Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Lieder
Christian Gerhaher (baritone)
Gerold Huber (piano)
rec. live, 8-9 October 2024, Reistadel, Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Germany
Sony 19802897352 [68]

It is a decade since Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber released their recording of Die Schöne Magelone, and proved themselves to be consummate Brahmsians in the process. This disc of Brahms Lieder doesn’t really have a unifying theme, despite the valiant efforts of Laurent Lütteken’s booklet notes to construct one out of Brahms’ relationship with the “folk style.” Instead it’s an engagingly reflective journey through Brahms’ relationship with the art of song, to which Gerhaher and Huber are most amicable guides.

It’s worth saying, however, that Gerhaher isn’t on his very finest vocal form here. The beauty and grace are all still there in the middle and lower registers, but there’s regularly a touch of strain above the stave so that at times the voice is a little uncontrolled while reaching for some of those upper notes. It’s most noticeable in the earlier songs, something perhaps explained by the fact that this is a live recording and he may have been experiencing an off day, something we’re all allowed to do.

Nevertheless, Gerhaher on an off day is still preferable to many singers on their good days, and he is still capable of summoning up his finest form in many of these songs. Almost regardless of his vocal form, what really sets him apart as such a consummate interpreter of song is the expressiveness of his voice and his deep engagement with the text. Pair him with Huber’s deeply insightful way with the piano line and you have lieder magic. You get that at its height in the fourth song on this disc, Von ewiger Liebe, where Huber’s gently rolling piano line speaks of the deep, turbulent emotions of the words, while Gerhaher’s voice plays the part of the three characters in the unfolding domestic drama, each of which has its own personality and, it seems, neurotic preoccupations. Huber’s steady trickle of rain in Walle, Regen, walle nieder is an equal character in the drama to Gerhaher’s voice, while his piano line can take on an abstract-expressionist quality in Auf dem Kirchhofe or impersonate birdsong in Lerchengesang.

The Neun Lieder und Gesänge hang together as a deeply dramatic cycle of sadness and loss, with boundless longing in Wie rafft’ ich mich auf in der Nacht, desperate resolution in Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen, or turbulent passion in Wehe, so willst du mich wieder, yet finding space for tremendous tenderness in Bitteres zu sagen, denkst du. Wie bist du, meine Königin ends the cycle on a mood of surprisingly positive resolution.

Other jewels include the archly expressed romantic longing of Meine Lieder, the bucolic love-language of Geheimnis, or the gentle seriousness of Die Mainacht, which showcases the lower registers of Gerhaher’s voice very attractively. However, both Gerhaher and Huber are perhaps at their finest in the songs that tell stories and that have propulsive narratives, such as the aforementioned Von ewiger Liebe, and in the uncannily persuasive loss-song of Treue Liebe, which tells a tightly condensed story where the piano has the final dramatic word. Curiously, we get two settings of the same poem, Regentropfen aus den Bäumen. The lesser one finishes the disc, which feels like a bit of a shame because the preceding song, Die Kränze, has an almost transcendental beauty to it, particularly in the piano line, which would have been a more satisfying way to end the disc.

No matter: this disc remains a treat, and this time Sony have avoided their clanger in that Schöne Magelone release and provided full texts and translations. 

Simon Thompson

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Contents
Sehnsucht, Op. 14, No. 8
Der Überläufer, Op. 48, No. 2
Vor dem Fenster, Op. 14, No. 1
Von ewiger Liebe, Op. 43, No. 1
Vom verwundeten Knaben, Op. 14, No. 2
Der Gang zum Liebchen, Op. 48, No. 1
9 Lieder und Gesänge, Op. 32
No. 1, Wie rafft’ ich mich auf in der Nacht
No. 2, Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen
No. 3, Ich schleich umher betrübt
No. 4, Der Strom, der neben mir verrauschte
No. 5, Wehe, so willst du mich wieder
No. 6, Du sprichst, dass ich mich täuschte
No. 7, Bitteres zu sagen, denkst du
No. 8, So stehn wir, ich und meine Weide
No. 9, Wie bist du, meine Königin
“Regenlied”-Zyklus: Walle, Regen, walle nieder “Regenlied”
Dein blaues Auge
Mein wundes Herz
Regentropfen aus den Bäumen
Meine Lieder, Op. 106, No. 4
Geheimnis, Op. 71, No. 3
Die Mainacht, Op. 43, No. 2
Auf dem Kirchhofe, Op. 105, No. 4
O kühler Wald, Op. 72, No. 3
Treue Liebe, Op. 7, No. 1
Herbstgefühl, Op. 48, No. 7
Lerchengesang, Op. 70, No. 2
Die Kränze, Op. 46, No. 1
Regentropfen aus den Bäumen, WoO 23