Christian Gerhaher – Schumann: Myrthen (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Although he’s alone on the cover, baritone Christian Gerhaher has given a lot of space over to soprano Camilla Tilling in his Schumann record. And so the original tones – and therefore the cycle’s structure – are preserved. The voices mingle and their dialogue reminds us that these Lieder were presented to Clara like a wedding bouquet. The sound recording sometimes plunges both voice and piano into a maelstrom of noise. But happily, the performers offer an amorous reading of these poems borrowed from Goethe, or Rückert, or Burns. Both singers savour each consonant and give the poems a resounding, perfect pronunciation, and an unerring sense of diction (take Camilla Tilling’s oh-so-sensual repetition of Kuß in Die Lotosblume, every bit as distracting as Margaret Price’s), and of recital (the successive episodes of Hochländers Abschied take life in the hands of Christian Gerhaher, a virtuoso of nuance). With accompaniment from pianist Gerold Huber, they have created a very fine record that brings to life that marvellous poet of sound, Schumann. – Elsa Siffert

Tracklist:
1. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 1, Widmung (02:19)
2. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 2, Freisinn (01:17)
3. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 3, Der Nussbaum (03:13)
4. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 4, Jemand (02:04)
5. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 5, Aus dem Schenkenbuch im Divan I – Sitz’ ich allein (00:30)
6. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 6, Aus dem Schenkenbuch im Divan II – Setze mir nicht, du Grobian (00:48)
7. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 7, Die Lotosblume (01:44)
8. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 8, Talismane (01:55)
9. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 9, Lied der Suleika (02:37)
10. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 10, Die Hochländer-Witwe (01:26)
11. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 11, Lied der Braut I – Mutter, Mutter, glaube nicht (02:03)
12. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 12, Lied der Braut II – Lass mich ihm an Busen hangen (01:32)
13. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 13, Hochländers Abschied (01:25)
14. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 14, Hochländisches Wiegenlied (02:52)
15. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 15, Aus den hebräischen Gesängen (05:04)
16. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 16, Räthsel (01:45)
17. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 17, Venetianisches Lied I – Leis’ rudern hier, mein Gondolier (01:46)
18. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 18, Venetianisches Lied II – Wenn durch die Piazzetta (01:01)
19. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 19, Hauptmanns Weib (00:55)
20. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 20, Weit, weit! (02:46)
21. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 21, Was will die einsame Träne (02:24)
22. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 22, Niemand (00:54)
23. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 23, Im Westen (01:05)
24. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 24, Du bist wie eine Blume (01:39)
25. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 25, Aus den östlichen Rosen (01:49)
26. Christian Gerhaher – Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 26, Zum Schluss (02:18)