Episode 300. Helen Donath Revisited

Episode 300. Helen Donath Revisited

Episode 300 of Countermelody is upon us, and I have chosen today to bring you the German-American soprano Helen Donath in all her glory, performing Lieder of both Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert, the vast majority accompanied by her husband, German conductor, pianist, and scholar Klaus Donath. With their mutual attention to subtle musical and textual detail, they make ideal interpreters for these songs, often structured as strophic or modified strophic settings. Both live and studio recordings are featured, including a live 1978 performance of Schubert’s Mignon-Lieder, set to texts by Goethe sung by the mysterious waif Mignon in his novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. Another recurring theme in many of these Lieder is the longing for spring, which, even as we are only at the cusp of autumn, is something that we are already anticipating. Guest performers include tenor Peter Schreier, baritone Hermann Prey, clarinettist Dieter Klöcker, and pianist Leonard Hokanson.

RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE

Unless otherwise noted, all songs are performed by Helen Donath and Klaus Donath.

Franz Schubert, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Mignon-Lieder. Helen Donath, Klaus Donath [live Hohenems 1978]:

• Kennst du das Land?, D.321
• Mignon und der Harfner [Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt], D. 877/1. (with Hermann Prey)
• Heiß mich nicht reden, D. 877/2
• So laßt mich scheinen, D. 877/3

Lieder of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:

• Gabriele von Baumberg: Als Luise die Briefe ihres ungetreuen Liebhabers verbrannte, KV 520 [1981]
• Christian Adolf Overbeck: Das Kinderspiel, KV 598 [1981]
• Anonymous poet: Die kleine Spinnerin, KV 531 [live Salzburg 14.VIII.75]
• Christian Felix Weisse: Der Zauberer, KV 472 [live Salzburg 14.VIII.75]
• Christian Felix Weisse: Die Verschweigung, KV 518 [live Salzburg 14.VIII.75]

Lieder of Franz Schubert:

• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Liebhaber in allen Gestalten, D. 558 [1976]
• Marianne von Willemer: Suleika I [Was bedeutet die Bewegung?], D. 720 [1976]
• Matthäus von Collin: Licht und Liebe, D. 352. (with Peter Schreier, Leonard Hokanson) [live Hohenems 21.VI.77]
• Johann Peter Uz: Gott im Frühlinge, D. 448. Helen Donath, Klaus Donath [1976]
• Wilhelm Müller, Karl August Varnhagen von Ense [sometimes falsely attributed Wilhelmina von Chézy]: Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (abridged), D. 965 (with Dieter Klöcker) [1982]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Christian Adolf Overbeck: Sehnsucht nach dem Frühlinge, KV 596 [1981]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Das Veilchen, KV 476 [1981]

Franz Schubert, Johann Gabriel Seidl: Wiegenlied, D. 867 [1976]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joachim Heinrich Campe: Abendempfindung, KV 523 [1981]