Robert Schumann: Der Rose Pilgerfahrt, Op. 112, ending choir

Robert Schumann: Der Rose Pilgerfahrt, oratorium for soloists, chorus, horn & orchestra (piano), Op. 112 (1851)

RIAS-Kammerchor, Marcus Creed - dirigent

Ending choir:

Engelsstimmmen:

Röslein!
Zu deinen Blumen nicht,
Zu uns, zu hoh'rem Licht
Schwing' dich empor,

Damit du schaust
Von Himmelshph'n,
Wie dein Knosplein zart
Bliht und gedeiht,-

Daß einstens empfang'st du's,
Wenn es die Rose
Unbeaeckt dir zurückbringt!
Sei uns gegrußt,
Liebliche Rose!-

Robert Schumann's choral works are rarely performed and recorded, but here Harmonia Mundi offers a second recording in less than a year (the first was Philippe Herreweghe's recording of Szenen aus Goethes Faust') to rectify that situation. 'Der Rose Pilgerfahrt' was written in 1851, Schumann's first major work since moving to Dsseldorf the year before and assuming responsibility for some choral-orchestral portions of the Niederrheinisches Musikfest.
As the oratorio stood at the time, 'Der Rose Pilgerfahrt' is somewhat of an anti-oratorio. For the two preceding centuries the oratorio had primarily been a biblical drama, with rollicking choruses and set-pieces for the soloists. Schumann's oratorio here has a tighter dramatic flow, with the soloists integrated more into the fabric of the work. Gone is the stop-start, aria/chorus alternation of the traditional oratorio.
Marcus Creed and the RIAS-Kammerchor capture the intimacy of this work, which was premiered in the music room of Schumann's Dsseldorf townhouse with his wife Clara at the piano. The singing is excellent throughout, and Philip Mayers' fortepiano accompaniment enhances the performance nicely.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Robert
• Schumann
• choir