Elly Ameling sings Schubert.
Although he died at age 31, Franz Schubert left us more than 600 “Lieder” (German for songs). There are two aspects to these songs: The text of the poems that represented the source of inspiration for the composer; and the music itself, which the composer employed to communicate the emotion to the listener.
I’ll begin with six selections that Illustrate Ms. Ameling’s wonderful voice, as she sings several selections from this album:
This recording presents a Schubert Lieder recital recorded live at the Tanglewood Festival in 1987. Soprano Elly Ameling shows her great communicative powers and her deep understanding of the text in this fine selection of celebrated Schubert songs, a lifelong specialty of hers. She is expertly accompanied by Dutch pianist, Rudolf Jansen.
We get to hear Ms. Ameling in the following selections:
Schubert:
Im Frühling, D882
Frühlingsglaube, D686
Erlafsee D586 (Mayrhofer)
Der Schmetterling D633
An den Mond, D259 (Goethe)
An den Mond, D193
An die Entfernte, D765 (Goethe)
An Sylvia, D891
Auf dem Wasser zu singen, D774
Heimliches Lieben D922 (Klenke)
Suleika I, D720
Die junge Nonne, D828
Iphigenia, D573 (Mayrhofer)
Ganymed, D544 (Goethe)
Strophe aus Die Gotter Greichenlands D677
Der Musensohn, D764 (Goethe)
Die Blumensprache D519 (Platner)
Performed by Elly Ameling (soprano) and Rudolf Jansen (piano).
The texts of these songs range from songs about a butterfly, about the Moon, about a distant love, about Spring, a secret love, and more. And the composer transcended the many tragic issues of his own life to turn these poems into a moving musical experience for the listener.
Dutch soprano Elly Ameling achieved a position as one of the most celebrated singers of her generation. In her career spanning more than 40 years, she sang in the most important opera houses of the world, and she collaborated with the greatest conductors.
For a great singer, no single composer represents a specialty. Let me illustrate Ms. Ameling’s diversity with songs other than Schubert:
First, here is Elly Ameling Singing the songs of Erik Satie:
And next, here is Elly Ameling singing Fauré’s well-known “Après un rêve“:
Finally, here is soprano Elly Ameling singing Schumann’s “Widmung” (Dedication); I see this as her own dedication of this song to her loving audience:
Tags: Elly Ameling, soprano, Schubert, Schumann, Satie, Faure
