Vlaams Radio Koor & Bo Holten - Robert Schumann: Choral Works (VRT Muziek Edition) (2011/2024) [Official Digital Download]

Before the First World War rendered all things German anathema, Schumann’s a cappella works, like Mendelssohn’s and Brahms’s, were choral society staples. Today they are probably the most neglected area of his entire output. Not all these settings are free from Lederhosen heartiness – the side of Schumann that wears least well – or Biedermeier blandness. But the range and depth of the best of them, above all the magnificent works for double choir, Op 141, may come as a revelation. Highlights elsewhere include a mixed-choir version of ‘Heidenröslein’ – without Schubert’s piquancy but full of sentimental charm – the tender, touching setting of Burns’s ‘John Anderson’ and the chromatically lush ‘Die Lotosblume’ for men’s chorus, just as sensitive in its response to Heine’s verses as the famous solo song in Myrthen.

"Although Schumann envisaged more ample forces, the 24-strong Flemish Radio Choir under the sympathetic direction of Bo Holten sings with fresh, keenly focused tone, pure intonation (crucial in Schumann's many chromatic thickets) and a wide spectrum of dynamics and colour…this beautifully recorded recital should open many ears to the beauties of Schumann's choral works" (Gramophone)

"Overshadowed by his orchestral, chamber, keyboard, and vocal music, the choral works of Robert Schumann are seriously neglected and have become a specialized interest for devotees of the genre. Yet some of his most charming music was written for choir, and in the hands of a really capable group, the music is as appealing as any of Schumann's most popular songs or miniatures. The Flemish Radio Choir, a small ensemble under the direction of Bo Holten, is one such group, and its beautifully blended voices lend these choral songs a purity and sweetness that are wholly appropriate for Schumann's poignant harmonies and lyrical settings of German poetry. Most of these songs are performed a cappella, which creates a rather light and airy effect in the resonant studio acoustics, though the numbers with piano accompaniment, played by Inge Spinette, are grouped at the end of the program, so the change of sound isn't unsettling. Because there are few recordings of Schumann's choral works, and even fewer performed with such eloquence and polish, this disc may present the best opportunity to hear this overlooked repertoire." (Blair Sanderson, AMG)

Inge Spinette, piano
Vlaams Radio Orkest
Bo Holten, conductor

Tracklist:
01. Vier doppelchörige Gesänge, Op. 141- I. An die Sterne (VRT Muziek Edition)
02. Vier doppelchörige Gesänge, Op. 141- II. Ungewisses Licht (VRT Muziek Edition)
03. Vier doppelchörige Gesänge, Op. 141- III. Zuversicht (VRT Muziek Edition)
04. Vier doppelchörige Gesänge, Op. 141- IV. Talismane (VRT Muziek Edition)
05. Romanzen und Balladen No. 1, Op. 67- I. Der König von Thule (VRT Muziek Edition)
06. Romanzen und Balladen No. 1, Op. 67- II. Schön-Rohtraut (VRT Muziek Edition)
07. Romanzen und Balladen No. 1, Op. 67- III. Heidenröslein (VRT Muziek Edition)
08. Romanzen und Balladen No. 1, Op. 67- IV. Ungewitter (VRT Muziek Edition)
09. Romanzen und Balladen No. 1, Op. 67- V. John Anderson (VRT Muziek Edition)
10. Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männergesang, Op. 33- No. 1, Der träumende See (VRT Muziek Edition)
11. Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männergesang, Op. 33- No. 2, Die Minnesänger (VRT Muziek Edition)
12. Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männergesang, Op. 33- No. 3, Die Lotosblume (VRT Muziek Edition)
13. Vier Gesänge, Op. 59- No. 2, Am Bodensee (VRT Muziek Edition)
14. Vier Gesänge, Op. 59- No. 4, Gute Nacht (VRT Muziek Edition)
15. Romanzen, Op. 69- No. 1, Tamburinschlägerin (VRT Muziek Edition)
16. Romanzen, Op. 69- No. 3, Klosterfräulein (VRT Muziek Edition)
17. Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74- No. 2, Intermezzo (VRT Muziek Edition)
18. Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74- No. 4, In der Nacht (VRT Muziek Edition)
19. Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74- No. 5, Es ist verraten (VRT Muziek Edition)
20. Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74- No. 9, Ich bin geliebt (VRT Muziek Edition)


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