Modern Times - Songs by Schreker, Gál, Goldschmidt, Eisler, Korngold, Zemlinksy & Grosz

Christian Immler & Helmut Deutsch

MODERN TIMES 

Songs by Schreker, Gál, Goldschmidt, Eisler, Korngold, Zemlinksy & Grosz

Franz SCHREKER (1878-1934)

(Das) feurige Männlein

Und wie mag die Liebe dir kommen sein?

Hans GAL (1890-1987)

(5) Songs

Beryhold GOLDSCHMIDT ()

(2) Songs by Christian Morgenstern

Hanns EISLER (1898-1962)

Galgenlieder

Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD (1897-1957)

Songs of the Clown

Alexander ZEMLINSKY (1871-1942)

(12) Lieder, Movement: Der Wind des Herbstes (wds. Kalidasa)

(12) Lieder, Movement: Afrikanischer Tanz (wds. Hughes)

(12) Lieder, Movement: Gib ein Lied mir wieder (wds. George)

(12) Lieder, Movement: Regenzeit (wds. Kalidasa)

Hanns EISLER (1898-1962)

Balladenbuch, Movement: Ballade vom Nigger Jim (wds. Weber & cpsr)

Balladenbuch, Movement: Ballade von der Krüppelgarde

Bänkel und Balladen, Movement: Die Ballade vom Seemann Kuttel Daddeldu

Wilhelm GROSZ (1894-1939)

Bänkel und Balladen, Movement: Bänkel vom Klatsch

Bänkel und Balladen, Movement: Die Ballade vom Sammy Lee

Bänkel und Balladen, Movement: Bänkel vom Business

Christian M. Immler, Baritone

Helmut Deutsch, Piano

Release date

21 October 2011

Christian Immler has long championed the songs of so-called entartete (‘degenerate’) composers forced into exile by the Nazis. He and Helmut Deutsch have here fashioned an enterprisingly eclectic programme ranging in idiom from the (very) late Romanticism of Hans Gál – whose atmospheric Lieder tend to suggest a slimmed-down Richard Strauss – to the cabaret songs of Wilhelm Grosz, with their half-echoes of Kurt Weill and New Orleans jazz. En route we get Korngold’s melodically attractive settings from Twelfth Night (‘Come away, Death’, with its Schubertian-Mahlerian equivocations between minor and major, is especially memorable), a clutch of late songs by Zemlinsky that hover on the edge of atonality, and Hanns Eisler in both lyrical and acerbically satirical mode. His ‘Ballade von der Krüppelgarde’ (‘Ballad of the crippled guard’) vies with Mahler’s ‘Revelge’ as the most vicious of anti-war songs – though Franz Schreker’s demonic-grotesque ‘Das feurige Männlein’ runs them close.

With his personable high baritone – mellow yet capable of an incisive edge – and keen intelligence, Immler convinces equally in the mystery and inwardness of the Zemlinsky songs (sung in flawless English), the luminous Gál nocturne ‘Abend auf dem Fluss’ and the mordant ballads of Eisler and Grosz. In the latter he characterises with a sly, acidic wit (I loved his Louis Armstrong moment in Grosz’s ‘Ballade vom Seemann Kuttel Daddeldu’), without becoming over-knowing. Deutsch, always rhythmically acute, proves an ideal collaborator. Sad, then, to end with a serious gripe: with such rare repertoire, translations are indispensable for non-German speakers. CAvi-Music criminally provides translations neither in the booklet (Erik Levi’s excellent note is only partial compensation)

nor on their website.

(Gramophone Review)

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German baritone Christian Immler is accompanied by the equally wonderful Helmut Deutsch on piano in this unique album of pieces by late 19th and early 20th century composers, with an emphasis on Jewish composers. The result is a program of songs of varied tonalities and moods that take the listener on an interesting musical journey. Consistent throughout the album is Immler's fine technique: a dark, clean baritone that never breaks or falters, though it on rare occasion pulls back. There is great feeling, too, as one can hear from the opening track, "Das feurige Männlein," by Schrecker. His diction is clear and the music agitated. Gál's "Drei Prinzessinnen" demonstrates the chemistry the pianist and baritone have together, as they create a delicious atmosphere of darkness and doom. Immler can carry his voice effortlessly up to high notes, as in "Abend auf dem Fluss." Here, the atmosphere is set by Deutsch's flowing river; Deutsch is to be credited well for his ability to set the tone of each piece, be it agitated, calm, melancholy, or jazzy. Eisler's "Philantropisch" creates a sense of tension through its ragged melody, and Immler hooks into the emotion of the song with ease. But it is in the second set of Eisler songs that Immler and Deutsch show off some of their best work, especially in the militaristic "Ballade von der Krüppelgarde," with its power chords, jazz-like feel, and clearly distinguished characters. Immler certainly has a talent for committing to characters. This is also evident in the album highlights of Zemlinsky's "Afrikanischer Tanz" (with its delightful rolled Rs) and the cabaret-like Grosz songs, which Immler tosses off with great ease, fun, and feeling. He sings with relish, and this is most inviting to the listener. The only songs where Immler is not as successful are Korngold's English language pieces based on Shakespeare texts. The difficulty here is the English pronunciation, as one can hear on vowels like "o" or on diphthongs. This is disappointing, for Immler convincingly conveys the spirit, the rhythms, and the sense of mirth. Regardless, there is plenty of enjoyable material here, and Immler is an artist who goes beyond the music and into the emotions.

(All Music Review)