Benjamin Appl (baritone)
For Dieter: Hommage à Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
James Baillieu (piano)
rec. 2024, Deutschlandfunk Kammermusiksaal, Cologne, Germany
Sung texts with translations in English and French
Reviewed as download
Alpha Classics 1131 [79]
Benjamin Appl’s relationship to Dietrich Fischer-Diskeau began when he applied to join a masterclass the great baritone was running in 2009 on Schubert songs. Appl was understandably nervous of Fischer-Dieskau’s exacting reputation as a teacher. He submitted a list of thirty possible songs to work on (three times the stipulated number) and received a reply saying that he had been accepted for the sessions and Fischer-Dieskau would work with him on four songs, none of which were on Appl’s list. A fascinating student-teacher interaction before they had met one might think. It’s not clear what Fischer-Dieskau made of Appl’s list which caused him to suggest different songs altogether, but it seems as if a genuine bond between the two was forged once they met. After the masterclass Fischer-Dieskau offered Appl the opportunity to study with him privately, which he did until Fischer-Dieskau’s death in 2012. Appl writes that this opportunity to study with Fischer-Dieskau was ‘one of the greatest gifts of my professional life’. In recognition of that and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Fischer-Dieskau’s birth, Appl has assembled an album in tribute. Its segments are tied to a broadly biographical framework. In addition to the disc though, an immense amount of trouble has been taken by Appl to provide a detailed text, which gives an excellent, concise account of Fischer-Dieskau’s life and includes many previously unpublished photos and letters. Even if one thinks one knows the Fischer-Dieskau story, the contents give food for thought. To give a few examples: we learn of the tragedy of Fischer-Dieskau’s disabled brother Martin being starved to death whilst in an institution because of the Nazi’s euthanasia programme; Fischer-Dieskau’s experiences as a prisoner of war; his feeling that he was ‘pushed’ onto the operatic stage in the late 1940s and then the sensation he caused; four marriages, which trace a path of tragedy and emotional strife before an eventual return to happiness with Julia Varady; his extraordinary pedagogical influence; and the important new music written with him in mind. The whole has been beautifully packaged by Alpha as a hardback book with a CD sleeve. I strongly recommend immersing yourself in the book before listening.
There are thirty two songs in the recital. Schubert perhaps unsurprisingly provides the backbone. The ‘Prologue’ to the album is a poignant performance of An die Musik. Fischer-Dieskau learned and performed the song as a prisoner of war but it’s Schober’s theme in his poem of the transportive power of music that Appl wants to stress as he embarks on the journey, the debt of gratitude expressed to art, ‘Du holde Kunst, ich danke dir dafür!’ matched by his own to Fischer-Dieskau. It’s a perfect way to start and typical of the thoughtfulness displayed throughout. We have first recordings of songs by Fischer-Dieskau’s father Albert and his brother Klaus. Fascinating in context, especially when performed with the commitment shown here. Of particular interest is the setting by Klaus (who had a distinguished career as a choral director) of (Dietrich) Fischer-Dieskau’s own poem, Aus Schmerzen und Freuden geboren, (‘Born of pain and joy’) from a collection he entitled Der Spielmann (‘The Minstrel’), scored for cello and voice, creating a texture which perfectly captures the poem’s mood of anguish and lament. Bartolomeo Dandolo Marchesi joins Appl here for a memorable performance of the best song of these Fischer-Dieskau family premieres.
These aren’t the only surprises on the disc, surprises which take a number of forms, for example Brahms’s Wie bist du, meine Königin appearing in the ‘Teenage Years’ section because incredibly Fischer-Dieskau first sung it (and the Vier ernste Gesänge!) at sixteen, and a song by Bruno Walter, his rather saccharine Des Kindes Schlaf, whose songs Fischer-Dieskau explored after giving a number of recitals with him. There are reminders too of Fischer-Dieskau’s championing of Eisler, represented in two contrasting songs, and of female composers, Fanny Hensel and Clara Schumann here.
The highlights for me were three items. First, the Britten Appl has chosen. There’s a spine tingling account of Proverb III from Songs and Proverbs of William Blake (which Appl reminds us Britten wrote for Fischer-Dieskau in memory of his first wife, Irmel), less than a minute of music, which stays with the listener long after its conclusion. Also Fischer Dieskau’s German translation of Owen’s Bugles sang, Hörnersang, from Britten’s War Requiem which works very well in German and also with just piano accompaniment, James Baillieu superb here, as he is throughout. Second, Samuel Barber’s Three Songs op. 45, settings of translations of German poets by James Joyce, Czesław Miłosz and Christopher Middleton. These are wonderful pieces, Barber attentive to every word and nuance, his music both lyrical and full of colour and Appl and Baillieu perform them with exquisite sensitivity. I don’t think Fischer-Dieskau ever recorded the songs, but I am sure he would have fully approved of this very thoughtful rendition. Finally, there is an absolutely shattering performance of Aribert Reimann’s setting of Paul Celan’s poem, Tenebrae. Reimann needed courage to set the poem, a devastating juxtaposition of Christ’s passion with images of the Holocaust, because it looks unimprovable on the page, the verse deceptively simple, the repetition of the word ‘Herr’ almost hypnotic in its effect, but his spare, fitfully luminescent music and his care for the words produced an even more powerful work of art I think. It’s rivetingly delivered here. As part of the 100th anniversary commemoration Warner issued earlier this year the complete group of Reimann’s Celan settings (5 Gedichte von Paul Celan) with Fischer-Dieskau accompanied by the composer (Warner 2173261169, Digital only) which is compulsory listening for lovers of contemporary lieder, but I think Appl and Baillieu’s performance here is even more striking.
There’s much else on the disc that will give pleasure. It’s obvious that Appl spent a long time thinking about what to include and where. The placement of songs in order to cast light on those around them is very well judged indeed. For example, I’m sure that part of the impact of the Reimann I have just written about is because it comes as a fascinating comparison immediately after Schubert’s setting of Schiller’s forlorn Die Götter Griechenlands and just before Debussy’s mortality infused Beau soir (sung here in Fischer-Dieskau’s German translation).
Last month I reviewed a SOMM release of some rare Fischer-Dieskau performances (review), which I greatly enjoyed. That and the Warner disc above (which contains songs by a number of contemporary composers, not just Reimann) are the best releases featuring Fischer-Dieskau himself I’ve experienced this anniversary year. This recital is very special though. It would be winning without the context, but the care which Appl has taken to link the songs to life events and somehow be representative of Fischer-Dieskau’s scope in just eighty minutes is hugely impressive. As I hope I have indicated already, the performances from Appl and Baillieu are simply superlative and they have been recorded extremely well by the Dlfkultur and Alpha production team. The book which is supplied is in itself an essential acquisition for anybody interested in understanding more about Fischer-Dieskau. Altogether an exemplary achievement.
Dominic Hartley
Previous review: Göran Forsling (July 2025)
Contents
PROLOGUE
FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
1 An die Musik, D547 (Schober) 2‘50
CHILDHOOD IN BERLIN
ALBERT FISCHER-DIESKAU (1865-1937)
2 Heidenröslein, from the Singspiel Sesenheim (Goethe) * 2’36
KLAUS FISCHER-DIESKAU (1921-1994)
3 Nocturne I, op. 1/1 (excerpt) (Dedicated to Mother) * 1’08
4 Wehmut, op. 3/2 (Goethe) * 2’30
TEENAGE YEARS AND FIRST STEPS AS A SINGER
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
5 Wie bist du, meine Königin, op. 32/9 (Daumer) 3‘57
A SOLDIER IN WAR 1943-1945
HUGO WOLF (1860-1903)
6 Andenken (Matthisson) 2’20
ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD (1897-1957)
7 Liebesbriefchen, op. 9/4 (Honold) 2’29
FRANZ SCHUBERT
8 Strophe aus ‘Die Götter Griechenlands‘, D677 (Schiller) 4’32
ARIBERT REIMANN (1936-2024)
9 Tenebrae (Celan) 3’15
A PRISONER OF WAR 1945-1947
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
10 Schöner Abend, L. 84 (Bourget/Fischer-Dieskau) 2’29
CHRISTIAN SINDING (1856-1941)
11 Sylvelin, op. 55/1 (Vislie/Henzen) 1’42
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
12 Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, op. 6/6 (Goethe) 3’13
EDUARD KÜNNEKE (1885-1953)
13 Ich bin nur ein armer Wandergesell (Haller/Rideamus) 1’39
RETURNING HOME IN 1947
FANNY HENSEL (1805-1847)
14 Ach, die Augen sind es wieder (Heine) 1’23
HANNS EISLER (1898-1962)
15 Die Heimkehr (Brecht) 1’42
KLAUS FISCHER-DIESKAU
16 Aus Schmerzen und Freuden geboren, op. 22/1 (Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau) * 2’28
BIRTH OF THREE SONS
BRUNO WALTER (1876-1962)
17 Des Kindes Schlaf (Eichendorff) 1’57
SONG ACCOMPANISTS AND FRIENDS
FRANZ SCHUBERT
18 An mein Klavier, D342 (Schubart) 4’04
BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976)
19 Proverb III, from Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, op. 74 (Blake) 0’57
THE BITTER LOSS OF IRMEL, HIS FIRST WIFE IN 1963
CARL LOEWE (1796-1869)
20 Süßes Begräbnis, op. 62/4 (Rückert) 2’56
DEATH OF HIS MOTHER THEODORA IN 1966
HANNS EISLER
21 Mutterns Hände (Tucholsky) 2’07
MARITAL LIFE
(RUTH LEUWERIK 1965-1967, KRISTINA PUGELL 1968-1975, JULIA VARADY 1977-2012)
FRANZ GROTHE (1908-1982)
22 Excerpt from music for the film: ‘Vater braucht eine Frau‘ 1’26
FRANZ SCHUBERT
23 Liebhaber in allen Gestalten, D558 (Goethe) 1’38
CLARA SCHUMANN (1819-1896)
24 Liebst du um Schönheit, op. 12/2 (Rückert) 2’11
COMMISSIONS AND WORLD PREMIERES
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
25 Hörnersang, op. 66 from War Requiem (Owen/Fischer-Dieskau) 2’49
SAMUEL BARBER (1910-1981)
Three Songs, op. 45 (1974)
26 Now I Have Fed and Eaten Up the Rose (Keller/Joyce) 1’59
27 A Green Lowland of Pianos (Harsymowicz/Miłosz) 2’15
28 O Boundless, Boundless Evening (Heym/Middleton) 3’04
TEACHING AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
FRANZ SCHUBERT
29 An die Laute, D905 (Rochlitz) 1’36
HUGO WOLF
30 Sterb’ ich, so hüllt in Blumen meine Glieder (Heyse) 2’39
FAREWELL TO STAGE
CARL MARIA VON WEBER (1786-1826)
31 Meine Lieder, meine Sänge, op. 15/1 (Löwenstein-Werthheim) 2’58
EPILOGUE
ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
32 Requiem, op. 90/7 (Dreves) 3’51
* World premiere recording
Bartolomeo Dandolo Marchesi (cello) (tr.16)
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