My admiration for the German lyric soprano Elisabeth Grümmer
stretches back several years to when I heard her in the 1955 recording
of the Brahms German Requiem conducted by Rudolf Kempe, a classic
recording which has stood the test of time and is still highly regarded
by music lovers. Two years previously, she had sung the role of Anna
in a magnificent performance of
Don Giovanni, starring with
such stellar singers as Cesare Siepi, Anton Dermota and Lisa Della
Casa and conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler, a performance now
available on DVD.
Elisabeth Grümmer (1911-1986) made her operatic debut as a Flower
Maiden in a 1940 production of Parsifal in Aachen under Karajan. The
maestro was very taken by her and gave her considerable encouragement.
A promising career beckoned. As well as her many operatic roles, specializing
mainly in Mozart, Wagner and Richard Strauss, she was highly regarded
as a lieder singer. Yet it has to be said that her recorded legacy
contains few lieder, despite the fact that she gave many song recitals
throughout her illustrious career. In fact, in comparison to the other
German lyric soprano Elisabeth, who had the good fortune to be Mrs
Legge, her recorded discography is not very prolific. This is remedied,
to some extent, with the release of unpublished live material.
Here we have a selection of lieder and operatic arias by Mozart, a
composer Grümmer excelled in. The CD was previously released
as part of a six-CD box set entitled ‘Great Singers Live’,
celebrating sixty years of the Munich Radio Orchestra, so this single
disc is very welcome. The recordings are taken from the archives of
Bavarian Radio, dating from between 1956 and 1962. Grümmer was
now well into her forties, but her voice was still radiant, fresh
and technically secure. By 1964, many noticed some vocal deterioration;
it had, by this time, lost much of its bloom and quality in the upper
register, and some noted a certain hardening of the timbre. None of
this is present here.
The first seven tracks are devoted to lieder, very sensitively accompanied
by Hans Altmann. The highlight for me is
Abendempfindung KV523.
It is exquisitely sung, with warmth and purity of tone. I much preferred
it to the Schwarzkopf version with Walter Gieseking, for its spontaneity
and naturalness. The other lieder fare extremely well and I wholeheartedly
concur with the
Grove Book of Opera, which emphasizes her
’beautiful
voice, clarity of diction and innate musicianship’.
Un moto di gioia KV 579 is extremely well-characterized. My
only criticism of the lieder group would be
Der Sylphe des Friedens
(
Ridente la calma) KV 152/210 which seems to suffer from a
certain strain and harshness of tone in high tessitura. All the songs
are sung in German except for KV 579.
The remainder of the CD consists of arias from the four main operas.
Apart from two arias from
Cosi fan tutte, which are sung in
Italian, Grümmer sings in German. The two arias from
Le nozze
di Figaro, in which Grümmer sings the role of the Countess,
are distinguished by warmth, tenderness and sensitivity. Beauty of
tone and exquisite phrasing are a hallmark throughout. In the two
arias from
Cosi, I did not feel that Grümmer was as comfortable
singing in Italian and some of the diction sounded astringent. In
the duet, Waldemar Kmentt in the role of Ferrando, is splendid. Pamina’s
aria from
Die Zauberflöte is sensitively sculpted with
Grümmer achieving a purity of tone and graceful simplicity. It
is a captivating performance.
This is a valuable collection of Mozart lieder and arias, sung by
a soprano who, despite not being as well known as the likes of Schwarzkopf,
Janowitz and Della Casa, deserves a wider audience. Considering the
age of the BR recordings, the sound is excellent. Thomas Voigt has
provided illuminating liner-notes. However, I was disappointed that
texts and translations of the works were not supplied.
Stephen Greenbank
Full Track-Listing
Warnung (‘Manner suchen stets zu naschen’) KV 433 rec.
8.12. 1956
1
Der Zauberer (‘Ihr Madchen, flieht Damoten ja!’) KV 472
rec. 8.12.1956
1
Der Sylphe dse Friedens (‘Ridente la calma’) KV 152/210a
rec. 8.12.1956
1
Das Veilchen KV 476 rec. 1.4.1960
1
Die Verschweigung KV 518 rec. 1.4.1960
1
Abendempfindung KV 523 rec. 1.4.1960
1
Un moto di gioia KV 579 rec. 1.4.1960
1
Le nozze di Figaro
Und Susanna kommt nicht - Wohin flohin die Wonnestunden?
(Rezitativ und Arie der Grafin) rec. 3.7.1962
3
Hor mein Fleh’n, o Gott der Liebe
(Kavatine der Grafin) rec. 14.1.1962
4
Don Giovanni
Ich grausam? O nein, Geliebter
(Rezitativ und Arie der Donna Anna) rec. 14.1.1962
4
Cosi fan tutte
Temerari! Sortite fuori - Come scoglio immoto resta
(Rezitativ und Arie der Fiordiligi) rec. 3.7.1962
3
Ei parte,senti, ah no! - Perpieta, ben mio, perdona
(Rezitativ und Rondo der Fiordiligi) rec. 3.7.1962
3
Seinen Armen eil’ ich entgegen
(Duett Fiordiligi - Ferrando) rec. 14.1.1962
24
Die Zauberflöte
Ach, ich fuhl, es ist entschwunden
(Arie der Pamina) rec. 3.7.1962
3
Hans Altmann
1 (piano)
Waldemar Kmentt
2 (tenor)
Munchner Rundfunkorchester/Kurt Eichhorn
3, Horst Stein
4
Recording details
Munich, Seidlhaus, 8 Dec 1956 (Tracks 1-3), Munich Lothstrasse 1 April
1960 (Tracks 5-7), Munich, Haus des Sports 3 July 1962 (Tracks 8,11,12,14),
Munich, Kongressaal des Deutschen Museums 14 Jan 1962 (Tracks 9,10,13)
