DEUTSCHE LIEDER - BENJAMIN APPL

German lieder has never appealed. Until last night. The form, art music by Schubert, Hugo Wolf et al, had for me somehow had an austere, harshly Prussian timbre. And not being a speaker of German, the settings of 19th century poets such as Heine did little to bring the form into my basket of likes. But then, I had never attended a recital of German song until being invited to a concert held at the German ambassador’s residence in Berkeley Square.

I had also not read the brilliant translations of the lieder by Richard Stokes. The result: musical mea culpa! I had shunned the sublime and will take penance by listening to six hours of Stockhausen. In short, I loved it and yearned to hear more. I have become an instant lieder lover. Who could have guessed?

The recital held in the grandest of grand Georgian rooms, adorned by vast paintings of Hanoverian rulers and German emperors, was given by the young German Benjamin Appl with James Baillieu on grand piano. Appl began the evening by reading out a brief history of the lieder – it was all very new to me. Germans had been singing songs for centuries (not exclusively I imagine) but it was Schubert who probably created the current form: the settings of poems on the themes of death, love and nature (and usually all three). Taken up by Mendelssohn and other German romantics, the lied became immensely fashionable in the private salons and small concert halls. It was said Appl, music written by and for the people with subjects not about kings, queens or nobles. Even at the height of the blitz, pianist Myra Hess and mezzo Elena Gerhardt gave concerts of lieder at the National Gallery. Jewish musicians cast out from their home country, ensured that their beloved lieder were still heard throughout the world.

Mouths now watering, the recital began. First off was a merry and very tuneful piece called ‘Herr Oluf’ by Carl Loewe setting a sinister poem by Herder. Its folky tale of the knight who was punished for not dancing with the Elf king’s daughter. Nothing repeated, no choruses, the lied ploughed until the dark denouement. Appl’s range and voice quality was astonishing and he brought the lied to life by a suitably vivid range of facial expressions. Think music theatre.

Thus off to a great start, with my anti-lied button already going on the blink, we were cast into the world Mendelssohn. Pure melody and again sheer drama in the settings by poets Heine and Lenau. Gripping stories each and here another aspect I scarce knew about lied. The piano part is far more than mere accompaniment. In the hands of the master composers the keyboard creates a visceral portrait of shimmering waters, ominous breezes, dawn and the awakening of nature. The drama of voice and piano were never more present than in Schumann’s setting of Heine’s poem ‘Belsazar’. Move over Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast: this lied version had us on the edge of our seats. The writing was truly on the wall. We ‘saw’ it and certainly heard it.

The second half of the recital featured lieder by Brahms and Richard Strauss. Some delicate and mournful, others full of lusty energy. Lost loves (to rivals or death) were contrasted with delicate tone poems such as Strauss’ ‘Die Nacht’ in which night extinguishes the colours of the fields;

‘the bush stands plundered / Draw closer, soul to soul / Ah the night, I fear, will steal / You too from me’.’

As Appl’s baritone voice sank into the bottom of the stave, I felt a chill, a vague aching sadness.

Happily this was short lived and soon we were applauding Appl and Bailliue to the very high  rafters of the mansion. With the joy of these miniature masterpieces still in my head, I headed for the homebound tube. On the way I met Professor Richard Stokes whose translations of the lieder were provided in the programme. I confessed that I had not appreciated German lieder until now and that I would hotfoot to buy his seminal book on the subject. Tonight, German lieder will appeal and do so until Die Nacht comes calling by.

Benjamin Appl’s album Schubert’s Winterreise has recently been released.

The Book of Lieder by Richard Stokes is published by Faber.

 https://www.benjaminappl.de/