Reviews
GMCD 7295 Eschmann Lieder
American Record Guide, November/December 2006
ESCHMANN:
Songs
Yvonne Howard, mz;
Richard Edgar-Wilson, t; Kathron Sturrock, p; Andrew Fuller, vc; Nicolas Korth,
hn-Guild 7295-78 minutes
Johann Carl Eschmann
(1826-1882) studied at the Leipzig Conservatory for two years (1845-1846) first
with Mendelssohn and later with Ignaz Moscheles, and the influence of
Mendelssohn is quite evident in this "nearly complete" (according to the notes)
collection of his lieder composed between 1850 and 1870. Most of the texts are
by his poet friend August Corrodi. There is not a lot of depth to many of these
songs, but they make for pleasant listening, especially one for tenor, piano,
and horn and another for tenor, piano, and cello.
Howard's singing is
lovely, though her voice is shrill an high notes. Edgar-Wilson has a pleasant
voice, though he tends to overshoot his high notes. The recorded sound is very
good, and the accompanists play well.
Those who are interested in expanding their lieder world will appreciate this
release. Notes give basic Information an the composer with texts and
translations.
R MOORE
MusicWeb Tuesday February 14 2006
An
intimate portrait of friendship, music making and community values in the long
lost world of 19th century Zürich ... Anne Ozorio
Johann Carl
ESCHMANN (1826-1882)
Lieder: Zwei Gedichte von Pauline E, op. 2; Fünf Lieder von J von
Eichendorff, op. 7; Zwei Heimgekehehrte op. 10; Zweigesang, op. 11; An Louise
von C. op. 32; Aus dem Liederbuch eines Malers op. 34; Aus glücklichen Tagen,
op. 48; In stiller Nacht, op. 49
 Yvonne
Howard (mezzo); Richard Edgar-Wilson (tenor); Kathron Sturrock (piano); Andrew
Fuller (cello); Nicholas Korth (horn)
rec. Potton Hall, Suffolk, 20-25 November 2004. DDD
GUILD
GMCD 7295 [78:29]
Guild Recordings is a good source
for obscure composers overlooked by major recording companies. Their series on
Rebecca Clarke was an eye-opener, sparking a revival of the British composer’s
much underrated music. Here they return to another speciality, Swiss music.
Johann Carl Eschmann was born in
Winterthur. He studied music in Leipzig, for a short time getting lessons from
Mendelssohn himself. He spent the rest of his life teaching and playing music in
the Zürich area. While playing for the Allgemeinen Musik-Gesellschaft Zürich, he
came into contact with no less than Richard Wagner, who conducted the ensemble.
Wagner’s arrangement for the fifth of his Wesendonck songs for solo violin and
orchestra was inscribed in Eschmann’s honour.
Let us not think though, that the
association with Wagner led to any great music on Eschmann’s part. These songs
are a vignette into what was heard in cultivated music circles of the time.
Eschmann has a gift for a lyrical melodic line, underpinned by a strong piano
part. They must be a pleasure to perform, for they are unfussy, yet harmonious,
and need no special virtuoso skills.
The first two songs, to poems by
"Pauline E", possibly a relative of the composer, have a certain honest, homely
charm. When Eschmann sets a major poet like Eichendorff, he tends to follow the
line of text with minimal accompaniment. These poems are Eichendorff at his more
pietist, safe homilies about God and virtue. Eschmann has the sense not to
overpower them with fancy effects. They come across as very minor Schumann, or
Mendelssohn: nothing to frighten the horses, but enough to enjoy in the confines
of a middle class salon.
More unusual are the settings of
August Corrodi (1826-1885), a Swiss poet, artist and translator (into
Swiss-German) of other European poetry. Here we have no less than fourteen poems
by Corrodi, each one strophic, extolling simple Romantic virtues of nature, love
and goodwill. This is nineteenth century music at its most intimate, music by
one friend to poems by another. Presumably they were performed among friends, as
well. Eschmann sometimes nods to Schubert or Loewe, as in Irrlicht where
two lovers get lost in a dark wood but are sucked into a bog and killed before
they can escape. What frisson that long ago singer must have mustered, to the
delight of his companions! In Mittags, Eschmann attempts a more complex,
rolling accompaniment, to describe the fresh mountain stream that he follows
while walking down from the mountains. To audiences of the time, that would have
been a common occurrence, one with which they could identify. Similarly, Corrodi
writes of cold foggy evenings in Herbstnebel, humorously suggesting that
the cure is a touch of alcohol! We have lost that intimate connection with time
and situation Eschmann and his circle would have taken for granted. If these
performances leave a lot to be desired, that’s no demerit, for the performers in
Eschmann and Corrodi’s time were ordinary people and friends. To us, these are
"just" songs and not very spectacular at that. But to them, these were a direct
expression of the lives they experienced, and the values they respected. They
were not writing for the wider world or for posterity, but for their own
cultivation.
Ultimately it is in these terms
that the recording needs to be assessed. So little is known of Swiss poetry and
music that it is important to collect such work together. Moreover, because it
has no pretensions to be anything other than it is, it is all the more a glimpse
into a long lost world of private musicianship in an era long before ours.
Nineteenth century Zürich might not have the gloss and glamour of Vienna, Berlin
or Munich, but its people enjoyed themselves nonetheless, and made music that
drew them together. It’s not something to be sniffed at.
Although this recording was made in
Suffolk in 2004, the notes refer to a custom by which the Central Library in
Zürich became, each New Year, the focus of community celebrations of music. The
citizens contributed to heating the snowbound hall, hiring musicians and
enjoying music for its own sake. We should be envious of their dedication and
sincerity.
Anne Ozorio
Page revised Friday November 24 2006
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