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Delian Quartett

Im wachen Traume w/Barainsky, Timoshenko

ECM
Release Date: July 12, 2024

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1 Sing joyfully  
2 Jhon come kisse me now  
3 Ave verum corpus  
4 Out of the orient, crystal skies  
5 Lullaby, my sweet little baby  
6 Frauenliebe und Leben, op. 42 - Seit ich ihn gesehen  
7 Er, der Herrlichste von allen  
8 Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben  
9 Du Ring an meinem Finger  
10 Helft mir, ihr Schwestern  
11 Suesser Freund, du blickest  
12 An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust  
13 Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan  
14 Pavane, Z. 752  
15 Dido and Aeneas, Z. 626 - When I am laid in earth  
16 Chaconne, Z. 730  
17 Hear my prayer, O Lord, Z. 15  
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Named after a lyric from the first piece in Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben song cycle, the Delian Quartett’s programme of Im wachen Traume combines said cycle – in a new arrangement for soprano and string quartet by the late Aribert Reimann – with music by Renaissance composer William Byrd and Baroque composer Henry Purcell. Most of the works appears in world premiere recordings here. The earlier English repertory bookends the album, framing Frauenliebe und Leben in a thematic embrace and, as the quartet’s violinist Andreas Moscho puts it, “in dazzling harmonies, that colour the musical span from the bliss of the moment to the end of things”.

Much has been said about Frauenliebe und Leben, from 1840 based on the poetry cycle by Adelbert von Chamisso, and many interpretations and versions of it uttered. This remodelling, however, conceived specifically for the Delian Quartett and soprano Claudia Barainsky, opens up truly new perspectives that seem to have been lying dormant within the original score all along. By transferring the piano part to four voices, Reimann dresses the cycle in an entirely new guise – one that builds on the sustained quality of the strings and utilizes both the art of reduction, to a concentrated and minimalist end, and embellishment, in form of vibratos, pizzicati and harmonic flourishes, for the purpose of emotional emphasis of both music and lyrics.

“Music and poetry have ever been acknowledg’d Sisters, which walking hand in hand, support each other; As Poetry is the harmony of Words, so Musick is that of Notes; and as Poetry is a Rise above Prose and Oratory, so is Musick the exaltation of Poetry. Both of them may excel apart, but sure they are most excellent when they are join’d…” Henry Purcell wrote this in 1650 – in a way, predicting the significant role poetry would play in Romantic music almost two centuries later. 

Claudia Barainsky, one of the foremost interpreters of Reimann’s music, is a striking presence throughout the programme and especially expressive in the Schumann cycle, delivering the story of an enamoured woman, from her first meeting with her love, through marriage, to his death and after, with conviction and a keen sense for the text’s emotional delivery. The piano’s uniquely independent voice-leading from the original score is expanded upon in this arrangement for string quartet, with inspired translation choices made regarding range, drone-passages and how repetitive piano motifs here are cleverly spread across the two violins, viola and cello.

Andreas Moscho introduces the project in his performer’s note: “Two powers continue to overcome the changes of our fast-paced world. They have inspired human existence since forever: death, which limits us, and love, which carries us beyond our end. They also echo in the history of music. Under their influence, composers of all eras have bequeathed us with their most stirring moments. Some of them are brought together on his album. It traverses the space between light and shadow, between sorrow and joy, laying out new paths along the way: None of the works selected here were originally conceived for string quartet. In all of them, however, the string quartet seems to return home.”

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