Schumann and Wolf (Güra / Vignoles)

Schumann - Dichterliebe

Songs by Hugo Wolf

Supported by The Helena Oldacre Trust

Schumann’s Dichterliebe is one of the pinnacles of song writing, its sixteen settings of Heinrich Heine demonstrating the perfect marriage of words and music.  The opening words – “Im wunderschönen Monat Mai” (“in the wonderful month of May”) – are arguably the most instantly recognised in the whole song repertoire, and the listener is immediately drawn into a world of memories, lost love, bitterness, joy and some of the most magical music ever written. Wolf’s settings of the poet Eduard Mörike (some of which can also be heard on Weds 21^st) are a similarly happy union of poet and composer, with the variety of the music matching the extraordinary range of a poet whose output moves between simple folk poetry, fervent prayers, fairy tales and often humorous love poems.

It is a huge pleasure to welcome Werner Güra to the Festival for the first time. His performances and many recordings have been widely acclaimed, and his recordings on the Harmonia Mundi label of Dichterliebe and Wolf’s Mörike Lieder have both been selected as “Editor’s Choice” in Gramophone Magazine. Roger Vignoles is one of the world’s best-known accompanists and is a familiar face at the Lieder Festival.