[Cover graphic]

Compact Disc CDJ33110

£13.99

Graham Johnson’s Schumann songs series for Hyperion has reached its penultimate volume. In this series, the most exciting young artists — as well as the most experienced Schumann performers — have produced masterful yet intimately communicative performances of varied programmes of these wonderful works. Kate Royal is the soprano of the moment, at the start of her career yet an acknowledged great artist, and her performance here of the Eichendorff Liederkreis Op 39 is one where ‘imagination, intellect and vocal technique are inextricably fused in the single moment of a song’, as The Times wrote of her Wigmore Hall recital in January this year.

The disc also features enchanting vocal chamber pieces and less well-known songs such as the Drei Gedichte nach Emanuel Geibel. As ever, the disc includes comprehensive and fascinating notes supplied by Graham Johnson that fill out every detail of the genesis, context and publication of these masterpieces.

Recorded in August 2006 (Kate Royal), January 2004 (Felicity Lott and Ann Murray, except for cq taken from Hyperion CDA66937) and May 2006 Recording Engineer Recording Producers Piano STEINWAY & SONS Booket Editor TIM PARRY Executive Producer SIMON PERRY P & C Hyperion Records Ltd, London, MMVII Recorded on
Recording Engineer
JULIAN MILLARD
Recording Producers
MARK BROWN
MARTIN COMPTON (May 2006)
Piano
STEINWAY & SONS
Booklet Editor
TIM PARRY
Executive Producer
SIMON PERRY
© Hyperion Records Ltd, London, MMVII

Duration: 75'34
DDD
Front photograph by Malcolm Crowthers

ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856)

The Songs - 10

KATE ROYAL soprano
FELICITY LOTT, LYDIA TEUSCHER sopranos
ANN MURRAY, DANIELA LEHNER mezzo sopranos
STEPHAN LOGES baritone, CHRISTOPH BANTZER reciter
 with
EDITH BARLOW soprano, MELANIE LANG mezzo-soprano
ADRIAN WARD tenor, NICKY SPENCE tenor, LUKAS KARGL baritone
and MARCUS GRUETT percussion

GRAHAM JOHNSON piano

Contents:

    LIEDERKREIS Op 39 (Eichendorff)    KATE ROYAL [25'55]
  1. In der Fremde [1'58]
  2. Intermezzo [1'49]
  3. Waldesgespräch [2'36]
  4. Die Stille [1'32]
  5. Mondnacht [3'56]
  6. Schöne Fremde [1'24]
  7. Auf einer Burg [2'46]
  8. In der Fremde [1'37]
  9. Wehmut [2'31]
  10. Zwielicht [3'00]
  11. Im Walde [1'22]
  12. Frühlingsnacht [1'24]

  13. Schön Hedwig Op 106 (Hebbel)    CHRISTOPH BANTZER [5'43]

    ZWEI BALLADEN FÜR DEKLAMATION Op 122    CHRISTOPH BANTZER [9'33]

  14. Ballade vom Haideknaben (Hebbel) [6'32]
  15. Die Flüchtlinge (Shelley) [3'01]

    DREI GEDICHTE NACH EMANUEL GEIBEL Op 29 (Geibel) [8'34]

  16. Ländliches Lied    LYDIA TEUSCHER, DANIELA LEHNER [2'23]
  17. Lied (‘In meinem Garten die Nelken’)    LT, EB, DL [2'27]
  18. Zigeunerleben    LT, EB, ML, DL, AW, NS, LK, SL; with MG [3'44]

  19. Die Nonne Op 49 No 3 (Fröhlich)    LYDIA TEUSCHER [2'37]
  20. Was soll ich sagen? Op 27 No 3 (Chamisso)    STEPHAN LOGES [2'36]
  21. Frühlingsgrüsse (Lenau)    LYDIA TEUSCHER [1'35]

    DREI DUETTE Op 43    FELICITY LOTT, ANN MURRAY [5'59]

  22. Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär (from Des Knaben Wunderhorn) [1'10]
  23. Herbstlied (Mahlmann) [2'17]
  24. Schön Blümelein (Reinick) [2'32]

  25. Mein Garten Op 77 No 2 (Hoffmann von Fallersleben)    FELICITY LOTT [2'07]
  26. Sommerruh WoO 7 (Schad)    FELICITY LOTT, ANN MURRAY [3'01]

    MÄDCHENLIEDER Op 103 (Kulmann)    FELICITY LOTT, ANN MURRAY [6'04]

  27. Mailied [1'07]
  28. Frühlingslied [1'45]
  29. An die Nachtigall [1'06]
  30. An den Abendstern [2'06]

  31. Bei Schenkung eines Flügels WoO 26 No 4 (Schumann)    LT, DL, AW, SL [1'48]
Sleeve Notes

GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE

'Royal's pure, pellucid tone, free-soaring top notes and refined musicianship give constant pleasure … Abetted by Johnson's ever-sentient keyboard-playing, Royal reveals a true understanding of Schumann's Innigkeit … In the final 'Frülingsnacht', often rushed off its feet, she and Johnson catch the elusive mix of secretiveness and ecstasy as perfectly as I have heard' (Gramophone)

'In the Liederkries, Kate Royal, discerningly partnered by Johnson, sings with pure, luminous tone and eloquent phrasing … There are many memorable things here, including a hushed, rapt 'Mondnacht', and a truly ecstatic final 'Frülingsnacht' (Daily Telegraph)

'This wonderful disc feels like an intimate salon performance by a group of close friends … Liederkries is sung with devotion … by rising wonder-woman Kate Royal … Glorious duetting from Lott and Murray, ensemble fun from all the singers and a glimpse of Schumann towards the end of his tragic life in the Mädchenlieder - you don't realise how much you're learning about the composer's genius until it's all over' (Classic FM Magazine)

'Much of the singing is exceptionally lovely … 'Waldegespräch' amply displays the dramatic flair one expects of a fine operatic artist … Johnson accompanies with his wonted sensitivity and his booklet notes are, as usual, exhaustive in their detail … The engineering is immaculate' (International Record Review)

'The program opens with the undervalued "Liederkreis" cycle... Royal infuses these brief intuitions of forest walks, foreign lands and a "Moonlit Night" with a glowing musical poetry. Even the sparest, quietest songs hold a sense of vigor and wondrous apprehension' (San Francisco Chronicle)

'A stunning achievement for Kate Royal, and another well-deserved feather in the Hyperion cap as this enthralling series continues … Kate Royal tones down some of her interpretations to reflect the genuinely intimate and reflectively pensive music to great effect, lovingly adjusting her voice to the needs of each word … Highest recommendation' (Audiophile Audition, USA)

'Volume 10 … has as its centerpiece a wonderful rendition by Kate Royal of Liederkreis, Ms Royal…again delivers a performance that is remarkable for its intelligence, musicianship, and sheer beauty' (American Record Guide)

' [Royal's] professed affinity for the Lieder repertoire is more than borne out by the recording of Schumann¹s Eichendorff LiederkreisŠ[she] gives us everything: hers is a beautifully sung and deeply flet rendition from beginning to end, her specific responses to the words and their meaning never, ever becoming intrusive ­ the ideal balance of what one wants in performances of this cycle' (Fanfare, USA)

See also:
Schumann: The Songs - 1
Schumann: The Songs - 2
Schumann: The Songs - 3
Schumann: The Songs - 4
Schumann: The Songs - 5
Schumann: The Songs - 6
Schumann: The Songs - 7
Schumann: The Songs - 8
Schumann: The Songs - 9
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