Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Minnespiel Op. 101 No. 5, 7 & 8 [9:31]
Spanisches Liederspiel Op. 74 [28:21]
Spanische Liebeslieder Op. 138 [22:18]
Anna Palimina (soprano), Marion Eckstein (contralto), Simon Bode (tenor). Matthias Hoffmann (bass-baritone)
Ulrich Eisenlohr, Stefan Irmer (piano)
rec. 2018, Kulturzentrum Immanuel, Wuppertal, Germany
NAXOS 8.573944 [60:22]
Schumann is well known for the great song cycles he wrote in 1840, his so-called year of song. The three highly original works recorded here are performed much less frequently. Written in 1849, they combine solo songs with duets and quartets in a quasi-dramatic narrative. The Minnespiel songs are settings of poems by Rückert. Poems translated from the Spanish by Emanuel Geibel are set in the Spanisches Liederspiel and Spanisches Liebeslieder. In the latter, Schumann foreshadows Brahms by giving his four singers a piano duet accompaniment.
The first and last song from Minnespiel are for vocal quartet, the middle song is for soprano and tenor. The voices blend beautifully in ‘Schön ist das Fest des Lenzes’; Ulrich Eisenlohr brings fantasy elements to the fore in the rippling Schumannesque accompaniment. Anna Palimina used her bright vibrant voice to excellent effect in ‘Die tausend Grüsse’; Simon Bode reinforces the line beautifully. In the final song, all four singers create an intimate and heart-felt paean to the commitment we make when we fall in love.
The Spanisches Liederspiel is perhaps the best known of the three cycles here. The four soloists deliver a ravishing performance, accompanied once again by Ulrich Eisenlohr. The cycle opens with three contrasting pictures of love, beginning with the first stirrings of young love, and moving to a night-time elopement and the pain associated with love. ‘In der Nacht’ is one of the highlights of the disc. Eisenlohr’s introduction brings Schumann’s poetic alter ego Eusebius to the fore. Anna Palimina and Simon Bode both produce gorgeous legato lines, which blend lyricism with a tinge of sadness. All four singers join forces once more in the following song, ‘Es ist verraten’. It combines upbeat jaunty rhythms with overwhelming ardent feelings which ignite the fire of love. Anna Palimina’s operatic credentials are on display in ‘Melancholie’, while she and Marion Eckstein vie wonderfully in ‘Botschaft’ which uses the language of flowers to convey feelings of longing. Eisenlohr’s very pretty, florid accompaniment captures the poetic essence of the song. In the final song Mathias Hoffmann brings ‘Der Kontrabandiste’ (smuggler) winningly to life.
The final cycle on the disc, Spanisches Liebeslieder, features two movements for piano duet without singers, performed with a high degree of technical finish by Ulrich Eisenlohe and Stefan Irmer. In the opening song, Palimina does a wonderful job, conveying deep anguish. Bode gives us a more upbeat, carefree portrait of young love in the following song. ‘Flutenreicher Ebro’ describes how love can blossom in natural settings; it seems to hark back to Schubert. It receives a gorgeous performance from Matthias Hoffmann in the best tradition of lied singing, while the accompaniment trips along delightfully. Hoffmann and Bode combine to excellent effect in ‘Blaue Augen hat das Mädchen’. All the singers join forces one last time in the final quartet, which addresses unresolved feelings and so ends the cycle on a note of ambivalence.
Occasionally, you listen to a piece of music and come away with the feeling that you have discovered a rare treasure which deserves to be known much more widely. That is certainly the case with these cycles. The performers are all to be commended for the exceptionally high quality of the singing and playing.
Robert Beattie
