Mendelssohn: Reiselied 'Ich reit' ins finstre Land hinein'

Mendelssohn seems to have finally hit the big league in this bicentenary year of his birth. Critical reappraisals of his music have confirmed this somewhat elusive composer as an important Romantic figure, and probably the greatest child prodigy of all time. Hyperion’s contribution to the composer’s rehabilitation includes the acclaimed series of Songs and Duets, now reaching Volume 4.

It is remarkable to realize that compositions by a major composer in the Western canon could go unpublished and unheard for more than 150 years, but that was the sad situation with Mendelssohn—until recently. The pianist Eugene Asti has gathered together 46 previously unknown songs from various stages of this composer’s sadly truncated life. Through much of the previous century, his songs were often judged against the example of Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms and found wanting, but Mendelssohn’s aesthetic of song was very different from those of his contemporaries. What the newly published works reveal is a willingness to experiment with novel song forms and highly expressive harmonies, some of which go beyond the graceful and vocally grateful melodies, limpid textures, and strophic forms for which he is best known.

For this disc, Eugene Asti has gathered together a dazzling selection of singers, including some of the most exciting young artists working today. Katherine Broderick, the winner of the coveted 2007 Kathleen Ferrier Prize, has a uniquely beautiful voice, its bloom and agility belying its considerable power.

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was the last great 19th century composer whose works were not completely listed. In the Mendelssohn anniversary year of 2009 this loophole has been closed thanks to the publishing of the Leipzig Edition of the works of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy by the Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig. It was only in 2007/2008, as a result of research work that the musical public first gained awareness of among other pieces, 61 of a total of 115 songs composed for voice and piano.

The "forgotten" songs included in this CD date from throughout the composer’s entire creative period, and demonstrate superbly the many facets, colours and richness of ideas of his musical creations.

The songs have been combined with a completely different artistic genre, one which was Mendelssohn’s own: the songs without words - lyrical piano pieces with vocal style melodies.

"This project was most appealing to Gitti and myself. We were aware of the existence, albeit fragmental, of some unpublished songs, but we were absolutely astonished when as a result of the complete Mendelssohn Edition a entirely new volume of Lieder came to light. We played and sang through the works with great enthusiasm and the thrill that comes from exploring, selected some of them, and took great joy in recording the ones we had chosen." Klaus Mertens

This album is a treasure trove for music lovers and performers alike.

The recording was made using the songs as published by Bärenreiter: Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Lieder für hohe und mittlere Stimme und Klavier (Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, songs for high and medium voice and piano). Edited by Eugene Asti, Bärenreiter Edition, Kassel 2008 (BA 9085).