Schoenberg Friede auf Erden
A frustrating mix of choral works but a razor-sharp Chamber Symphony
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Arnold Schoenberg
Label: Fuga Libera
Magazine Review Date: 11/2005
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 55
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: FUG504

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Pierrot lunaire |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Het Collectief Jacqueline Janssen, Mezzo soprano Robin Engelen, Conductor |
Chamber Symphony No. 1 |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Het Collectief Robin Engelen, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Arnold Schoenberg
Genre:
Vocal
Label: Astrée Naïve
Magazine Review Date: 11/2005
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 64
Mastering:
Stereo
Catalogue Number: V5008

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Friede auf Erden |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Accentus Chamber Choir Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Ensemble InterContemporain, Paris Laurence Equilbey, Conductor |
(5) Orchestral Pieces |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Accentus Chamber Choir Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Laurence Equilbey, Conductor |
(3) Deutsche Volkslieder, Movement: Es gingen zwei Gespielen |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Accentus Chamber Choir Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Laurence Equilbey, Conductor |
(3) Deutsche Volkslieder, Movement: Herzlieblich Lieb, durch Scheiden |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Accentus Chamber Choir Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Laurence Equilbey, Conductor |
(3) Deutsche Volkslieder, Movement: Schein uns, du liebe Sonne |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Accentus Chamber Choir Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Laurence Equilbey, Conductor |
Chamber Symphony No. 1 |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Ensemble InterContemporain, Paris Jonathan Nott, Conductor |
(6) Stücke, Movement: Verbundenheit |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Accentus Chamber Choir Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Laurence Equilbey, Conductor |
Dreimal tausend Jahre |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Accentus Chamber Choir Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Laurence Equilbey, Conductor |
Psalm 130, 'De profundis' |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Accentus Chamber Choir Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Laurence Equilbey, Conductor |
Author: Arnold Whittall
Maximum variety must have been the aim. Otherwise there is little point in breaking up a choral programme with a performance of the First Chamber Symphony – well played but no more successful than many other recordings at achieving a convincing overall balance. It also seems wasteful to include two performances of Friede auf Erden, one with instrumental accompaniment, one without, and to fit in four minutes of a pointless vocal arrangement of the Op 16 No 3 orchestral piece Farben: music that depends entirely on instrumental resonances, and contrasts, for its effect.
The programme on the Belgian Fuga Libera CD makes better sense, coupling Pierrot lunaire with Webern’s arrangement of the Op 9 Chamber Symphony for the Pierrot instrumental quintet – flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano. Op 9 is given a properly fast and furious performance, and with playing – and co-ordination – of such razor-sharp precision, the loss of the original’s endlessly fascinating textural density is less frustrating than it might otherwise be. Pierrot has comparable precision, the vocal part very much acted rather than sung, and although the instruments tend to swamp Jacqueline Janssen now and again, the overall effect is a strikingly authentic blend of the light and the sinister. Not as refined or diverse in character as the outstanding account by Christine Schäfer with Boulez and the EIC (DG, 10/98) but among the best of the available alternatives.
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