Schumann in English, Vol. 1 in Bloomington, MN

This album of
Schumann
song cycles in English, containing the big three (the
Liederkreis ["Song Cycle"], Op. 39
,
Dichterliebe ["Poet's Love"], Op. 48
, and
Frauenliebe und -leben ["Loves and Lives of Women"], Op. 42
), inaugurates a new series devoted to
after the completion of a similar group devoted to
Schubert
. In the 19th century, foreign-language works were routinely translated into the languages of the countries where they were performed, and this project would have seemed less novel. Now, it is rarely done, and existing translations often have the defect of being stilted. That is not a problem with this album, which features excellent new translations by
Jeremy Sams
. The poetry of the
cycles is, in general, a bit more intricate than that used by
, who favored the foursquare simplicity of
Goethe
and his ilk.
Sams
' task seems more difficult here, and he responds with less straight translation and more a paraphrase and general sentiment. A few famous images are missing, but once again,
has succeeded in his task of producing colloquial English that matches the tone of the originals, and the singers seem relaxed in his texts. The ubiquitous
Roderick Williams
is given the
Dichterliebe
, and most will find his performances satisfying ones regardless of language. A pleasant find here is the soprano
Ailish Tynan
in the
Liederkreis
, whose bright, clear tone seems ideally suited to the material, perhaps more so than the voice of
Kathryn Rudge
in what is here called
A Woman's Life, A Woman's Love
. The accompanist throughout is the talented
Christopher Glynn
. The ultimate goal of startling the listeners with a sudden immediacy of the text is achieved, and one looks forward to future installments. ~ James Manheim