Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Gretchen am Spinnrade ('Meine Ruh'...'), song for voice & piano, D. 118 (Op. 2)
2. Suleika I ('Was bedeutet die Bewegung'), song for voice & piano, D. 720 (Op. 14/1)
3. Suleika II ('Ach, um deine feuchten Schwingen'), song for voice & piano, D. 717 (Op. 31)
4. Schwestergruss ('Im Mondenschein' wall' ich auf und ab'), song for voice & piano, D. 762
5. Schlaflied ('Es mahnt der Wald'), song for voice & piano ('Schlummerlied'), D. 527 (Op. 24/2)
6. An die untergehende Sonne ('Sonne, du sinkst'), song for voice & piano, D. 457, Op. 44
7. Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister, songs for voice & piano, D. 877 (Op. 62): Mignon I (Heiß' mich nicht reden) D877 No 2
8. Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister, songs for voice & piano, D. 877 (Op. 62): Mignon II (So laßt mich scheinen) D877 No 3
9. Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister, songs for voice & piano, D. 877 (Op. 62): Mignon III (Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt) D877 No 4
10. Mignon ('Kennst du das Land?'), song for voice & piano, D. 321
11. Berta's Lied in der Nacht ('Nacht umhüllt mit wehendem Flügel'), song for voice & piano, D. 653
12. Herrn Josef Spaun ('Und nimmer schreibst du?'), song for voice & piano, D. 749
13. Ellens Gesang I ('Raste, Krieger!'), song for voice & piano, D. 837 (Op. 52/1)
14. Ellens Gesang II ('Jäger, ruhe von der Jagd'), song for voice & piano, D. 838 (Op. 52/2)
15. Ellens Gesang III ('Ave Maria'), song for voice & piano, D. 839 (Op. 52/6)
16. Claudine von Villa Bella, singspiel, D. 239: Act 1 No 6 Lieber schwärmt
17. An die Nachtigall ('Er liegt und schläft'), song for voice & piano, D. 497 (Op. 98/1)
18. Wiegenlied ('Schlafe, schlafe, holder süsser Knabe'), song for voice & piano ('Mille Cherubini in Coro'), D. 498 (Op. 98/2)
19. Scenes (2) From Lacrimas, for voice & piano, D. 857 (Op. posth. 124): Delphine D857

Disc 2:

1. Wiegenlied ('Wie sich der Äuglein kindlicher Himmel'), song for voice & piano, D. 867 (Op. 105/2)
2. Die Männer sind méchant ('Du sagtest mir es, Mutter'), refrain song for voice & piano, D. 866/3 (Op. 95/3)
3. Iphigenia ( 'Blühet denn hier an Tauris Strande'), song for voice & piano, D. 573 (Op. 98/3)
4. Das Mädchen ('Wie so innig'), song for voice & piano, D. 652
5. Die junge Nonne ('Wie braust durch die Wipfel'), song for voice & piano, D. 828 (Op. 43/1)
6. Am Grabe Anselmo's ('Dass ich dich verloren habe'), song for voice & piano, D. 504 (Op. 6/3)
7. Abendstern ('Was weilst du einsam an dem Himmel'), song for voice & piano, D. 806
8. Die Götter Griechenlands ('Schöne Welt, wo bist du'), song for voice & piano (two versions), D. 677
9. Gondelfahrer I ('Es tanzen Mond und Sterne'), song for voice & piano, D. 808
10. Auflösung ('Verbirg dich, Sonne'), song for voice & piano, D. 807
11. Die Forelle ('In einem Bächlein helle'), song for voice & piano, D. 550 (Op. 32)
12. Rastlose Liebe ('Dem Schnee, dem Regen'), song for voice & piano, D. 138 (Op. 5/1)
13. Auf dem Wasser zu singen ('Mitten im Schimmer der spiegelnden Wellen'), song for voice & piano, D. 774 (Op. 72)
14. Der Tod und das Mädchen ('Vorüber, ach vorüber'), song for voice & piano, D. 531 (Op. 7/3)
15. An die Musik ('Du holde Kunst...'), song for voice & piano, D. 547 (Op. 88/4)
16. Frühlingsglaube ('Die Linden Lüfte'), song for voice & piano (3 versions), D. 686 (Op. 20/2)
17. Der Musensohn ('Durch Feld und Wald zu schweifen'), song for voice & piano, D. 764 (Op. 92/1)
18. Gesang ('Was ist Sylvia,...'), song for voice & piano, ('An Sylvia'), D. 891 (Op. 106/4)
19. Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen ('Ruh'n in Frieden alle Seelen'), song for voice & piano, D. 343
20. Heidenröslein ('Sah ein Knab...'), song for voice & piano, D. 257 (Op. 3/3)
21. Nacht und Träume (Heil'ge Nacht, du sinkest nieder!'), song for voice & piano, D. 827 (Op. 43/2)
22. Du bist die Ruh, song for voice & piano, D. 776 (Op. 59/3)
23. Claudine von Villa Bella, singspiel, D. 239: Hin und wieder

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40521 in Music
• Released on: 1996-09-10
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Customer Reviews

An essential CD at a bargain price!
Although I have admired Schubert lieder sung on the radio and in concert halls, this pair of CDs originally recorded in 1971 and 1981 represents my initial purchase of these minature masterworks. And what a first choice! This generous collection of songs for the female voice (and a few originally intended for the male voice) is beautifully interpreted by Dame Janet Baker with masterly accompaniments at the piano by Gerald Moore or Geoffrey Parsons. Here you have unforgettable renditions of "The Trout", "Death and the Maiden", "Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel", "Ave Maria" (the closing musical work performed in the original version of Disney's Fantasia, incidentally) and 38 additional songs (the two wiegenleid or "cradle songs" are enchanting!) at so modest a price. There are no English translations provided with the songs, but with Schubert's extraordinary gift of word-painting, they are barely necessary and should not hinder your appreciation of these quintessential discs.

Seriously uneven performance
This double CD-set consists of two sets of recordings by mezzo-soprano Janet Baker, the famed British mezzo, a set of about thirty songs done in 1970 with Gerald Moore and a session from 1980 (when Baker was 47) with Geoffrey Parsons. I find it difficult to recommend because it spans everything from the great to the very bad.

Let's start with the good. In fact, they very good. Baker begins the performance with two absolutely outstanding performances, an impassioned "Gretchen am Spinnrade" in which a little bit of harshness in the tone is more than offset by the absolute commitment and emotion the mezzo brings to the famous song. The second track is one of my favorite Schubert songs, "Suleika I" (D. 720), an incredible setting about the wind which Brahms thought was Schubert's greatest song (high praise there). Baker sings it more quickly than I am used to with great musicianship and sensitivity. The performances of lesser-known songs like "Abendstern" (D. 806) and "Hin und wieder" (D. 239) are also very fine. The series of "Ellens Gesang" is also very strong.

But there are problems, too. First of all, by 1980 Baker was on the verge of retiring and some of her singing is painful. So the songs on the 2nd half of the 2nd disc are performed badly and shouldn't have been re-released. In the 1970 performance, there are clunking versions of songs like "Iphigenia" (D. 573) and "Schwestergrussen" (disc 1, track 3), with responsibility extending past Baker to her accompanist Gerald Moore. Moore made a number of excellent lieder recordings but he unexpectedly makes a mess of certain songs. To take an example, "Iphigenia" - here the piano's musical phrases are conveyed confusedly and muddily. Baker for her part seems to have problems in her lower register and these crop up throughout the set. Her upper range is lovely and consistent.

So a decidedly mixed review. I would buy this set if you want to hear some of the rarities Baker performs and are interested in a few of the set's excellent recordings. If you are looking for a general sampler of Schubert songs by women singers, I would recommend that great Schwarzkopf CD or several by Ameling.

Best version of Ava Maria anywhere
The entire CD is excellent, but two songs above all stand out and, as far as I know, there are no better performances: Ava Maria and Wiegenlied (D. 867). Everything is beautiful about her version of Ava Maria, but what stands out above all is the authenticity of her performance - it is heartbreakingly beautiful. I've heard 8 or 9 other performances and none came anywhere close. In fact, I can't really listen to others as they all seem to miss the point. With regard to Wiegenlied, Baker's singing has a preciousness to it which is perfectly apt for this song. Although there are many other excellent performances, these two essential songs alone merit the purchase of the album.