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Elisabeth Schumann – Lieder Recordings 1930–1938
Felix MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (1809 – 1847)
1. Auf Flügeln des Gesanges, Op. 34,
No. 2 [2:52]
Robert SCHUMANN (1810–1856)
2. Schneeglöckchen, Op. 76, No. 27 [1:26]
3. Der Nussbaum, Op. 25, No. 3 [2:53]
4. Er ist’s, Op. 79, No. 23 [1:18]
5. Aufträge, Op. 77, No. 5 [2:19]
6. Mondnacht, Op. 39, No. 5 [3:48]
7. Loreley, Op. 53, No. 2 [1:07]
8. Ständchen, Op. 36, No. 2 [1:37]
9. O ihr Herren, Op. 37, No. 3 [0:56]
10. Röselein, Röselein, Op. 89, No. 6 [2:18]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833–1897)
11. Wiegenlied, Op. 49, No. 4 [1:35]
12. Vergebliches Ständchen, Op. 84, No. 4 [1:34]
13. Nachtigall, Op. 97, No. 1 [2:27]
14. Der Jäger, Op. 95, No. 4 [0:56]
15. Sandmännchen, V.K. No. 4 [2:54]
16. Der Tod, das ist die kühle Nacht, Op. 96, No.
1 [2:56]
17. Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer, Op. 105, No.
2 [3:03]
18. Wiegenlied, Op. 49, No. 4 [1:59]
19. Das Mädchen spricht, Op. 107, No. 3 [1:23]
20. Der MOnd steht über dem Berge, Op. 106, No. 1
[1:50]
Die schöne Magelone, Op. 33:-
21. No. 9: Ruhe, Süssliebchen [4:26]
22. An eine Äolsharfe, Op. 19, No. 5 [4:11]
23. Bitteres zu sagen denkst du, Op.
32, No. 7 [2:04]
24. Blinde Kuh, Op. 58, No. 1 [1:13]
25. Erlaube mir, fein’s Mädchen, D.V.
No. 2 [1:18]
26. Wie komm’ ich denn zur Tür herein? D.V.
No. 34 [1:39]
27. In stiller Nacht, D.V. No. 42 [3:10]
28. Mein Mädel hat einen Rosenmund, D.V. No. 25 [2:04]
29. Da unten im Tale, D.V. No. 6 [2:05]
30. Schwesterlein, D.V. No. 15 [2:54]
31. Och Moder, ich well en Ding han!, D.V. No. 33
[1:36]
 Elisabeth
Schumann (soprano)
orchestra/Leo Rosenek (1); George Reeves (piano) (2-5,
7-14, 19-20), Karl Alwin (piano) (6), Gerald Moore (piano)
(15-16), orchestra/Walter Goehr (17-18), Leo Rosenek (piano)
(21-31)
rec. 18 February 1930 (2-5), 7 September 1932 (6), 27 November
1933 (7-8), 23 June 1934 (1), 26 February 1935 (11-12), 19
November 1935 (13-14), 7 September 1936 (15-16), 11 March
1937 (17-18), 29 November 1937 (9-10, 19-20), 1 June 1938
(21), 2 July 1938 (22), 6 July 1938 (23-24), 8 July 1938
(25-31)
D.V. =Deutsche Volkslieder; V.K. Volks-Kinderlieder
NAXOS 8.111099 [67:50] |
Few if any singers in recorded history have invested such feeling,
so many nuances in their Lieder singing as Elisabeth Schumann.
Whatever song one picks from her large output one finds the
same deeply considered reading paired with tangible spontaneity.
Schwarzkopf and Fischer-Dieskau from more recent times are
in the same league but both of them appear more calculating.
On the debit side one can mention the actual sounds she produces.
I have commented on her overdone portamenti before,
her tendency to slide from one note to the next, which either
can sound sentimental or, at worst, create a feeling of her
being out of tune. At times her tone can also be shrill and
glaring, but this is more than compensated for by the charm,
the personality and very often by a bell-like purity. Different
listeners react differently of course and appreciating Ms
Schumann may be an acquired taste, but just as one can carp
at certain features of both the aforementioned F-D and the
other E.S. these deficiencies – if that is what they are – are
quickly forgotten when one starts to listen through the
surface. There isn’t a dull moment on this disc.
Going through the songs one by one would actually be a very monotonous
affair, since the same words would appear again and again: “exquisite
phrasing”, “uses rubato to enthralling effect”, “lively”, “charming”,
but also, though never as frequently: “uneven tone”, “exaggerated
portamenti” and “sometimes squeezes the tone”. To hear her
at her very best I would advise still sceptical readers to
try Der Nussbaum (tr. 3) from her earliest recording
session on this disc, set down in February 1930, where she
shapes the beautiful melody to perfection; Aufträge (tr.
5) from the same day which is so lively and twittering while Mondnacht (tr.
6) is taken so slowly that it almost comes to a standstill
but it is sung with such hushed concentration that one sits
on the edge of the chair, leaning forward not to miss anything.
Her well-known recording of Wiegenlied (tr. 11) is
heartfelt and sincere; the remake with orchestra (tr. 18)
is more measured but the phrasing is just as exquisite. Vergebliches
Ständchen (tr. 12) is masterly and in Der Tod, das
ist die kühle Nacht (tr. 16) with Gerald Moore at the
piano, she underlines the cold and the gloom by darkening
the tone. Her last series of recordings from 1938 still finds
her voice in perfect shape and the seven songs from Deutsche
Volkslieder invite comparison with Schwarzkopf in the
legendary recording from the 1960s with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
and Gerald Moore – a set I have cherished for almost forty
years. The liveliness, the cajoling of the phrases – they
both sound so right and at the same time having their own
individual ways with the songs. Only the last four were ever
issued on a 78 rpm disc (HMV DB 21605) and one must ask why.
Was it the dark political clouds that were beginning to obscure
the sun? These sides were recorded in London after she had
left Vienna – a couple of months earlier Hitler had marched
into the Austrian capital and the threat of an approaching
war grew stronger. Ms Schumann said repeatedly that her voice
had lost some of its bloom during this period but I believe
that was more a mental feeling than anything purely vocal.
Apart from a Bach cantata recording in New York the following
year these were her final recordings and a glorious end to
a great recording career they certainly are.
As on a previous Schumann disc on Naxos (see review) the comprehensive
liner-notes are by the singer’s grand-daughter Joy Puritz.
Everything on this disc has some imperfection but everything
is so alive – and
isn’t that what Lieder singing is all about?
Göran Forsling
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