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Track(s) taken from CDJ33020

Klage um Ali Bey, D140

First line:
Lasst mich! lasst mich! ich will klagen
composer
published in 1850 as part of volume 45 of the Nachlass
author of text

John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Jamie MacDougall (tenor), Michael George (bass), Graham Johnson (piano)
Recording details: November 1993
Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, Hampstead, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Antony Howell
Release date: March 1994
Total duration: 2 minutes 50 seconds
 

Reviews

«Un superbe panorame des lieder de l'année 1815» (Créscendo, France)
This song is one of Schubert’s very rare attempts at droll comedy. We know only that it was composed either in 1815 or 1816 and by including it in this Schubertiad we are hedging our bets. Of the two versions, it is almost certain the piece’s original form is as a trio and that the solo version was made for rehearsal purposes. The rather obscure fragment of Egyptian history which is the background to the Claudius poem (the slaying of Ali Bey by his favourite Abu Dahab in 1773) has prompted Schubert to imagine a trio of sycophants who make their plaint with elaborate ritual and patent insincerity. The idea of a trio of courtiers commenting on the misfortunes of their sovereign reminds us of the Three Ladies in Die Zauberflöte. Did Mandyczewski perhaps have this precedent in mind when he assigned this ensemble to three female voices in the 1897 Gesamtausgabe?

from notes by Graham Johnson © 1994

Other albums featuring this work

Schubert: The Complete Songs
CDS44201/4040CDs Boxed set + book (at a special price) — Download only
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