The songs of Johannes Brahms receive much less attention than has larger compostions, such as symphonies, concertos, chamber works, and the German Requiem. This is particularly the case for Brahms' "German Folksongs", a collection of 49 songs in seven books on which he worked for many years before publishing the collection without an opus number in 1894. It is a beautiful collection in its lyricism and intimacy. This CD includes the first 35 songs in books 1 -- 5 of Brahms' German Folksongs, published as WoO 33. It offers an outstanding way to explore this music. The CD features collaborative pianist Ulrich Eisenlohr playing a historic fortepiano. Eisenlohr has been the pianist on many Naxos song releases, including a series of the complete Schubert songs; and he also wrote the extensive liner notes for this release. The songs from the German Folksongs include solos and duets. The singers on this CD include Alina Wunderlin, soprano, Esther Valentin-Fieguth mezzo-soprano, Kieran Carrel, tenor, and Konstantin Ingenpass, baritone. Their respective performances are identified by track.
Brahms's songs are imbured with the spirit of folk music and of romantic medievalism, no more so than in this collection. Brahms took both the melodies and the texts from a collection of folksongs published by one Anton Wilhelm von Zuccalmaglio. Brahms embellished the songs with his settings and with his intricate and varied piano writing. Zuccalmaglio's collection has large issues of authenticity. Many of the melodies and lyrics are not "folk" in origin. This did not trouble Brahms and it should not trouble the listener. The songs transport the listerner to medieval times, to nobles and knights, to wandering in the woods, through seduction, love, and rejection. Many of the songs are tragic, but some are light-hearted, and some are overtly sexual.
The songs are divided into seven books, each, roughly, with its own theme. The five books on this CD have the themes, as Eisenlohr states in his notes, of "dialogue songs, love songs, narrative balladic songs, laments, and songs in the form of a dialogue or debate". The texts and translations of the songs are available on the Naxos website.
Listening to these songs should not be overly complicated or intellectualized. It is best at first to hear them through and to respond to the beautiful melodies intertwined with the close piano writing and the lovely singing. The songs are intimate and speak to the heart. Listeners will find their own special songs in this collection of Brahms' German Folksongs.
This CD is the second of a series of what will be the complete songs of Brahms under Eisenlohr's direction. The first CD featured tenor Christoph Pregardien in a recital of some of Brahms' better-known songs with opus numbers. I was reminded of a recently concluded cycle of the Brahms songs on the Hyperion label under the supervision of scholar-pianist Graham Johnson. The arrangement and presentation of the songs as well as the performers differ substantially. I have come to love Brahms' songs over the years, and there is more than room enough for the series by Johnson and the ongoing series by Eisenlohr. This is a beautiful CD.
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