A Matter of Heart
A Matter of Heart
Trios for Tenor, Horn and Piano
Challenge Classics
Erscheinungsdatum: 6. Oktober 2017
Spieldauer: 58' 11''
Katalognummer: CC 72771, 1 CD
Christoph Prégardien, Tenor
Olivier Darbellay, Horn
Michael Gees, Klavier
Aufnahme: Kirche Blumenstein, Blumenstein, Schweiz, 2., 4., 5. November 2016
Komponisten:
Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976)
Franz Lachner (1803 - 1890)
Conradin Creutzer (1780 - 1849)
Carl Kossmaly (1812 - 1893))
Henry Hugo Pierson (1815 - 1873)
Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
Inhalt
Benjamin Britten The Heart of the Matter01. Prologue
02. Reading: The earth of my heart was broken and gaped low
03. Fanfare: Where are the seeds of the Universal Fire
04. Reading: In the hour when the sapphire of the bone
05. Song: We are the darkness in the heat of the day
06. Reading: In such a heat of the earth
07. Canticle III, Op. 55: Still Falls the Rain
08. Reading: I see Christ’s wounds weep in the Rose on the wall
09. Epilogue
10. Die Seejungfern (Franz Lachner)
11. Das Mühlrad (Conradin Creutzer)
12. 3 Lieder, Op.30 I. Herbst (Franz Lachner)
13. Ständchen (Conradin Creutzer)
14. Sehnsucht (Carl Kossmaly)
15. Das Fischermädchen (Carl Kossmaly)
16. Jägers Abschied (Henry Hugo Pierson)
17. Auf dem Strom, D. 943 (Franz Schubert)
About the album
By 1800, several songs with horn, harp or piano accompaniment had been written, but it was not until the heyday of the romantic art song – its main exponent being Franz Schubert – that the combination of voice, horn and piano came into flower. From the nineteenth century alone, around 200 songs with obbligato horn parts survive.
When Franz Schubert composed Auf dem Strom, D.943 (“On the river”), in 1828, he had created a masterpiece in the genre of the so-called concert song. Schubert’s circle of friends in Vienna comprised many young composers, including Franz Lachner. “Die Seejungfern”(“The mermaids”) was written on 1 January 1833 in Vienna. “Herbst” (“Autumn”), was written earlier in either 1830 or 1831. Another composer who lived in Vienna at the same time as Franz Schubert was Conradin Kreutzer (1780-1849). His two songs with horn accompaniment, of which “Das Mühlrad”(“The mill wheel”) became very famous, whilst the later “Ständchen” (“Serenade”) is hardly performed, both pay homage to the fashion of the time, but also reveal a well-versed composer at every turn.
Carl Kossmaly (1812-1893), born in Wrocław, was well-regarded during the nineteenth century as a composer, conductor, music writer and teacher. For decades he contributed to the “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, founded by Robert Schumann, making his mark as an antipode of the “New German School” of composers including Wagner and Liszt. Only a smattering of his compositions has been published, such as “Fischermädchen”(“Fisher girl”), and “Sehnsucht”(“Longing”).
Henry Hugo Pierson (1815-1873) had a chequered life; his works were also published under the name of Edgar Mannsfeldt. Alongside operas, oratorios and orchestral works his oeuvre also comprises several songs, including “Jägers Abschied.
In 1956 Benjamin Britten created, in collaboration with the poet Edith Sitwell, a musico-literary programme for the Aldeburgh Festival. This programme, entitled “The Heart of the Matter” centred around Canticle III, a work for Tenor, Horn and Piano. In 1983, Peter Pears revised and revived the work, and it is in this version that “The Heart of the Matter” has been performed since.
