John Chest & Marcelo Amaral - Brahms: Die schöne Magelone, Op. 33 (2019) [Official Digital Download 24/88]

Alpha and the Festival of Aix-en-Provence continue their Young Talents series, in which Laureates of the Académie of the Aix Festival are each accorded an album. The American baritone John Chest enjoys a brilliant career that has already led him to Glyndebourne Festival and the BBC Proms. In partnership with the Brazilian pianist Marcelo Amaral, he presents Die schöne Magelone by Johannes Brahms. Among all the wealth of Lieder that Brahms composed, this is his only real song cycle. Brahms had known these popular tales since his childhood, but it was thanks to Schumann that he discovered the novel published in 1797 by Ludwig Tieck, entitled The Love Story of the Fair Magelone and Count Peter of Provence.

The work is representative of the poetic, idealised reinvention of the Middle Ages so characteristic of German romanticism: stories of star-crossed love, that usually end happily… ‘What strikes the listener most of all is the song cycle’s epic scale – it is a veritable pocket opera, supported by pianistic writing of great complexity,’ writes Timothée Picard in the libretto accompanying this disc – which is illustrated by an original design by Maia Flore, a laurate photographer of the HSBC Foundation: her poetic universe has already featured in the preceding number of the series, Black is the colour (Alpha AJ 0384).

Tracklist:
1. I. Keinen hat es noch gereut (Allegro) 03:53
2. II. Traun! Bogen und Pfeil sind gut für den Feind (Kräftig) 01:46
3. III. Sind es Schmerzen, sind es Freuden (Andante) 05:28
4. IV. Liebe kam aus fernen Landen (Andante) 04:40
5. V. So willst du des Armen (Allegro) 01:45
6. VI. Wie soll ich die Freude (Allegro) 06:20
7. VII. War es dir (Lebhaft) 03:09
8. VIII. Wir müssen uns trennen (Andante) 04:44
9. IX. Ruhe, Süssliebchen (Langsam) 05:17
10. X. Verzweiflung (Allegro) 02:41
11. XI. Wie schnell verschwindet (Etwas langsam) 04:06
12. XII. Muss es eine Trennung geben (Poco Andante) 03:25
13. XIII. Sulima (Zart, heimlich) 02:00
14. XIV. Wie froh und frisch (Lebhaft) 02:57
15. XV. Treue liebe dauert lange (Ziemlich Langsam) 05:03

Personnel:
John Chest, baritone
Marcelo Amaral, piano