Hyperion Records

This is an attractive setting, in a spacious C major, of a poem that Beethoven had already set very differently and published in 1810. As commanding as that version is, Krufft obviously preferred a more feminine accompaniment of flowing triplets for his Mignon, in contrast to the granite-like qualities of Beethoven’s crotchets and quavers doubling the voice. And instead of the sectional feel of the Beethoven and Schubert settings (where the cries of ‘Dahin!’ initiate a new musical section and change of tempo) Krufft attempts to integrate the whole strophe into a single musical whole.

comparative Schubert listening:
Mignons Gesang „Kennst du das Land?“ D321. 23 October 1815

from notes by Graham Johnson © 2006