Beethoven wrote 179 settings of folk songs, most of them from the British Isles, during the later part of his life. For some time, the general consensus was that he did them for the money, as one of the first composers who had to make a living entirely from his pen, and that they are of no particular interest. Some writers and performers have begun to challenge that, and the present set of singers is among that group. They order the program evocatively, and they choose selections with substantial instrumental introductions ...
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Beethoven wrote 179 settings of folk songs, most of them from the British Isles, during the later part of his life. For some time, the general consensus was that he did them for the money, as one of the first composers who had to make a living entirely from his pen, and that they are of no particular interest. Some writers and performers have begun to challenge that, and the present set of singers is among that group. They order the program evocatively, and they choose selections with substantial instrumental introductions (both for piano and for piano trio) or that are interesting in some other way. The million-dollar (or euro) question is whether Beethoven's work with folk music helped inspire one of the key features of his late style: his predilection for simple, foursquare, folklike melodies elaborated in various unexpected ways (the main theme of the finale of the Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is an example). The performers seem interested in exploring the question: in addition to the...
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![Beethoven: Folksongs [Paula Sophie Bohnet; Daniel Johannsen; Georg Klimbacher; Josef Herzer; Bertin Christelbauer; Bernadette Bartos] [Naxos: 8574174]](https://www0.alibris-static.com/cover/o63810li0sj_t.jpg)
