Gustav Mahler (1860–1911)
Lieder aus Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Katharina Kammerloher (mezzo-soprano)
Arttu Kataja (baritone)
Eric Schneider (piano)
rec. 2023, Konzerthaus Abtei Marienmünster
German texts enclosed, English translation is available online
Reviewed as WAV download
MDG 90823226 SACD [77]
Mahler’s music took some time before it became accepted in wider circles. In spite of several advocates during the first part of the 20th century – most prominently Bruno Walter – Mahler’s prophetic words “my time will come” were not fulfilled until after WW2 with the arrival of the LP record. No wonder, of course, since the large scale symphonies cry out for uninterrupted listening. Symphony No. 9, for instance, of which Walter conducted the world premiere in 1912, was recorded by him in 1938 on ten 78rpm shellacks, which meant that the listener had to get up and turn or change discs every five minutes. With the new LP medium he could play each movement uninterrupted. But also Mahler’s vocal music gained from the easier exposure – and of course through the growing popularity of his music generally. The Wunderhorn songs as a group took some time to be established as a group on records, and then in the orchestral setting. The pioneering set was a Vanguard recording with Maureen Forrester and Heinz Rehfuss 1963, followed by Janet Baker and Geraint Evans in 1966, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in 1968 and Christa Ludwig and Walter Berry (with Bernstein conducting) in 1969. They are all established classics. Since then, numerous other discs have arrived. The piano versions, which were the original versions, were not launched until the early 1980s, when the indefatigable Fischer-Dieskau, with Daniel Barenboim on the piano, started a new trend. Several others have jumped on it too, including Thomas Hampson, Stefan Genz and Dietrich Henschel. I reviewed the latter’s disc a dozen years ago and he still comes up to the mark (review).
This latest effort is also interesting. The Munich born mezzo-soprano Katharina Kammerloher made a deep impression with her recital with songs by Cecile Chaminade (review) about a year ago, and here she has taken up with Finnish baritone Arttu Kataja, colleague with Kammerloher at Staatsoper in Berlin, for a new stab at the ever fascinating Wunderhorn songs. I heard Kataja at the Helsinki Festival two years ago, where he in a mixed programme also sang a couple of these songs, so I naturally was curious to encounter him again.
What I noted from the beginning was that both singers were so willing to dig deeply into the contents, to sing off the texts, and employ a wide dynamic scope. The lighter songs, for instance the charming Lob des hohen Verstanden and Um schlimme Kinder artig zu machen, are sung with good-humoured vivaciousness and a glint in the eye by Ms Kammerloher, and Kataja is likewise expressive and jovial in Der Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt. Both singers are extremely nuanced, and in particular Kataja excels in contrasting dynamics, from roaring fortissimos to beautifully whispered pianissimos. Der Schildwache Nachtlied is impressively mightily sung with a voice one associates with an Amonasro or even Wotan. But his roles in the opera house are rather in the opposite direction: Count Almaviva, Figaro, Guglielmo, Papageno, Marcello, Sharpless, Belcore, Music Teacher and Broom Maker. Now in his mid-forties, he might very well strive for heavier roles. Kammerloher also began in a lighter vein: Rosina, Mélisande, Suzuki, Octavian and Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos were early roles, but a couple of years ago she was scheduled to sing in Elektra. Such a super voice is hardly needed for Mahler, and her most memorable contributions here are an almost unbearable reading of Nicht Wiedersehen! and a deeply touching Urlicht, sung with brittle, vulnerable tone. It is a worthy conclusion to the programme, and it echoes in the silence long after the music has faded away.
The sensitive Eric Schneider is excellent in the double mission to on the one hand back up the singers in the lyrical passages, and on the other, push the action forward in the many dramatic moments. I am deeply impressed by the insight and involvement of both singers, which are among the most theatrical I can remember hearing. Possibly some listeners may feel that in particular Arttu Kataja sometimes over-eggs the pudding, but he does so with such conviction that I buy his concept straight away. Those who want a more neutral reading can with confidence go to the classic Vanguard recording with Maureen Forrester and Heinz Rehfuss. Canadian contralto Forrester had been trained by Mahler’s protégé Bruno Walter in how to sing Mahler, and the versatile Swiss bass-baritone Rehfuss sported the most beautiful lyrical voice imaginable for Mahler’s music. Listening to both couples can be very instructive, and tell us that there is more than one way of singing Mahler. This latest version will from now on occupy an honourable place in my collection, by the side of Forrester/Rehfuss, Henschel and other prominent interpreters of these songs.
Göran Forsling
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