Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.

Please use the dropdown buttons to set your preferred options, or use the checkbox to accept the defaults.

Click cover art to view larger version
Track(s) taken from CDJ33029

Blondel zu Marien, D626

First line:
In düst’rer Nacht
composer
September 1818; first published in 1842 as No 2 of volume 34 of the Nachlass
author of text

Marjana Lipovšek (mezzo-soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)
Recording details: December 1996
Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, Hampstead, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Antony Howell & Julian Millard
Release date: September 1997
Total duration: 3 minutes 18 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Edith Mathis (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Reviews

‘One of the most rewarding CDs to date in this whole, comprehensive Lieder Edition. Utterly absorbing’ (Gramophone)

‘Lipovšek provides a feast of marvellous singing. She has one of the most beautiful mezzo voices around at the moment. A great addition to the series’ (Classic CD)

‘Endlessly satisfying music and performances of poise and distinction’ (Hi-Fi News)
The original key is E flat minor, and we have already remarked on its similarity to the sixth strophe of Einsamkeit which is in the same key. Like Einsamkeit the song dates from Schubert’s summer in Zseliz, and its subject-matter may well relate to the Virgin Mary which would put it on a par with certain other works from the same period which have Marian overtones – all of which were probably designed to appeal to the deeply devout sympathies of the young Esterhazy countesses. It has all the hallmarks of the composer’s vocal writing of the period, although the singer’s line is more ornamented than usual. This leads one to speculate whether Vogl had a hand in sprucing the song up for public performance, and if it is this version that Diabelli published in 1842.

The songs remains an enigma in various ways: the origin of its text, and its debt (or lack of it) to such sources as Grétry’s Richard Cœur de Lion, an opera which was a favourite with Viennese audiences in Schubert’s adolescence.

from notes by Graham Johnson © 1997

Other albums featuring this work

Schubert: The Complete Songs
CDS44201/4040CDs Boxed set + book (at a special price) — Download only
Schubert: The Hyperion Schubert Edition, Vol. 21 - Edith Mathis
CDJ33021Download only
Schubert: An introduction to The Hyperion Schubert Edition
HYP200Super-budget price sampler — Deleted
Waiting for content to load...
Waiting for content to load...