Schubert: Hymne an den Unendichen D232 (Schiller)

Sometimes written in dialogue or in unison, sometimes close to opera, to a Singspiel scene or to choral music, Schubert's vocal duets, trios and quartets show the full variety of his creative impulses. These brief vocal ensembles composed for gatherings of friends, the famous ‘Schubertiads', display a skill and a taste for freedom that hold an immediate appeal for today's listener – for here one sings purely for pleasure.

Schubert's reputation as a composer of solo lieder has tended to overshadow the works for two of more voices that he composed from the age of 14 to his last years. Some of these works includes four voices and choir, and they fall in to the category of domestic music making. The earliest date from his years as a pupil of Antonio Salieri, and may well have been intended as study works, others, such as the scena 'Antigone und Oedipe' D542 of 1817 was probably composed for friends, and is quite demanding of the performers.

The singers on these CDs represent some of the very best Schubert interpreters of the period -- and the recordings date from 1973. The accompanist is the incomparable Gerald Moore.

Schubert set the poetry of over 115 writers to music. The Deutsche Schubert-Lied-Edition presents all Schubert’s Lieder, over 700 songs, grouped according to the poets who inspired him. Thanks to Bärenreiter’s Neue Schubert-Ausgabe (New Schubert Edition), Tübingen, which uses primary sources, the performers have been able to benefit from the most recent research of the editorial team.

When we think of Schubert's vocal music, his six hundred lieder for a solo voice and piano are naturally what first come to mind. Conversely, his other vocal works are among the last things with which we associate him, despite the fact that this part of his oeuvre is by no means small! It embraces, for example, nineteen operas (including the singspiels) all of which are sadly more or less forgotten today. There are also some thirty sacred works, of which all the six masses are still frequently performed.

The full significance of Schubert's contribution to choral music was not recognized until generations later. The degree of musical excellence he imparted to the choral song in such a short space of time was seldom attained by his successors. Schubert's choral writing is extremely demanding for both performers and listeners.

This recording features wonderful performances by artists such as Krisztina Laki and Andreas Rothkopf.