The result of all these collaborations is a work of pure beauty and joy. In 2008 the concert and opera singer Cornelius Hauptmann initiated the...

The result of all these collaborations is a work of pure beauty and joy.

In 2008 the concert and opera singer Cornelius Hauptmann initiated the charitable "The Lieder project" to further singing with children. The following year the "Wiegenlieder" (lullaby) collection was published. Once again, more than 50 singers have voluntarily, without remuneration, given their voices to sing the most beautiful German folk songs. This project will be continued with two further collections of children’s songs and songs for Christmas. The present collection of the most beautiful German folk songs is sung by leading concert and opera singers, choirs and children. The CD includes an extensive booklet with colour illustrations and song texts with English translations.

Featuring: Juliane Banse · Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau · Christoph Prégardien · Stella Doufexis · Calmus Ensemble

Track listing:
1. Wenn alle Brünnlein fließen (Franz-Josef Selig, Gerold Huber)
2. Horch, was kommt von draußen rein (Dorothee Mields, Ludger Rémy)
3. Da unten im Tale (Christoph Prégardien, Juliane Ruf)
4. Nun will der Lenz und grüßen (instrumental)
5. Muss i denn zum Städele hinaus (Michael Volle, Ann-Sophie Volle)
6. Grüß Gott, du schöner Maien (Lydia Teuscher, Juliane Ruf)
7. Wach auf, meines Herzens Schöne (SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart)
8. Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust (Hans Jörg Mammel, Michael Freimuth)
9. Leise zieht durch mein Gemüt (Stella Doufexis, Camillo Radicke)
10. Ein Jäger aus Kurpfalz (Dietrich Henschel)
11. Im schönsten Wiesengrunde (Peter Schreier, Konrad Ragossnig)
12. Im Frühtau zu Berge (instrumental)
13. Kein schöner Land (Christian und Pauline Elsner, Leonhard Elsner)
14. Es klappert die Mühle (Michael Nagy, Juliane Ruf)
15. Ich fahr dahin (Ruth Sandhoff, Les Escapades)
16. In einem kühlen Grunde (Marcus Ullmann, Klaus Melber)
17. Komm, lieber Mai (Sibylla Rubens, Elisabeth Föll)
18. Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär (Klaus Mertens, Juliane Ruf)
19. O, du lieber Augustin (instrumental)
20. Feinsliebchen (Juliane Banse, Olaf Bär, Helmut Deutsch)
21. Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust (Julian Prégardien, Götz Payer)
22. Ward ein Blümchen mir geschenket (Ruth Ziesak, Juliane Ruf)
23. Am Brunnen vor dem Tore (Calmus Ensemble Leipzig)
24. Die Schwälble ziehet fort (Christoph Sökler, Anne Le Bozec)
25. Ade zur guten Nacht (Instrumental)
26. Papir ist doch waiß (Helene Schneiderman, Götz Payer)
27. Der Gang zum Liebchen (Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Daniel Barenboim)
28. Schwesterlein (Ingeborg Danz, Michael Gees)
29. Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen (Franz Vitzthum, Les Escapades)
30. Hab oft im Kreise der Lieben (Cornelius Hauptmann, Sabine Schubert-Kessler)
31. Winde wehn, Schiffe gehn (instrumental)
32. Bruder Jakob (Die Kinder vom Kleispark, Berlin)
33. Kommt ein Vogel geflogen (Dörthe Haring, Arne Zauber)
34. Im Märzen der Bauer (Johannes Grimm, David T. Schmidt)
35. O Täler weit, o Höhen (Kammerchor Stuttgart)

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Volkslieder, or folksongs, from Germany, is not just a commendable charity initiative; it is also a rather interesting, unusual concept, combining an appealing, attractive and colourful book with some excellent singing and musical skill.

The initiative is called Das Lieder Projekt and it is a charitable project to promote and further singing with children. For each CD sold, a donation of €2 is made to Herzenssache e.V. This translates approximately as “a matter of the heart” and is an organisation that works with disadvantaged children. The project was initiated by German bass Cornelius Hauptmann in 2008 and its first output was a collection of Wiegenlieder (Lullabies), which is now being followed by this album of Folksongs. As stated in the informative booklet notes, the project will be continued with two further collections: One of children’s songs and the other of songs for Christmas. It promotes singing by allowing access of the music and recordings of the songs (free of charge) online and by working with amateur music societies and professional institutions. This is further aided by a wide variety of broadcasts via the ARD radio network as well as some online cooperation with well known German newspapers.

One of the main reasons for the success of the project is undoubtedly the fact that the recordings feature outstanding singers and accompanists - who all performed for free. These include Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Olaf Bär and Daniel Barenboim. A lot of the credit is also due to the lovingly made illustrations by young artist Christoph Mett. If you understand German, I would recommend watching and listening to his interview on the website mentioned above. He truly captures the essence of each song in naive drawings, almost child-like, beautifully colourful and effectively capturing the charm of postcards from a bygone era. Mett’s paintings were originally created in a large format for the song book. This was published by Carus Verlag and complements the recordings. Intelligently, some of his illustrations are reproduced in the CD booklet, alongside the texts of the songs. This transforms the CD booklet into one of the most attractive I have ever seen. The texts are in the original German, and although the English translations are excellent, this is a sequence where a good knowledge of German will be of great advantage for the enjoyment of the songs. The melodies are very attractive, with many unforgettable tunes that help one understand why Lieder have been so popular in Germany, throughout the centuries; eventually, extending to other countries and becoming a genre in itself. The CD offers folksongs from the 15 ^th to the 20 ^th centuries, some set to music more elaborately by composers such as Mozart: Sehnsuch nach dem Frühling (Komm, lieber Mai – tr. 17) but also some true art-songs like Schubert’s Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust, from Die schöne Müllerin. However, it is the combination and perfect blend of music and lyrics that make this recording so delightful. The texts often relate stories, which were once sung to “catchy” tunes in village festivities celebrating the seasons or the harvests and which were passed from generation to generation via the oral tradition. The text is therefore as important as the melody and both are essential to understand the “simple folks” that sang these songs, their stories, their beliefs and their superstitions. As such, each song really only comes into its own if one can understand the words in connection with the music.

Having lived in Germany for ten years and worked as a teacher in a variety of schools, I had a lot of contact with these traditional songs and I am familiar with many present on this CD. They are often sung during school celebrations or as part of the musical curriculum. This recording had special meaning for me and brought back many happy memories. That said, the important thing is that one does not need to have lived in Germany or be familiar with its culture to delight in this CD. There is much to enjoy. The melodies are charming. There are songs from the greats, like Brahms, Schubert, Mendelssohn or Mozart, and the musicians and singers are all outstanding. Then, there is the CD booklet, which is a treat in itself, with Mett’s beautiful illustrations, alongside interesting, informative notes, artists’ biographies and all the texts to the recorded songs.

The result of all these collaborations is a work of pure beauty and joy. Its artistic merits are clear; however, if you do not like German or do not appreciate the music, then there is always another rather important reason to buy it: You will be contributing to the work of an organisation that gives help to children in need.

-- Margarida Mota-Bull, MusicWeb International