as a period interpretation, and all the stylistic norms are observed. From the glossy senza vibrato of the strings to the crisp drum strokes of the timpani, and from the pure, fluid counterpoint of the small choir to the tasteful embellishments of the vocal soloists, everything sounds correct and polished to perfection. Yet Equilbey goes beyond the latest ideas of period practice to something more germane to the historical context, because she uses the oldest performing version that exists, the much-disparaged completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr. Hearing this version played in authentic Classical style (with only the slightest modifications for better voice-leading and orchestration), it is actually more convincing than several modern revisions, not merely because of the established provenance -- we know that Mozart gave instructions to Süssmayr, and presumably, they were followed closely -- but because no hypothetical sections or cleverly refashioned movements have been added. Ultimately, Süssmayr's completion works brilliantly when played well in period style, and the idea that Mozart communicated the essential music to his student seems to be validated in this extraordinary reading. Equilbey has complete control over the performance, and her gradations of dynamics and sectional balance prove that the Süssmayr version can be wonderful when the right artists perform it. Naïve's sound is a little variable at times, but over all, the balance between the singers and the orchestra is carefully maintained. (Blair Sanderson)

René Jacobs / Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Matthäus-Passion

"For the love of Bach and the glory of God," René Jacobs states in a sleevenote for his recording of the St Matthew Passion. A performance of overwhelming sincerity, it's not without controversy. Jacobs argues that at the first performance in Leipzig's Thomaskirche, the two groups of musicians were placed, not side by side as originally thought, but at opposite ends of the building, and that the second group was smaller than the first. The recording itself accordingly aims to approximate the spatial sound as it might have been heard by someone sitting near the front of the church. Not everyone will care for it, and some might also be surprised its sensuous immediacy and by Jacobs's ornate way with the recitatives. But the mix of drama and meditation is breathtakingly sustained and the choral singing astonishing in its beauty. Werner Güra is the impassioned Evangelist, Johannes Weisser the noble, charismatic Jesus. The classy lineup for the arias includes Bernarda Fink, Topi Lehtipuu and Konstantin Wolff, all at their absolute best. (Tim Ashley / The Guardian)

Among the finest early music conductors, René Jacobs has recorded many of the great choral works and operas of the Baroque and Classical eras, almost exclusively for Harmonia Mundi. Yet he has waited decades to record J.S. Bach's towering masterpiece, the St. Matthew Passion, despite having studied and performed it many times throughout his career, first as a boy soprano, then years later as a countertenor and conductor. Fortunately, this 2013 release is well worth the wait, and Jacobs has produced a magnificent multichannel version that is a treasure for audiophiles and connoisseurs of this hallowed work. The large box set houses two SACDs and a DVD, along with a thick booklet, so the St. Matthew Passion is given a thorough presentation, and the recording offers clear instrumental details, rich choral textures, and full presence for the soloists. The RIAS Kammerchor and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin deliver majestic performances of the choruses in authentic period style, and tenor Werner Güra as the Evangelist and bass Johannes Weisser as Jesus are well-matched in their fluid vocal quality and intense dramatic feeling. But the whole feels much greater than the sum of its parts, and the experience of hearing this extraordinary performance is overwhelming, both intellectually and emotionally. This set is highly recommended as one of the best recordings of 2013. (Blair Sanderson)