Max Reger (1873-1916)
An die Hoffnung, op 124 (1912)
Der Einsiedler, op 144a (1912)
Requiem, op 144b (1915)
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (1884/1885)
Rückert–Lieder (1901/1902)
Anke Vondung (mezzo), Tobias Berndt (baritone)
Corus Musicus Köln
Das Neue Orchester/Christoph Spering
rec. 2022, Herz-Jesu Kirche, Köln-Mülheim, Germany
German texts with English translations enclosed
Capriccio C5512 [78]
The Capriccio label brings together a couple of the late works of Max Reger that I believe are receiving their debut recording, along with some of Gustav Mahler’s orchestral songs in a program of pieces that handsomely fit together.
The 1912 Song dedicated “To Hope” is a 10 minute vocal treasure for mezzo and chorus, backed by a large orchestra that in many respects alludes to Brahm’s Alto Rhapsody. The piece begins in a sober pensive vein, similar to the Brahms piece but halfway through the composer suddenly lightens the atmosphere where the poet describes a green valley. The lighter mood is then retained through to the end of the work. Reger makes the orchestra sing with glowing autumnal colours while framing the mezzo’s gentle lines with a sort of a sonic halo. Anke Vondung is a mezzo who impressed me greatly in the BR Klassik recording of Caplet’s Le Miroir de Jésus: Mystères du rosaire (review). In this work her rich mezzo tone blends alluringly with the chorus and orchestra, while her phrasing is direct and moving.
The two songs which make up Reger’s Opus 144 were finished 3 years apart, with Requiem coming at the very end of his life, almost as if the composer had nothing left to communicate after completing it. In Der Einsiedler (The Hermit), Reger illustrates the poem of a world weary sailor who wanders the world while longing for his permanent rest. Reger seems to have found a kinship with those sentiments in this gloriously melancholy song for baritone and chorus. The baritone enters only halfway through the work and here the brass-like gleam of Tobias Berndt’s high baritone is a significant asset. He sings the words with particular care which is refreshing to encounter these days. At times his voice is reminiscent of a very young Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. This is my favorite on the CD and definitely a piece I will be returning to.
Requiem is not a setting of the Latin mass for the dead but rather a setting of a poem by Christian Friederich Hebbel. The work is a sombre and occasionally stormy reflection about dead souls which are hovering all-around us, while they are waiting for a renewed life. Listening to this, one can sense that Reger was aware that his time was running out as he completed this work. It is essentially a choral work with brief interjections from a solo mezzo, who repeatedly reminds us to not forget the dead souls. Here Vondung returns with a fine contribution, especially in the way in which she is able to float her tone weightlessly over the chorus.
Mahler’s “Songs of the Wayfarer” bring Berndt back for this much-recorded song cycle. Thomas Hampson has a slightly rounder tone in his recording of the cycle with Leonard Bernstein for DG, and he does mine the poetry of the songs a little more (only reviewed for MWI as part of a complete Mahler/Bernstein set, review) Berndt has a youthful passion that he brings to these songs which he exploits to great effect, and strikes me as an equally valid approach.
Lastly the five songs of the Rückert–Lieder bring the return of Ms. Vondungwhere she shows herself to be no less accomplished a performer than she was in the Reger works. She is particularly fine at conveying the rapt stillness of Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen.
Throughout the whole recital Christoph Spering does impressive work at holding everything together and preventing the prevailing gloom of the Reger pieces from descending into excess. He has incredibly fine support from the 65 players of Das Neue Orchester, who show what a fine ensemble they have become under his direction. The Corus Musicus Köln also gives a remarkable contribution to the album with their precise execution and full, luxurious sound. Capriccio has provided a beautifully balanced recording that is wide-ranging and has a very spacious acoustic.
Mike Parr
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