Carl Loewe: Lieder & Balladen, Complete Edition, Vol. 3

Roman Trekel (Performer), Carl Loewe (Composer), Heinrich Fitzau (Composer), Cord Garben (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Roman Trekel, Cord Garben
• Composer: Carl Loewe, Heinrich Fitzau
• Audio CD (September 17, 1996)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cpo Records
• ASIN: B000001RZ6
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #822,491 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Die Schwarzen Augen Op.94,2: Das War Der Junker Emerich, Zu Strassburg in Der Stadt

2. Der Junggesell: Ich Bin Ein Leichter Junggesell Und Wandre Durch Die Welt

3. Urgrossvaters Gesellschaft Op.56,3: Sie Waren Alle Zum Tanzplatz Hinaus

4. Der Gefangene Admiral Op.115: 'S Sind Heute Dreiunddressig Jahr

5. Gruss Vom Meere Op.103,1: Sei Mir Gegrusst in Deiner Pracht

6. Der Graf Von Habsburg Op.98: Zu Aachen in Seiner Kaiserpracht

7. Der Selt'Ne Beter Op.141: Im Abendgolde Glanzet Zu Barenburg Das Schloss

8. Die Leiche Zu St. Just Op.99,4: Aus Sankt Justi Klosterhallen Tont Ein Trages Totenleid

9. Das Wiegenfest Zu Gent Op.99,1: Es Steht Eine Goldne Wiege Am Fuss Des Herrscherthrons

10. Ballade Vom Vertribenen Und Zuruckkehrenden Grafen Op.44,1: 'Herein, O Du Guter! Du Alter Herein!'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roman Trekel sings Carl Loewe ballads, May 8, 2007

By 

mllekate (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Carl Loewe: Lieder & Balladen, Complete Edition, Vol. 3 (Audio CD)

German baritone Roman Trekel has a wonderfully expressive and warm voice. He can convey any range of emotions, and he is a natural story-teller. His rendering of these dramatic ballads and songs of Carl Loewe is thrilling and moving. Roman Trekel studied with the master of lieder singing, Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau, but it is Mr. Trekel's own unique style that will capture the listener.

Eight of the ten works here are extensive narrative works (narrative in the sense of a story or epic being sung). "Dark Eyes" is a melodrama with a waltz melody, about a nobleman obsessed with a woman with dark eyes (who does not even seem aware that he exists). He ends up being challenged by the woman's husband while serenading her outside her bedroom window, kills her husband, and then is himself killed by her father.

"The Bachelor," one of two short works in the collection, is a pleasant and catchy song about an elusive bachelor who eventually learns the bitter truth about ending up alone.

Carl Loewe himself often enjoyed singing "Great-grandfather's Visitors." From a collection of poems called Village Tales, it is beautifully lyric, combining the sad reality and sprite-filled dreamworld of a lonely old man. It is touching and has a satisfying ending about the old man's "reawakened dormant heart."

"The Imprisoned Admiral" is believed to be based on the Iron Mask, the enigmatic captive from the times of Louis XIV. In the midst of his present misery and imprisonment, the old admiral reflects on his exciting youthful fighting days at sea. It is one of Loewe's greatest ballads.

"The Count of Habsbug, based on Friedrich Schiller's large-scale ballad, is about King Rudolf, the first freely-elected king of the Holy Roman Empire, in the 13th century. It is full of images and details about an event in the king's life.

"The Rare Prayer" is based on an actual historical figure in the 18th century, a prince nicknamed "the Old Mustache." It is a touching ballad about the old warrior, who is not used to praying, who pleads with God unsuccessfully for the life of his daughter, and who bitterly reflects at the end, "If God had come to me, I would not have acted so harshly."

"The Corpse at St. Just" actually refers to the Emperor Charles V (1519-1556). The ballad, which has a spiritual and contemplative sound, emphasizes the contrast between the Emperor's former glory and his simple funeral rites as a monk.

"The Cradlesong at Gent" is another ballad about Emperor Charles V, and tells of the future emperor's birth in the Spanish Netherlands in 1500. It has a fairy-tale quality, where regal guests present their often whimsical gifts and corresponding wishes for the newborn: a golden sword covered in a sash of silk -- be strong but mild; two celestial globes presented by an astronomer -- look up to the light and you too will find a place among the stars; a single cherry stone in a big bowl -- you too have a great future in the bud, they tell the infant.

"The Beggar" was originally planned by the poet Goethe as an opera libretto, based on a story from Boccacio's Decameron and a ballad by an Irish bishop. Goethe never created the libretto, but at least this ballad remains. It is dramatic, yet a thoroughly pleasant-sounding work. A beggar is called into a castle by some children to tell them a story, and his narrative ends up in a dramatic finale. There are some striking images, such as the children calling out to the beggar, "we are alone, mother is praying and father is out hunting wolves."

If you are a fan of Thomas Quasthoff, another great baritone, you will definitely enjoy Roman Trekel. This album is one of twenty in the Carl Loewe Lieder & Balladen collection, all accompanied by the very fine pianist Cord Garben. The entire series is excellent, and I especially recommend the two albums in the series by Roman Trekel, Volume 3 (this album) and Volume 16. Included is a booklet with the lyrics in German and English, and excellent backround notes.