The pairing of Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang and Johannes Brahms' Vier ernste Gesänge gives this 2019 Hyperion album a somber cast that is appropriate for songs about loss and death, though the gloom is relieved by the composers' uplifting lyricism and the sublime artistry of the performers. Schubert's last songs were published posthumously, and the darker songs, such as Kriegers Ahnung, In der Ferne, Die Stadt, and Der Doppelgänger, are often seen as reflections of his despair over knowledge of his impending death. Yet ...
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The pairing of Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang and Johannes Brahms' Vier ernste Gesänge gives this 2019 Hyperion album a somber cast that is appropriate for songs about loss and death, though the gloom is relieved by the composers' uplifting lyricism and the sublime artistry of the performers. Schubert's last songs were published posthumously, and the darker songs, such as Kriegers Ahnung, In der Ferne, Die Stadt, and Der Doppelgänger, are often seen as reflections of his despair over knowledge of his impending death. Yet his irrepressible gift for gorgeous melodies makes Liebesbotschaft, Frühlingssehnsucht, Abschied, and Das Fischermädchen bright spots in the cycle, and the beloved Ständchen is among Schubert's most inspired creations. Brahms' set of songs were overtly stated as an expression of his personal and rather pessimistic feelings about life and death, though the three settings of passages from Ecclesiastes are somewhat mitigated by the exceptionally cheerful setting of verses from I...
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