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This year marks the centenary of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, the great German baritone who made art song his speciality. At his height he filled the Royal Albert Hall (capacity 5,000 plus) for solo recitals, a remarkable thought when today’s singers are happy to sell out the 550-seat Wigmore Hall.
There have been a number of singers since who could lay claim to being his successor, none more so than Christian Gerhaher. Among today’s generation, he is exceptional in German Lieder, both for his use of the words and the lyric beauty of his voice, not so dissimilar from Fischer-Dieskau’s warm baritone.
This Brahms recording includes 29 songs that mix the most famous with lesser-known finds. In his approach to their composition, Brahms said that for him “the ideal is the folk song”, which explains the lyric simplicity lying behind these often brooding and melancholic pieces.
As in the recital hall, Gerhaher sings Lieder as if he is having a private conversation with the listener. He takes care to sing whole sentences rather than individual words, which means naturally flowing speeds and the poetry spoken lightly and clearly. The well-known “Von ewiger Liebe” is not weighed down, as it can be. “Die Mainacht” shines a moonbeam of light in the darkness. There is real variety here, not just in the programme, but within each individual song.
Gerhaher’s accompanist, as always, is Gerold Huber, alert to his singer’s every smallest inflection and just as intimate a player. Brahms’s songs are rarely first choice for a recitalist. This recording is as good as they come.
★★★★★
‘Brahms: Songs’ is released by Sony Classical
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