Schumann: Myrthen; Sechs Gedichte und Requiem (2011)

Schumann's Myrthen On Naxos

In their intensity, themes, brevity, and subjectivity, Robert Schumann's lieder exemplify musical romanticism. Schumann (1810- 1856) composed many of his greatest lieder in 1840 upon his long-delayed marriage to Clara Wieck. Among the songs written that year were the 26 lieder gathered together in a collection called "Myrthen", opus 25, or "myrtles", to symbolize bridal wreathes. The songs in Myrthen do not constitute a unified song cycle but instead include settings of texts on a variety of themes by a variety of poets. Thus the entire collection is infrequently recorded in its entirety. The set is beautifully presented here in a recording by soprano Andrea Lauren Brown, baritone Thomas Bauer, and pianist Uta Hielscher. The recording dates from 2008 in Munich and is part of a cycle of the complete Schumann lieder on the budget-priced Naxos label.

The Myrthen collection includes settings of poems by Ruckert, Goethe, and Heine, together with settings of German translations of Robert Burns, Thomas Moore, Byron, and Catherine Maria Fanshawe. There may be an overall theme of love, romance, and the joys or married and family life. But the Burns settings have their own character. Some of the settings are passionate and quiet while others are boisterous in spirit, reminding me of the split in Schumann's personality musically described in the "Florestan" and "Eusibius" figures in "Carnaval." I was particuarly impressed by the singing of the American soprano Andrea Brown who sings 13 of the lieder with a light, agile voice full of both charm and feeling. Bauer is developing into a baritone with an international reputation with a lovely, smooth tone. Uta Hielscher, the pianist on the Naxos series, plays in a subdued, restrained manner. Schumann's songs are unique in their close collaboration between pianist and singer and in the intertwined character of the two lines.

Several of Schumann's best-known songs are included in this collection. They include the passionate "Widmung" (dedication) to a text by Ruckert with which the set begins. Bauer's singing captures the intensity of what surely can be understood as Schumann's feelings for Clara. Other songs beautifully performed by Bauer include two further love poems: Heine's "you are like a flower" (no. 24) and Ruckert's "I send a greeting like the fragrance of roses" (no. 25). Brown won my heart with another famous song from the collection,
"Der Nussbaum" (walnut tree) together with Hielscher's subtle, flowing accompaniment. Brown sings with feeling in Heine's "the lotus flower" (no. 7) especially as she repeats the final line of the poem, as the flower trembles "for love and the pain of love" with pathos. Songs 11 and 12, setting texts by Ruckert celebrate a young woman's upcoming marriage as she leaves a reluctant mother and proclaims her love for her new husband. In "my soul is dark" (no 15) Brown sings the melancholy Byron poem while dipping effectively into the lowest part of her vocal range. The final song in the set, "Zum Schluss", to a Ruckert text, is another hopeful celebration of marriage and young love.

The Myrthen set is 51 minutes in length. Because it is not a cycle, the songs can probably be best enjoyed separately with breaks between them rather than in one long sitting.

This CD also includes a late song collection of Schumann's the "Six Songs and Requiem", opus 90, performed by Bauer and Hielscher. This set dates from 1850, late in Schumann's compositional career. Many listeners find that, at this stage of his life, Schumann was compositionally and emotionally burned out. He committed himself to an asylum three years later. The songs in this set are lovely and lyrical but lack the fire of the Myrthen collection and the other songs of Schumann's youth. The songs and interplay between voice and piano seemed to me mostly bland. The set includes six poems of Nicholaus Lenau who, as Schumann was to do three years later, had suffered a severe nervous breakdown that is reflected in the poems. The final work, called "Requiem" is an anonymous religious poem based upon the medieval story of Heloise and Abelard. The best of this set is the second song "Meine Rose" which captures something of the earlier Schumann.

I heard this recording after reading Charles Rosen's book on musical romanticism, "The Romantic Generation" The Romantic Generation (Charles Eliot Norton Lectures) which is long and difficult but taught me a great deal. The erudition of a Rosen is not necessary for lovers of lieder to respond to the beautiful romantic songs of Schumann performed on this CD by Brown, Bauer and Hielscher. The texts and translations for the poems are not included but are accessible on the Naxos website.

Total Time: 68:27

Robin Friedman