Brahms: Die Schöne Magelone

Dominik Wörner (baritone); Masato Suzuki fortepiano)

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Die Schöne Magelone op. 33

Ludwig Tieck (1773-1853) was an early romantic German poet, translator of Shakespeare and Cervantes and also known as a versatile editor of folklore and fairy tales. His "Story of Magelone the Fair and Peter Count of Provence" is based on a French knight novel, translated in 1527 by Veit Warbeck into German. It was published in 1797 in the collection of his fairy tales. Tieck included 18 poems in the story, of which Johannes Brahms composed 15 songs under the title of "Romances of L. Tieck´s Magelone". The first four songs were composed in July 1861, the next three in May 1862 and the rest was completed by 1869. The cycle is dedicated to German baritone, Julius Stockhausen, who premiered two songs in 1865 and later the complete cycle.
The music was recorded on a historic fortepiano from 1870, identical to the instrument Brahms kept in his apartment in Vienna. The booklet contains the abridged fairy tale and fifteen paintings by the Japanese artist Kensaku Fukazawa who illustrated Brahms's songs.
Dominik Wörner is one of the most sought-after bass-baritones of his generation. He has been hailed for his "warm and exceptionally colourful voice" and for the "tender glow and sparkling expressiveness" of his style. The German Lied forms an important part of Wörner's repertoire. His recordings of Winterreise and Schwanengesang with fortepiano accompaniment on the ARS label met with much enthusiasm in the press.

Price: $27.98

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