Karl Jörn - Sehnsucht (von Fielitz)

with Bruno Seidler-Winkler (piano). HMV master 7859 r, rec. Berlin, September 19 1910.
The tenor Karl Jörn's early years were hard: He was born in Riga in 1873 as the child of a very poor family and soon became an orphan. His luck changed, however, when he was adopted by Baron von Dellinghausen, who provided him with the money necessary for his voice training. His debut took place in Freiburg, 1896, and from 1902 onwards he was a celebrated member of the Berlin Court Opera. When HMV decided to record the first two complete operas in 1908, "Faust" and "Carmen", he took the leading tenor parts, his partner being Emmy Destinn. Jörn was the favorite singer of Kaiser Wilhelm, but this love seems to have been one-sided: From 1908 to 1914 he sang at the Met, and although the Kaiser himself expressed the wish that Jörn should stay in Berlin after a performance of Parsifal in 1914, he returned to the USA, even becoming an American citizen in 1916. In the eyes of the public he was still a German, however, and the war finished his career. When he returned to Germany in 1919 the scandal a few years earlier was still too fresh to allow an engagement at the biggest houses, and for the next ten years Jörn settled in Darmstadt, where he could sing whatever he liked. He returned to the USA with Johanna Gadski's German Opera Company in 1929, where he sang Tristan (for the first time!), Siegmund and Siegfried with considerable success. In 1932 he settled in New York and took up teaching, later moving to Denver, where he died in 1947.
Concert work was always an important part of Jörn's schedule, and his broad knowledge of song literature as well as his eclectic taste made sure that on his records you can find some songs you will not have the chance to hear elsewhere. This is one of those: Alexander von Fielitz (1860-1930) was a respected composer and teacher in his time, but seems to be completely forgotten today. This might be the only recording of the song.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Karl
• Jörn
• Tenor
• song
• Fielitz
• Sehnsucht
• Seidler-Winkler
• HMV

[capeythia]

Where can I find more recordings of von Fielitz? My father is Jurgen von Fielitz, his father was Joseph von Fielitz, both of Germany.

[runupahill1]

Thank you so much, goldenageofsong. It is an extremely valuable contribution to the heritage of irreplaceable performances by great singers from the past. Just like the record companies, the DVD companies talk about preserving performers' art for posterity, but they are invariably more concerned with the latest in sound than the greatest in performance. Thank you, and thank YouTube.

[operbathosa]

Brilliant recording. The information that you have provided is great. Thank you for posting the excellent quality of recordings.