Robert Schumann: Choral Works (VRT Muziek Edition) Vlaams Radio Koor & Bo Holten

• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Vier doppelchörige Gesänge, Op. 141:
• 1 Vier doppelchörige Gesänge, Op. 141: I. An die Sterne (VRT Muziek Edition) 05:30
• 2 Vier doppelchörige Gesänge, Op. 141: II. Ungewisses Licht (VRT Muziek Edition) 02:30
• 3 Vier doppelchörige Gesänge, Op. 141: III. Zuversicht (VRT Muziek Edition) 04:13
• 4 Vier doppelchörige Gesänge, Op. 141: IV. Talismane (VRT Muziek Edition) 05:12
• Romanzen und Balladen No. 1, Op. 67:
• 5 Romanzen und Balladen No. 1, Op. 67: I. Der König von Thule (VRT Muziek Edition) 02:47
• 6 Romanzen und Balladen No. 1, Op. 67: II. Schön-Rohtraut (VRT Muziek Edition) 03:11
• 7 Romanzen und Balladen No. 1, Op. 67: III. Heidenröslein (VRT Muziek Edition) 02:06
• 8 Romanzen und Balladen No. 1, Op. 67: IV. Ungewitter (VRT Muziek Edition) 02:44
• 9 Romanzen und Balladen No. 1, Op. 67: V. John Anderson (VRT Muziek Edition) 02:12
• Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männergesang, Op. 33:
• 10 Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männergesang, Op. 33: No. 1, Der träumende See (VRT Muziek Edition) 01:30
• 11 Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männergesang, Op. 33: No. 2, Die Minnesänger (VRT Muziek Edition) 01:27
• 12 Sechs Lieder für vierstimmigen Männergesang, Op. 33: No. 3, Die Lotosblume (VRT Muziek Edition) 02:29
• Vier Gesänge, Op. 59:
• 13 Vier Gesänge, Op. 59: No. 2, Am Bodensee (VRT Muziek Edition) 03:54
• 14 Vier Gesänge, Op. 59: No. 4, Gute Nacht (VRT Muziek Edition) 01:30
• Romanzen, Op. 69:
• 15 Romanzen, Op. 69: No. 1, Tamburinschlägerin (VRT Muziek Edition) 01:23
• 16 Romanzen, Op. 69: No. 3, Klosterfräulein (VRT Muziek Edition) 01:42
• Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74:
• 17 Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74: No. 2, Intermezzo (VRT Muziek Edition) 01:33
• 18 Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74: No. 4, In der Nacht (VRT Muziek Edition) 04:40
• 19 Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74: No. 5, Es ist verraten (VRT Muziek Edition) 02:18
• 20 Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74: No. 9, Ich bin geliebt (VRT Muziek Edition) 03:38
• Total Runtime 56:29

Info for Robert Schumann: Choral Works (VRT Muziek Edition)

Before the First World War rendered all things German anathema, Schumann’s a cappella works, like Mendelssohn’s and Brahms’s, were choral society staples. Today they are probably the most neglected area of his entire output. Not all these settings are free from Lederhosen heartiness – the side of Schumann that wears least well – or Biedermeier blandness. But the range and depth of the best of them, above all the magnificent works for double choir, Op 141, may come as a revelation. Highlights elsewhere include a mixed-choir version of ‘Heidenröslein’ – without Schubert’s piquancy but full of sentimental charm – the tender, touching setting of Burns’s ‘John Anderson’ and the chromatically lush ‘Die Lotosblume’ for men’s chorus, just as sensitive in its response to Heine’s verses as the famous solo song in Myrthen.

"Although Schumann envisaged more ample forces, the 24-strong Flemish Radio Choir under the sympathetic direction of Bo Holten sings with fresh, keenly focused tone, pure intonation (crucial in Schumann's many chromatic thickets) and a wide spectrum of dynamics and colour...this beautifully recorded recital should open many ears to the beauties of Schumann's choral works" (Gramophone)

"Overshadowed by his orchestral, chamber, keyboard, and vocal music, the choral works of Robert Schumann are seriously neglected and have become a specialized interest for devotees of the genre. Yet some of his most charming music was written for choir, and in the hands of a really capable group, the music is as appealing as any of Schumann's most popular songs or miniatures. The Flemish Radio Choir, a small ensemble under the direction of Bo Holten, is one such group, and its beautifully blended voices lend these choral songs a purity and sweetness that are wholly appropriate for Schumann's poignant harmonies and lyrical settings of German poetry. Most of these songs are performed a cappella, which creates a rather light and airy effect in the resonant studio acoustics, though the numbers with piano accompaniment, played by Inge Spinette, are grouped at the end of the program, so the change of sound isn't unsettling. Because there are few recordings of Schumann's choral works, and even fewer performed with such eloquence and polish, this disc may present the best opportunity to hear this overlooked repertoire." (Blair Sanderson, AMG)

Inge Spinette, piano
Vlaams Radio Orkest
Bo Holten, conductor

Bo Holten
After studies in musicology at the University of Copenhagen and bassoon at the Royal Academy of Music, Bo Holten established his reputation as a conductor of early music vocal groups, particularly Ars Nova which he formed in 1979. Ars Nova under Holten have since given around 450 performances and made 15 recordings of both contemporary and early music. He has an international reputation as a leading specialist in early music, especially in vocal polyphony.

Bo Holten has conducted most Danish professional symphony orchestras performing both his own and other composers’ works. From 1991 to 2007, Bo Holten was Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers in London He has conducted a wide range of ensembles and choirs in Scandinavia and abroad, among them the Swedish Radio Choir, Nederlands Kamerkoor, National Chamber Choir of Ireland, and the Flemish Radio Choir. From 2007 to 2012 he worked as chief conductor of the Flemish Radio Choir who said at the time: “That the Flemish Radio Choir has been so successful in bringing a major figure of the choral world to Flanders is proof of both the ambition of the choir and the confidence shown by the choral world itself in the choir’s potential”.

Bo Holten has composed over 100 works including symphonies, solo concertos, works for chorus and orchestra, operas, and musicals. He has also written works for chamber ensembles, song cycles, and pieces for percussion ensemble, as well as scores for films and television series. Among his most widely performed music are the 30 a cappella works which span his composing career.

In addition to being renowned as an early music specialist, Holten is an advocate of new music, presenting more than 175 premieres of new works. In his own work, Holten’s music likewise builds a bridge between old and new.

His opera, Gesualdo, which blends Don Carlo Gesualdo’s idiom into his own and is scored for Baroque period ensemble was a controversial hit when it opened in 2003. Holten’s opera, Operation Orfeo is the most frequently staged Danish opera in history, achieving over 100 performances throughout Europe.

In fall 2014, Bo Holten staged his second Gesualdo-opera Gesualdo · Shadows and he is currently working on a great Opera on Martin Luther commissioned by the Malmö Opera House.

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