Diana Damrau, Jonas Kaufmann, Helmut Deutsch – Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch (Live) (2019) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Diana Damrau, Jonas Kaufmann, Helmut Deutsch – Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch (Live) (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:16:10 minutes | 1,18 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Warner Classics

Diana Damrau and Jonas Kaufmann, reigning stars of opera, are also consummate interpreters of song. In early 2018, with master pianist Helmut Deutsch, they performed Hugo Wolf’s multi-faceted Italienisches Liederbuch in 12 cities around Europe. “One couldn’t ask for more,” wrote the Telegraph after their London concert, which took place two days before this live recording was made in the German city of Essen.

By turns ecstatic and deeply depressed, as is the way with bipolar disorders, Hugo Wolf gave the world great and precious masterpieces in the genre of the lied with his great cycles, in particular Italienisches Liederbuch, for two voices, which represents the soul of the art. 46 lieder speak of love, focusing on the tangled feelings of man and woman across lovers’ dialogues in ironic, gallant and impassioned tones. Written around words by Paul Heyse based on anonymous Tuscan poems, this collection is full of ballads, and in particular rispetti (compliments), folksy poems made up of two quatrains. The German translation seriously disfigures the light touch of the Italian original, especially as Hugo Wolf makes no attempt to “do Italian” in his compositions. “I assure you: a warm heart beats in the little chests of my youngest southern children, who, despite everything, cannot hide their German origins. Yes, their hearts beat in German, even though the sun shines in Italian”, he told a friend. This Italian collection is made up of, as Stéphanie Goldet writes, “little love stories, moments of impatience or frustration, wishes and warnings, complaints and recriminations, demands and unconditional surrenders”.

Recorded in concert at the Hesse Philharmonic on 18 February 2018, this new recording ranks alongside other legendary records such as those by Schwarzkopf and Fischer-Dieskau; it will surely become a new reference point version. While it was reasonable to worry about Jonas Kaufmann’s voice, we can hear that it has recovered all its strength and its thousand and one miraculous nuances. His partner, Diana Damrau, is radiant, with a song that brings together the many different emotions of a worried and sometimes mischievous young girl. But this dialogue would be nothing without the subtle and refined piano-playing of Helmut Deutsch, who has given these miniatures such an irresistible accompaniment. – François Hudry

Tracklist:
1. No. 1, “Auch kleine Dinge können uns entzücken” (Live) 02:09
2. No. 4, “Gesegnet sei, durch den die Welt entsund” (Live) 01:23
3. No. 39, “Gesegnet sei das Grün” (Live) 01:18
4. No. 3, “Ihr seid die Allerschönste” (Live) 01:38
5. No. 21, “Man sagt mir, deine Mutter woll es nicht” (Live) 01:01
6. No. 41, “Heut Nacht erhob ich mich um Mitternacht” (Live) 01:39
7. No. 40, “O wär dein Haus durchsichtig wie ein Glas” (Live) 01:29
8. No. 27, “Schon streckt’ ich aus im Bett die müden Glieder” (Live) 01:43
9. No. 18, “Heb’ auf dein blondes Haupt” (Live) 01:52
10. No. 20, “Mein Liebster singt am Haus” (Live) 01:27
11. No. 22, “Ein Ständchen Euch zu bringen” (Live) 01:19
12. No. 42, “Nicht länger kann ich singen” (Live) 01:08
13. No. 43, “Schweig einmal still” (Live) 00:58
14. No. 44, “O wüsstest du, wie viel ich deinetwegen” (Live) 01:31
15. No. 6, “Wer rief dich denn?” (Live) 01:07
16. No. 31, “Wie soll ich fröhlich sein” (Live) 01:34
17. No. 10, “Du denkst mit einem Fädchen mich zu fangen” (Live) 01:14
18. No. 14, “Geselle, woll’n wir uns in Kutten hüllen” (Live) 02:35
19. No. 45, “Verschling’ der Abgrund meines Liebsten Hütte” (Live) 01:17
20. No. 8, “Nun lass uns Frieden schliessen” (Live) 01:58
21. No. 29, “Wohl kenn’ ich Euren Stand” (Live) 01:44
22. No. 38, “Wenn du mich mit den Augen streifst” (Live) 01:41
23. No. 36, “Wenn du, mein Liebster, steigst zum Himmel auf” (Live) 01:32
24. No. 23, “Was für ein Lied soll dir gesungen werden” (Live) 01:50
25. No. 19, “Wir haben Beide lange Zeit geschwiegen” (Live) 01:59
26. No. 34, “Und steht Ihr früh am Morgen auf” (Live) 03:01
27. No. 16, “Ihr jungen Leute” (Live) 01:11
28. No. 9, “Dass doch gemalt all deine Reize wären” (Live) 01:52
29. No. 2, “Mir ward gesagt” (Live) 01:43
30. No. 17, “Und willst du deinen Liebsten sterben sehen” (Live) 02:11
31. No. 33, “Sterb’ ich, so hüllt in Blumen meine Glieder” (Live) 02:45
32. No. 15, “Mein Liebster ist so klein” (Live) 01:43
33. No. 35, “Benedeit die sel’ge Mutter” (Live) 03:22
34. No. 24, “Ich esse nun mein Brot nicht trocken mehr” (Live) 01:47
35. No. 7, “Der Mond hat eine schwere Klag’ erhoben” (Live) 01:45
36. No. 25, “Mein Liebster hat zu Tische mich geladen” (Live) 00:55
37. No. 26, “Ich liess mir sagen und mir ward erzählt” (Live) 01:48
38. No. 11, “Wie lange schon war immer mein Verlangen” (Live) 02:42
39. No. 37, “Wie viele Zeit verlor ich, dich zu lieben!” (Live) 01:35
40. No. 32, “Was soll der Zorn, mein Schatz” (Live) 01:41
41. No. 5, “Selig ihr Blinden” (Live) 01:39
42. No. 12, “Nein, junger Herr” (Live) 00:46
43. No. 13, “Hoffärtig seid Ihr, schönes Kind” (Live) 43
44. No. 28, “Du sagst mir, dass ich keine Fürstin sei” (Live) 01:19
45. No. 30, “Lass sie nur gehn” (Live) 01:33
46. No. 46, “Ich hab in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen” (Live) 01:03