Schumann: Dichterliebe / Beethoven & Schubert: Lieder Fritz Wunderlich & Hubert Giesen

• Robert Schumann (1810-1856):
• 1 1. Im wunderschönen Monat Mai 01:33
• 2 2. Aus meinen Tränen sprießen 00:52
• 3 3. Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne 00:33
• 4 4. Wenn ich in deine Augen seh' 01:23
• 5 5. Ich will meine Seele tauchen 00:56
• 6 6. Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome 01:45
• 7 7. Ich grolle nicht 01:19
• 8 8. Und wüssten's die Blumen, die kleinen 01:17
• 9 9. Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen 01:31
• 10 10. Hör' ich das Liedchen klingen 01:55
• 11 11. Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen 01:02
• 12 12. Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen 02:38
• 13 13. Ich hab' im Traum geweinet 02:32
• 14 14. Allnächtlich im Traume seh' ich dich 01:29
• 15 15. Aus alten Märchen winkt es 02:31
• 16 16. Die alten, bösen Lieder 04:14
• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827):
• 17 Zärtliche Liebe, WoO 123 Ich liebe dich 02:10
• 18 Adelaide, Op.46 05:56
• 19 Resignation, WoO149 02:26
• 20 Der Kuss, Op.128 02:06
• Franz Schubert (1797-1828):
• 21 An Sylvia, D.891 (Op.106/4) 02:59
• 22 Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren, D.360 02:47
• 23 Liebhaber in allen Gestalten, D.558 01:17
• 24 Der Einsame, D.800 04:24
• 25 Im Abendrot, D.799 03:26
• 26 Ständchen Leise flehen meine Lieder 03:46
• 27 An die Laute, D. 905 (Op.81/2) 01:56
• 28 Der Musensohn, D.764 (Op.92/1) 02:16
• 29 An die Musik, D.547 (Op.88/4) 02:23
• Total Runtime 01:05:22

Info zu Schumann: Dichterliebe / Beethoven & Schubert: Lieder

To medieval musicians, "sweetness" was the ultimate musical attribute. But they never heard Fritz Wunderlich. His was a tenor voice with sweetness to make one swoon and vowels (yes, vowels) for the ages. Wunderlich died too young in a tragic accident in 1966, but thankfully he left us a handful of recordings, among which is this classic performance of Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love). Dichterliebe, a song cycle set to poems of Heinrich Heine, was Schumann's chief accomplishment of 1840, his year of songs. It was not the happiest of times for him: Among the tribulations was a protracted legal battle (ultimately unsuccessful) to prevent his marriage to the talented pianist Clara Wieck. But it was a great year for the art of the song, and this cycle, Schumann's gift to his beloved Clara, is arguably the greatest collection of love songs ever composed. From the opening track, the delightful "Im wunderschönen Monat Mai" (In the Wonderful Lovely Month of May), Wunderlich's clear, radiant voice and smooth legato are a pleasure to experience, here in remastered, digital clarity. Hubert Giesen provides an able counterpart at the piano to Wunderlich's cantabile (listen especially to the delicate, extended closing piano solo at Dichterliebe's end). Favorites from Beethoven and Schubert ("Adelaide" and "An die Musik" among others) round out the recording, but Schumann's songs of love are at its heart.

„[Wunderlich]: . . . his ringing top A at the end of "Ich grolle nicht" is the most thrilling sound on any "Dichterliebe" recording. His is a performance of unsurpassed liquid beauty, and for that alone we should be grateful . . . gorgeous, freely produced tone and scrupulous diction . . .“ (Richard Wigmore, Gramophone Awards Issue)

„[Schumann / "Dichterliebe"]: The way he sings German music is so wonderful -- what he does with the words. The beauty, evenness of the line and colour is remarkable. And the way he finesses each of his phrases means it doesn't seem like he's ever having trouble with anything. His voice feels free and open. It feels like he's at home to me.“ (Stephen Costello, BBC Music Magazine)

Fritz Wunderlich, tenor
Hubert Giesen, piano

Digitally remastered

Fritz (Friedrich) Wunderlich
was born in Kusel, in 1930, into a musical family. His mother was a violinist and his father a choirmaster. Wunderlich's youth was not at all a happy one, owing to the terrible times in Germany, which was suffering extreme economic depression and the rise of the Nazis. His father, wounded in battle during World War I, and beset by many problems, took his own life when Fritz was a small child. Fritz worked in a bakery as a boy and, as the years passed, began to be noticed by others for his obvious musicality. He took music lessons and finally obtained a music scholarship that made it possible for him to study at the Freiburg Musical Academy. It was there that his voice attracted serious attention, and he was soon spotted as a very promising young tenor.

He first attracted attention for his singing of Mozart, but soon expanded his repertoire to include popular Italian operas, which he sang in German, as that was the tradition in Germany.

Wunderlich's career, because he died very young, was largely limited to singing opera in Germany and making (thank God!) a very significant number of recordings. It is almost exclusively through these recordings that Wunderlich is known and remembered today outside Germany. His recordings include famous operatic arias (usually in German), lieder, at which he excelled (he was very widely praised for his recording of Schumann's Dichterliebe, for example), religious music, and popular operetta pieces.

Wunderlich's voice was flawlessly produced, and very beautiful; it was, however, his extraordinary musicality and sense of style that won him such fame. The voice, spectacular as it was, would not have brought him the great reputation he enjoyed among musicians had he not been so brilliant a musician. By age 35, his future, both as a man and as a musician, seemed assured. He had married in 1956 and had three children. His reputation had begun to spread outside Germany, and he was starting to make foreign appearances (France, England, Argentina, Italy) and had been signed to appear at the Metropolitan Opera. Then, just short of his 36th birthday, he suffered an accident—falling down a flight of stairs at a friend's home—and died from the injuries he received. It was unquestionably one of the greatest musical tragedies of the twentieth century.

First, here is the aptly-named Wunderlich in one of opera's best known pieces, the lovely aria from Von Flotow's Martha, 'Ach! so fromm,' known to most by its foreign Italian title 'M'appari.'

This is musical and vocal perfection. Where to start! First, the very beautiful quality of the voice. We are in the non-Italian world of opera now—this is a much more open and 'white' sound than the heavily covered and dark sounds so characteristic of Italian singing. This is not to say one is better than the other, only to say that the tonal qualities of open vs. covered singing are distinct. I believe the more open phonation of the German singers results in more distinctly individualistic sounds. The darker sounds of most (not all) Italian singers can sometimes lead to one voice not sounding all that different from another. In German, however, I believe it is immediately apparent to a music lover that Tauber's voice is distinct from Slezak's and both are distinct from Wunderlich's. The quality of each voice tends to be individual as opposed to universal 'tenor.' In English, we notice this more in musical comedy. Did Ethel Merman ever sound like anyone else?) Apart from the sound, which is lovely, there is the range. Wunderlich was solid all the way to his spectacular high C, and this is very rare for German tenors. Both the language and the training in Germany have historically tended toward high voices that are much heaver in the lower and middle registers than their Italian counterparts. This, in turn, can result in a short top. Tauber is a good example. He almost never sang above a Bb, (and there is nothing wrong with that), but it tends to narrow the singable repertoire. The big opera arias can only be transposed so far.

Here is a perfect example of what I mean. Wunderlich's recording of 'Che Gelida Manina' is as vocally perfect as it can be. Be sure to wait for the big high C. I know of no other German tenor, living or dead, who could match it. (Source: www.greatoperasingers.blogspot.de)

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