CDJ33105 - Disc 1 Track 16 - Romanzen und Balladen IV, Op 64

Romanzen und Balladen IV, Op 64

composer

Nos 1 & 2: 29-30 May 1847; No 3: 27 October & 7/8 November 1841

Romanzen und Balladen IV, Op 64

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Tragödie is the only Heine poem (or set of lyrics) on this disc which is not taken from Der Buch der Lieder. The probable poetic sources for this work have already been discussed in the commentary on Clara Schumann’s Volkslied. It is easy to see why Schumann empathised with the story line. It contains a number of elements that chime with his own story: in the first song gallant and impetuous passion in Florestan mode (including biographical memories of how tempted he was to run away with Clara and damn the consequences); Eusebius-like reflectiveness in the second; and finally that almost childlike belief in magic and spiritual communication that he had shared with Clara from the earliest days of their friendship. It would not be very long before the pessimistic and hypochondriacal composer would come to regard his own life as a tragedy. It seems that the darker side of his nature had always believed that his fate had that catastrophic potential.

Schumann made an orchestral version of these songs between 27 October and 8 November 1841; they remain unpublished. One assumes that the piano versions pre-date the orchestrations, but this cannot be proved. ‘My first attempt at song composition with orchestra’ notes the composer in his Tagebuch. ‘Entflieh mit mir’ is scored for tenor, two flutes, oboes, horns in E, bassoons, strings and timpani. This version is two bars longer than the piano accompanied song. ‘Es fiel ein Reif’ is scored for soprano, two oboes, clarinets in A, horns in C, and strings. ‘Auf ihrem Grab’ is scored for soprano and tenor, two flutes, bassoon and strings, including two violas and cellos. In some reference works one finds the incorrect assertion that Tragödie was conceived as a piece for chorus and orchestra. The score makes clear that the composer had only solo voices in mind. The score of this version was long thought lost, but it re-emerged for auction at Sotheby’s in December 1991.

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Details for CDJ33105 track 16

No 3b: Tragödie II

Artists

Christopher Maltman (baritone)

Graham Johnson (piano)

ISRC

GB-AJY-01-10516

Duration

2'13

Recording date

16 April 2000

Recording venue

All Saints' Church, East Finchley, London, United Kingdom

Recording producer

Mark Brown

Recording engineer

Julian Millard

Hyperion usage

Schumann: The Complete Songs, Vol. 5 – Christopher Maltman (CDJ33105)
Disc 1 Track 16
Release date: February 2001
Deletion date: August 2010
Archive Service Only
Schumann: The Complete Songs (CDS44441/50)
Disc 6 Track 20
Release date: September 2010
10CDs Boxed set (at a special price)

Hyperion Records