Malcolm Martineau reviews
The Dark Night Has Vanished
Brahms • R Schumann: Lieder
Mahler: Lieder (Erinnerung)
El Nour (Fatma Said)
Fauré: The Complete Songs, Vol. 3
Decades – A Century of Song, Vol. 4
Debussy Songs Vol. 4
Florian Boesch sings lieder by Mahler and Schumann
From Schumann to Mahler is possibly not as large a step as it may look. The latter’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer) stand in a direct line from Schubert through Schumann and more, with shared themes including journeying, lost love, and the solace – sometimes – of nature.
Fanny Mendelssohn's Complete Songs, Vol. 3, with Susana Gaspar and Kitty Whately
It’s time to stop pigeonholing Fanny Hensel (née Mendelssohn) as a female composer. Felix Mendelssohn’s older sister, who died tragically aged 42, was never demurely feminine, nor predictable – she was simply a genius. Singers, pianists, teachers – get hold of the scores you can find! Too much of her music is sitting unpublished in libraries, and I hope this recording helps change that.
R Strauss
The enraptured unfurling of sound in Malcolm Martineau’s piano introduction creates dappled light for Christiane Karg’s long, warm-breathed phrasing in Das Rosenband, a radiant start to this recital. The Bavarian soprano is a delectably light, idiomatic Straussian, and the covered, pearly underside of her voice is the perfect instrument with which to recreate the secret moments and intimacy of the songs she has selected here.