I just left the Wigmore Hall, and found an Internet Access point just opposite, so I can write about the concert while it's still fresh in my mind. (For people I've already discussed this with - it IS the same programme as the Chatelet programme last year).
The Kerner Lieder are not well-known, on this evidence Kerner was not as great a poet as Heine (indeed, he is almost forgotten today), but some of the songs are very attractive, especially when performed
by Hampson and Rieger. Hampson's performance was sometimes mellifluous and suave, sometimes passionate, always intelligent and committed, always with beautiful intonation. He and Rieger have been performing together for years now, and Schumann especially needs a pianist who is an equal partner with the singer, not
an "accompanist" - so many of the songs have piano postludes which reinforce the sentiments expressed in the song.
Two of the Kerner Lieder are songs about travel, set to cheerful melodies - some more serious, or contemplative, for instance "Stille Liebe", in which the poet expresses his regret that no poem is truly
adequate to express the praise of his beloved....
During the interval I drank some wine and discussed the manifold talents of Thomas Hampson with the people sitting near me - (nothing to do with the looks, HONEST!!! )
Then after the interval he sang DICHTERLIEBE, but it is a version which contains the songs that were omitted from the original publication - that they have been re-discovered is thanks to Hampson's research, there is a long article in the programme about the publication history.
What impresses one about Hampson's performance is that he appears to be EXPERIENCING what he sings about, not just NARRATING it. Again the smooth, mellifluous tones in the first songs - his voice sounds
like melted honey sometimes! And he can be passionate as well -
in 'Ich grolle nicht', he really spat out the final "nicht", and
even his facial expression was involved - angry, tormented. The
point of this song is that the poet is claming that he doesn't "bear
a grudge", but of course the fact that it exists at all demonstrates
his anger and bitterness.
"The notion that Schumann either ignored or tried to soften Heine's
irony is a widespread one that has not been frequently enough
challenged". His interpretation of "Ich grolle nicht" is a case in
point, as is "Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen".....I was struck by this
when I saw the performance at the Chatelet, and he and Rieger have
deepened and refined the interpretation so that the ironic nature of
the song is even more apparent. The flowers exhort the poet "not to
be angry with our sister" - and one realises that perhaps Heine's
flower imagery isn't as charming as it appears on the surface,
because what the flowers are in effect saying is...."She's just a
flower, what do you expect from such an ephemeral creature....we
just fade and die..." I mean that Hampson really emphasises the
ironic subtext of this song.
I have singled out one or two Lieder for special mention, but really
the entire performance was of a very high standard. They performed
just one encore - 'Du bist wie eine Blume' - and were given bottles
of champagne instead of flowers!! Then Hampson got Rieger to take a
solo bow, and he said a few words of farewell, wishing the audience
Happy Holidays.
Now I'm still trying to come back down to earth!!!!
Dr. Jane Susanna ENNIS
http://members.fortunecity.co.uk/leonora/opera.html
