Juliane Banse & Martin Helmchen – Hindemith: Das Marienleben, Op. 27 (2018) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Glenn Gould, whose talents as an agitator and showman are well known, didn’t hesitate to declare himself “firmly convinced that Das Marienleben, in its original form [because there exists a revised version made around twenty years after the first – SM], was the greatest song cycle ever composed.” That should be taken with a pinch of salt, of course, but one can’t ignore a statement like that. Taking words by Rilke, Hindemith set to work putting them to music between June 1922 and July 1923. The dates are significant because they marked a fundamental turning point for the composer: the move from expressionism to “New Objectivity”, a very Germanic movement which sought to erase the slightest trace of postromanticism by developing a pared-down and less emotive language. That said, in musical terms, it is all rather more fluid than in painting. However, throughout the seventy-odd minutes of this cycle, Hindemith moves constantly from one to the other, as its fifteen pieces were written in no particular order: the oldest are the eleventh and the fifteenth; the last ones to be written are the thirteenth and fourteenth. Knowing Hindemith, of course, one might think that he could never resist an emotional charge, even when set firmly in his rigorous counter-punctual language. Note that Juliane Banse and Martin Helmchen have chosen to record the 1922-23 version, and not the revision of 1936-48 – and so we’re listening to Gould’s favourite version.

Tracklist:
1. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Geburt Mariä 03:24
2. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Die Darstellung Mariä im Tempel 09:09
3. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Mariä Verkündigung 04:13
4. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Mariä Heimsuchung 02:45
5. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Argwohn Josephs 01:43
6. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Verkündigung über den Hirten 05:12
7. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Geburt Christi 03:34
8. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Rast auf der Flucht in Ägypten 03:45
9. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Von der Hochzeit zu Kana 04:37
10. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Vor der Passion 06:55
11. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Pietà 03:15
12. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Stillung Mariä mit dem Auferstandenen 02:23
13. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Vom Tode Mariä I 08:53
14. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Vom Tode Mariä II 07:18
15. Das Marienleben, Op. 27: Vom Tode Mariä III 03:32

Personnel:
Juliane Banse, soprano
Martin Helmchen, piano

Download:

mqs.link_JulianeBanseMartinHelmchenHindemithDasMarienlebenp.2720182496.part1.rar
mqs.link_JulianeBanseMartinHelmchenHindemithDasMarienlebenp.2720182496.part2.rar