Hyperion Records

This song opens Tomášek’s first volume, and it stands at the head of the collection. There are more daring songs in these books, but this elegant andantino looks back to the eighteenth century and the time when Goethe wrote the poem. It is in fact less strophic than Schubert’s (with a change to the minor key at ‘Und der wilde Knabe brach’) and the accompaniment has many more notes. Nevertheless its Mozartian style was no doubt intended to please the poet, for Tomášek, like Goethe, was noted for his veneration of Mozart above all other composers.

comparative Schubert listening:
Heidenröslein D257. 19 August 1815

from notes by Graham Johnson © 2006