Brahms: Vier ernste Gesänge, Op. 121 (Four Serious Songs)

Graham Johnson’s latest Lieder project for Hyperion reaches its fourth volume. Brahms is of course a giant of the Romantic era but his songs and vocal works are rather less well known than much of his other music. There is so much to discover and enjoy in the beautiful, often elegiac melodies and characteristic piano writing.

In some of these recitals an opus number will be presented in its entirety: here it is the songs of Op 94, as well as the Vier ernste Gesänge of Op 121. The singer is the bass-baritone Robert Holl, acclaimed as simply one of the most profound artists of the genre and recently praised for the ‘unparalleled depth and complexity’ of his live performance (The Independent).

DVD & bonus CD

Marking the centenary of Kathleen Ferrier's birth, Diane Perelsztejn's specially-extended feature-length film traces the remarkable life - and tragically brief career - of one of the greatest singers of all time. Drawing on recently-discovered material, and supported by a companion CD featuring unreleased live recordings from new York, the film is both a stirring portrait of an extraordinary woman and a tribute to a glorious voice that enthralled the world.

‘You sing as if you had written it yourself!’ Jean Cocteau once told Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. This anthology of lieder by Brahms and Schumann is a prime example of the great singer doing just that, mining every nuance of emotion from a song while, at the same time, sounding as spontaneous and free as if he were making it up on the spot. One of the hallmarks of Fischer-Dieskau’s legacy is the ease with which he creates the spell of each individual song, drawing the listener – apparently effortlessly – into the drama created by the words and the music.

Fischer-Dieskau recorded extensively for Deutsche Grammophon, and the bulk of his archive has been mined on CDs. These recordings, however, are rarities. The songs on CD1 appeared only as part of the Fischer-Dieskau Edition for his 75th birthday. The Brahms songs on CD2 make their first appearance on CD. And the 1957 recording of Schumann’s Dichterliebe with his long-time pianist Jörg Demus, only appeared as part of Deutsche Grammophon’s centenary edition. CD2 includes the Four Duets, Op. 28 in which Fischer-Dieskau is partnered by an artist not heard enough on records, the contralto Kerstin Meyer.

This release marks the launch of an Eloquence series of notable recitals of songs and opera arias by some of the great voices of Decca and Deutsche Grammophon.

The first of four 2-CD “Flagstad Recitals” features Kirsten Flagstad in Brahms and Schubert on CD1 as well as CD premieres of songs by Schumann (including her previously unpublished “Zum Schluss”), Strauss, Wolf and Sinding on CD2. Her great power and control placed her among those with the natural capacity for success in the ‘big’ songs with its special thrill, but there is no want of gentleness in the quieter ones. The American critic, Virgil Thomson, probably spoke for the whole audience when he wrote on Flagstad’s return to the United States in 1947: ‘Never in this writer’s concert-going lifetime has there been available any other vocal artistry of such sumptuous natural acoustics, such perfect technical control and such sound musicianship’.

"Throughout, one is stirred by the sheer beauty of the sound." Gramophone

“deeply felt … wonderfully radiant tone … very touching” [Brahms] “the operatic drama of Der Erlkönig is as memorable as the gently ravishing cantilena of Am Grabe Anselmos” The Penguin Guide to Bargain Compact Discs

"…worth having for the Wolf group alone." Gramophone

A member of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2002, Stefan Schulz is one of the world’s leading bass trombonists. This recital programme was recorded live at a concert in the Chamber Music Hall of the Berliner Philharmonie. The programme was chosen to emphasize the various facets of the bass trombone and in particular its ability to play music of a songful character. This certainly applies to Brahms’ Four Serious Songs, as well as the cantabile works by Lebedev and Šulek as well as Jan Sandström’s simple Song to Lotta, appearing as an encore. To balance the programme Schulz has included a work by Daniel Schnyder, the New York-based composer and saxophonist with whom he collaborates closely.