Vienna: Fin de Siècle (Barbara Hannigan)
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Arnold Schoenberg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Anton Webern, Alma Mahler, Alban Berg, Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf
Genre:
Vocal
Label: Alpha
Magazine Review Date: 12/2018
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 78
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: ALPHA393
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(4) Lieder |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
5 Lieder nach Gedichten von Richard Dehmel |
Anton Webern, Composer
Anton Webern, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
(7) Frühe Lieder |
Alban Berg, Composer
Alban Berg, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Lieder, Movement: No. 6, Empfängnis (wds. Wertheimer) |
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Lieder, Movement: No. 1, Frühlingstag (wds. Siebel) |
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Gesänge, Movement: No. 2, Tiefe Sehnsucht (wds. Liliencron) |
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Gesänge, Movement: Schlaf nur ein! (wds. Heyse) |
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
(5) Gesänge, Movement: No. 1, Da waren zwei Kinder (wds. Morgenstern) |
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
(5) Gesänge, Movement: No. 2, Entbietung (wds. Dehmel) |
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
(5) Gesänge, Movement: No. 4, Irmelin Rose (wds. Jacobsen) |
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer
Alexander von Zemlinsky, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Die stille stadt |
Alma Mahler, Composer
Alma Mahler, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Laue Sommernacht |
Alma Mahler, Composer
Alma Mahler, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Ich wandle unter Blumen |
Alma Mahler, Composer
Alma Mahler, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Licht in der Nacht |
Alma Mahler, Composer
Alma Mahler, Composer Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Goethe Lieder, Movement: Mignon I (Heiss mich nicht reden) |
Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer
Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Goethe Lieder, Movement: Mignon II (Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt) |
Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer
Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Goethe Lieder, Movement: Mignon III (So lasst mich scheinen) |
Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer
Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Goethe Lieder, Movement: Mignon (Kennst du das Land) |
Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer
Barbara Hannigan, Soprano Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer Reinbert de Leeuw, Piano |
Author: Hugo Shirley
Hannigan’s approach, then, is not what we’re used to. In many of the songs there’s the sense that she’s embodying one of her most famous roles, Berg’s Lulu; I found myself imagining a waif-like protagonist wandering through shadowy, dreamlike landscapes. The delivery is intimate, confiding and almost coquettish. De Leeuw offers gentle, patient and discreet accompaniment. Hannigan’s voice is lithe and flexible rather than rich and firm; she strokes the vocal line lovingly rather than grasping it; her German is languid and unpercussive – often difficult to decipher. You might, like me, find yourself thinking more of the cabaret than the concert hall.
At times it’s supremely seductive. There’s no denying the erotic charge she communicates, for example, in Schoenberg’s Dehmel settings (listen to the final phrase of ‘Schenk mir deinen goldenen Kamm’, for example). You’ll struggle not to be carried away, too, with her way with the early Zemlinsky songs – such marvellous pieces in themselves. And her high notes in Berg’s ‘Schilflied’ are difficult to resist.
But several of Hannigan’s touches strike me, if not as inauthentic (to raise the question of authenticity is to open a can of worms), then at least as overly affected. High notes regularly float airily before being filled out, and there are swoops and slides aplenty (listen to Webern’s ‘Am Ufer’ or ‘Helle Nacht’). Occasionally I longed for something more straightforward, objective even, especially in the more ‘traditional’ Wolf numbers that conclude the disc. But, as usual with Hannigan, there’s some compelling, fascinating singing here.
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