# Favourite Lieder/song is.....?



## handlebar

For you Lieder lovers,what song is your favourite?

A tie between Mahler's "Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz" and "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen". Both are among the best Lieder composed IMHO.

How about your favourites?

Jim


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## andruini

I have a soft spot for An Die Musik.


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## emiellucifuge

Im not too sure about individual songs.. but for song cycles it is a tie between

Die Schone Mullerin (piano) - Schubert
and
10 Biblical Songs (orchestral) - Dvorak

Need to try some more mahler lieder.


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## handlebar

And Wolf, Strauss,Zemlinsky (if one likes Mahler then Zemlinsky is a delight-try his symphonies).
Hugo Wolf composed some truly magnificent Lieder. Almost rivals Mahler to be honest and certainly composer copious quantities.

Jim


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## StlukesguildOhio

Choosing a single favorite might be an impossibility. For a single cycle I'd probably go with Schubert's _Winterreise_ (with Der Leiermann as perhaps my favorite from that... although there are so many highlights) or Richard Strauss' _Four Last Songs_. But there are endless others: Schubert's _An Sylvia_, Mahler's stunning _Der Abschied_, and outside the German lieder tradition? Reynaldo Hahn's A Chloris, Debussy's Clair de Lune, Faure's _La Chanson d'Eve_, and what of Mussorgsky? Tchaikovsky? Rachmaninoff? etc...


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## Tapkaara

I have a really hard time appreciating Mahler's lieder. I find them too be meandering and achingly untuneful. He is often praised as a great lieder composer, but I think that is truest strength as a composer was in his symphonies. I'm sure I am just missing something, and the problem is with me and not Mahler, but still, I just do not get it.

I'm sure you'll all be surprised to read this, but Sibelius (told you) has written some great songs. Diamond on the March Snow, The First Kiss and Black Roses come to mind immediately. Unfortunately, unless you are a Sibelius specialist, these works are a terra incognita and have not entered into the standard rep. More's the pity because they are tuneful and too the point. (Can't say that about Mahler.)

Strauss's Four Last Songs are, probably, my favorite work in the genre. They are so exquisitely crafted. They represent Strauss at his most human and sincere. This is music that hits you where it counts every time.

Schubert is universally regarded as a great "liederist," and rightfull so. The Erlking, for example, is a nearly-perfect miniature.


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## Artemis

This is among my favourite genres. Schubert is without doubt the first and foremost songwriter. Schumann is second. After that I would put Brahms in third spot. Mendelsshon wrote some very beautiful vocal works, albeit of a more religious nature. I have every vocal work by Mahler and Strauss but I wouldn't fall over either of them in a rush before reaching for the aforementioned.

Taking just a very small selection of Schubert's individual songs, the following are my particular favourites (in D order) (I include my favourite versions for each):

D118 - Gretchen am Spinrade (Ludwig/Parsons)
D225 - Der Fisher (Fischer-Diskeau, Engel)
D257 - Heidenroslein (Bonney/Parsons)
D328 - Erlkonig (Fischer-Diskeau, Moore)
D547 - An die Musik (Wunderlich/Giesen)
D550 - Die Forelle (Ludwig/Parsons)
D720 - Suleika (Watts/Vignoles)
D745 - Die Rose (Janowitz/Gage)
D752 - Nachtviolen (Schwarzkopf, Fischer)
D786 - Viola (Fischer-Diskeau, Moore)
D799 - Im Abendrot (Wunderlich/Giesen)
D828 - Die Jonge Nonne (Schwarzkopf, Fischer)
D867 - Wiegenlied (Fassbaender/Reiman)
D882 - Im Fruhling (Gerhaher/Huber)
D891 - An Sylvia (Wunderlich/Giesen)
D957/4 - Standchen (Wunderlich/Giesen)
D965 - The Shepherd on the Rock (Ludwig/Parsons)


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## Guest

I, too, am partial to Schubert.

I love his Die Winterreise song cycle (I have the DG recording with Fischer-Dieskau and Demus), and after that, I really enjoy Dieskau and Moore performing Erlkoenig and Der Tod und Das Maedchen - haunting and beautiful, especially if you can appreciate the words (either understand German or possess a translation).

I love Mahler too, but this is one area where he isn't my favorite.


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## handlebar

Schubert is indeed THE master of Lieder. I own the complete Hyperion edition and it is one of life's true delights. So much music and so little time!

Jim


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## Lukecash12

Schumann - sechs gedichte und requiem, Op. 90: Lied eines schmiedes


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## Aramis

I'm not too familiar with this genre. I've just ordered Schubert (Hyperion). As for what I've heard before I like Chopin's songs. Mostly because they are one of few classical vocal pieces that I can understand. Unless the singer didn't work too much to sing lyrics correctly and understandable.


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## Portenor

*Favourite Lieder*

Hi I have just recently registered, but I noticed this discussion and I felt I had to say that Schubert's Der Dopplelganger is my favourite lieder song. It's so emotional and powerfull, I'm actually a young tenor in training and I've performed this piece many times and it just captures me everytime with its dark mysterious colours and powerfull statements.


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## xuantu

> Hi I have just recently registered, but I noticed this discussion and I felt I had to say that Schubert's Der Dopplelganger is my favourite lieder song. It's so emotional and powerfull, I'm actually a young tenor in training and I've performed this piece many times and it just captures me everytime with its dark mysterious colours and powerfull statements.


Schubert, the song writer, is definitely one of my favorite composers. And Portenor, just when I was about to randomly pick one of his earlier songs as my favorite lied, your post remind me of his amazing Heine settings from _Schwanengesang_. Indeed I love them all, particularly _Am Meer_ and _Der Doppelgänger_. These are hollow, dark, ghostly songs like no other in the repertoire. They are capable, I believe, of transferring people from this world to that of oblivion as the pensieve in the tale of _Harry Potter_ I don't care whether Schubert manages to capture Heine's irony in his music or not. Taking all the pain and loneliness in these poems seriously is not a mistake in my book.

Yes! A tenor voice would be ideal in these songs! Good luck with your vocal training!


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## Aramis

By the way, don't you think that lieder is the most obsolete classical form?


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## emiellucifuge

No I dont think so, Many 20th century composers have composed lieder that had remarkable effects. There are other forms that have fallen completely out of use such as nearly all dance forms, orchestral suites, Im sure there are more


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## Aramis

emiellucifuge said:


> No I dont think so, Many 20th century composers have composed lieder that had remarkable effects. There are other forms that have fallen completely out of use such as nearly all dance forms, orchestral suites, Im sure there are more


Well, dance forms are not popular because classical dances are out of populatiry as well. Orchestras suites still make sense and can be performed live as good as any other symphonic stuff. But lieder? Do people (not professional musicians) still perform lieders in home? Age of recorded music brough us completely diffrent kind of cameral, simple song and classical one, scored for piano and classical vocal is very, very obscured form which completely lost it's original purpose.


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## Argus

Aramis said:


> By the way, don't you think that lieder is the most obsolete classical form?


It's up there with opera vying for that unwanted crown. But that may just be my anti-vocal bias. The fugue is pretty obsolete but it remains a good excercise or test for composers as they are particularly tricky to plan out.

As for the original question, the only classical or, possibly more correctly, quasi-classical songs I like are Gershwin's.


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## Artemis

Most of the classical forms I enjoy are obsolete so it doesn't make any diference to me which is the most "obsolete". It's partly the fact that they are obsolete that makes them so much more enjoyable, since if they were still being produced there's always the risk that someone might come up with a better version. 

It should also be remembered that the process by which some musical forms became obsolete is not because they were no good but because of the need for new generations of composers to find alternative forms in a music market which had already been served by the efforts of past masters.


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## kmisho

I'd have to mark Hugo Wolf as my favorite writer of lieder. But let me expand this just a bit to include art song in general

I absolutely lover Webern's songs. The American Ned Rorem is a great writer of songs, and vocal music in general. He's written a large number of songs set to the works of many of the greatest modern poets such as Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop, John Ashbery, Walt Whitman.


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## Rasa

Im Abendrot - Strauss.


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## PoliteNewYorker

I love the recordings of Schubert's Winterreise and Schumann's Liederkreis with Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore on the piano.


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## Guest

I'm not changing my original answer, as I still think Schubert stands out as king of the Lieder, but I have spent a great deal of time listening to Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn, as well as his 2nd symphony in the last while, and have to put "Urlicht" up very high on my list of favorite Lieder.

Oh, and while much of Schubert's Lieder sound beautiful with a tenor, I do prefer Fischer-Dieskau's baritone.


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## IchGrolleNicht

Ich grolle nicht!!! I have a soft spot for Schumann, particularly Dichterliebe with which I have a very strong personal connection. 
Schubert is amazing as well. I adore Winterreise and I am working on Wohin? from Die schöne Müllerin right now for my college auditions.


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## JSK

Schumann - Ich Grolle Nicht and the second song in Frauenliebe und Leben
Brahms - Wie Melodien (forget the rest of the spelling) and Die Mainacht
R. Strauss - Zueignung

This is slightly embarassing - every song on that list was either on my listening list for music history at some point or I have accompanied it for vocal students at my school.


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## tenor02

anything from faure. and die mainacht by brahms. 

honestly, i dont think that the art song is dead. it's just very niche and has it's own small, but rabid following.


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## StlukesguildOhio

Oh, and while much of Schubert's Lieder sound beautiful with a tenor, I do prefer Fischer-Dieskau's baritone.

I absolutely love Fischer-Dieskau... to the point that I am seriously contemplating this rather pricey 21 disc boxed set:










But I most certainly could not go without this performance by the inimitable Fritz Wunderlich:










Schubert is... to my mind... the unquestionable god of song... but I'd be hard pressed to come up with a clear second... let alone third, etc... While I love Schumann, Strauss' Last _Four Songs_ and any number of Mahler's songs might rank equally. And then there's any number of others: Wolfe, Mussorgsky, Zemlinsky, Szymanowski, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Grieg, etc... At present I am going through an obsession with French melodies: Faure, Hahn, Debussy, Chausson, Duparc, Ravel, Delage, etc... and i wouldn't underestimate their achievements.

As for the obsolescence of the lieder or "art song"... what absolute nonsense! Song is virtually the root of all music. The art song is far from dead. The 20th century saw great examples of the art song and such continue to be produced into the 21st century. One need only look at major examples from Ravel, Delage, Jaubert, Zemlinsky, Richard Strauss, Schoenberg, Martinu, Janacek, Hindemith, Franz Waxman, Kurt Weill, Ilse Weber, Delius, Bantock, Benjamin Britten, Samuel Barber, John Corigliano, Ned Rorem, Philip Glass, John Adams, Luciano Berio, Osvaldo Golijov, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, Manuel de Falla, Stravinsky, Earl Kim, Poulenc, Michael Nyman, Charles Koechlin, William Bolcom, Anders Hillborg, Laci Boldemann, Hans Gefors, peter Lieberson, Charles Griffes, Lorenzo Paloma, etc... to name but a few... and this wholly ignores the composers who straddle the line between "serious" and popular music... such as Rodgers and Hart, Gerschwin, Ellington, etc...

...lieder? Do people (not professional musicians) still perform lieders in home? Age of recorded music brough us completely diffrent kind of cameral, simple song and classical one, scored for piano and classical vocal is very, very obscured form which completely lost it's original purpose.

What does it matter that the initial purpose of the lieder has changed? The initial purpose of Bach's Well Tempered Clavier (among other works) was largely pedagogical... the fact that it is now listened to purely for enjoyment in no way undermines its validity.


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## Aramis

I likes this one


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## An die Musik

Hi! I am new here, and am so glad to find this community! Despite my user name, my favorite has got to be Gretchen am Spinnerade. It is wonderful to sing...the raw emotion and the highs and lows are thrilling!

I also think that the art song genre (including lieder) has a lot of life left in it. I hope that it will never become obsolete, especially with a generation of young music students spending their days learning the repertoire.


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## Romantic Geek

I have favorites from different time periods, but this is one of my favorite modern ones:

Ned Rorem - Ferry Me Across the Water


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## hlolli

I love this!


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## howlingmadhowie

no one mentioned Abendempfindung yet?


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## hankz

Most of Schubert's Lieder...


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## alan sheffield

*Favourite Song*

At the moment it is "Sure on this Shining Night" by Samuel Barber. Closely followed by:

The Choirmaster's Burial from Winter Words - Britten
"O Rose Thou Art Sick" from Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings - Britten
On Wenlock Edge - Vaughan Williams


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## TWhite

Oboy, as a vocal accompanist this is one DIFFICULT question. 

For Lieder, I'd say almost anything by Schumann, Brahms, Strauss and Wolf. I like Schubert a lot, but he's very 'tricky' for me to accompany. Of the song cycles I've accompanied, I've had the most pleasure with Schumann's "Dichterliebe" and Brahms' "Zigunerlieder". I'm very fond of Mahler's "Songs of a Wayfarer", but it's been fairly troublesome finding Mahler's original piano score and NOT the piano reduction of his orchestration. 

As to Art Songs, I'm just a sucker for Samuel Barber and Serge Rachmaninov, even though one has to be VERY careful in the accompaniments to Rachmaninov's songs--they can sometimes overpower the singer. Copland's "Old American Songs" are a delight--it's hard to program just a few on a recital--you always want to program both sets, they're such audience-pleasers. 

Tom


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## Ut Pictura

<StlukesguildOhio I absolutely love Fischer-Dieskau... to the point that I am seriously contemplating this rather pricey 21 disc boxed set>

Just be aware that there may be no libretto/text of songs in this box set. I have it, it is wonderful, but I also happen to have all 37 CDs of the complete Hyperion Schubert edition, so I have the texts at hand, although it is a bit tedious to fish them out every time I want to follow the words of a song.

These are such special recordings that it is worth your while to buy the original Fischer Dieskau set which came in 3 boxes - they, I understand, do have the full texts. This box set you refer to is a budget "no frills" one. Unless they have added a full booklet since - mine came with only a list of the songs and a brief intro.


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## Jaime77

ich bin der welt abhanden gekommen - mahler. that is ... 
sung by ludwig or baker 

also i love strauss four last songs especially beim schlafengehen and abendrot 

oh oh and... der leierman from schubert's masterpiece die winterreise

picking one is mighty hard to do


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## Jeremy Marchant

Aramis said:


> By the way, don't you think that lieder is the most obsolete classical form?


God, no! They're just songs. They have the capacity to relate to the lover of pop music far more directly than does a string quartet or opera. A song is a song is a song. If only those determined not to like classical music would be willing to accept what for them is a slightly mannered vocal presentation, they would get on with Lieder like a house on fire, whether by Schumann or Ned Rorem.

I can understand devotees of non-vocal classical music not liking the voice (I too _prefer _non-vocal classical works) - but the argument 'I don't like it, therefore it's obsolete' is even odder than the one that goes 'I don't like it therefore it's rubbish' which is trotted out so relentlessly on this and other forums.


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## Jeremy Marchant

handlebar said:


> For you Lieder lovers,what song is your favourite?


I don't have any favourites not already covered (most Schumann, particularly _Auf einer Burg_ from the op 39 cycle, if you want just one; _Four last songs_).

But you may be interested in the _Drei Lieder_ (1950) for alto and chamber orchestra of Karlheinz Stockhausen - student works which betray no sign of the radical way he developed as little as a year later, and extraordinarily assured and imaginative whilst clearly in the debt of the post Romantic Germans.


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## Herkku

If I had to choose only one, it would be Beim Schlafengehen from Die Vier letzte Lieder by Richard Strauss. Only I have difficulties with choosing the singer. Perhaps it would have to be Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, because her performance was the first I heard, but there are so many other fine singers to choose from.

If I could choose two, the other one would be Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen from Mahler's Rückert-Lieder, and this time I wouldn't hesitate with the singer: Janet Baker!


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## Sebastien Melmoth

Very fond of song-cycles, beginning with the very first: Beethoven's *To the Distant Beloved* (Op. 98--quite a 'mature' work) with D. Fischer-Dieskau and Jorg Demus.

Followed by Hindemith's *Life of Mary* and Schönberg's *Book of the Hanging Gardens*.

The German Swiss Othmar Schoeck wrote two or three excellent song-cycles.

And besides his two major ones, Schubert wrote a couple of smaller lesser-known cycles.
(Must go to Graham Johnson's complete Hyperion Schubert issue for these.)

Musn't forget Wolf's big three lieder Books: the Morike, Spanish, and Italian.


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## ToneDeaf&Senile

I normally have the devil's time singling out one item for inclusion in these "favorite" threads. That said, I know of no better music from any era or genre than Schubert's *"Erlkonig"*. What's more, my two favorite interpretations of it appear on YouTube! The first features a quite young *Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau* with standard piano accompaniment. The second is an interpretation by *Anne Sofie von Otter* backed by Hector Berlioz' highly effective and dramatic orchestral adaptation performed by the *Chamber Orchestra of Europe* under *Claudio Abbado*.

-ToneDeaf&Senile-


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## Air

Herkku said:


> If I had to choose only one, it would be Beim Schlafengehen from Die Vier letzte Lieder by Richard Strauss. Only I have difficulties with choosing the singer. Perhaps it would have to be Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, because her performance was the first I heard, but there are so many other fine singers to choose from.


Same here. "Schweben" is absolutely heart-melting.


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## Il Seraglio

1. Wagner - Wesendonck Lieder
2. Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde
3. Strauss - Vier letzte Lieder
4. Schubert - Die Schone Mullerin
5. Schumann - Dichterliebe

If they didn't have to be part of a cycle I would say Mozart's German songs are definitely up there with the best, although they were heavily overshadowed by the rest of his late output. Seriously, is it just me who likes them?


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## hankz

I just listened again to one of my favorite DVD's: Barbara Bonney singing Schumann's Dichterliebe.

She lives and teaches in Salzburg now; and those of you close to London, can hear her in concerts from time to time; I am waiting for her to return to San Francisco one day, soon...

For more on matters classical, see my Blog:

http://www.myclassicalnotes.com


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## aaron24

Brahms - Von ewiger Liebe
Schumann - His cycle Dichterliebe, Op. 48


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## Sid James

I'm beginning to get into the lieder of Mahler, especially as I will see selections from_ Das Knaben Wunderhorn_ performed live in Sydney in a few weeks. So I've been listening to an EMI cd of Christa Ludwig sing some of those songs, as well as _Songs of a Wayfarer _,_Kindertotenlieder_ & some of the _Ruckert songs _as well. I especially find Mahler's use of the English Horn (& other woodwinds like oboes) as a "pivot" to be very effective. These are quite melancholic songs, and the soloist and orchestra are equals.

As for non-Germanic songs, I've been getting into some of Varese, Janacek, Lutoslawski, Messiaen and Henze. Janacek's_ Diary of the one who disappeared _was sung in German by Ernest Haefliger, but was originally in Czech, and Henze's _Three Auden Songs _are sung in English. One in German, but by a Swiss composer, is Frank Martin's _Six Monologues from Everyman _(baritone & orchestra), which has particularly colourful orchestration and sounds almost Romantic, although it's tonality is deliberately vague (like many of his works).

I would particularly like to go to a live lieder recital sometime, say a song cycle by Schubert or Schumann. I remember one was on here in Sydney a few months ago, but I was booked at the same time for another concert. But I'm sure I will able to do this sometime soon...


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## dmg

Ich grolle niiiiiicht
Ich grolle _NIIIIIIICHT_

I find myself singing this at random with WTF looks from my cohorts.


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## janne

Richard Strauss - Frühling


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## karenpat

I haven't been listening to Lieder for very long so I'm still extremely selective... However I think my favourites would be Litanei auf das Fest aller Seelen and Der Leiermann by Schubert, and Ich hab in Traum geweinet by Schumann. (I love Ian Bostridge's rendition of the latter. Gives me goosebumps every time.)


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## Op.123

Widmung.........


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## SiegendesLicht

Schubert: _Nacht und Träume_, _Gute Nacht_ from Die Winterreise, _Im Frühling_, _Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen_.
Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder, particularly _Im Abendrot_.


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## schuberkovich

Der Leiermann and Der Lindenbaum from Winterreise.


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## Ravndal

Dvorak - Mein Lied ertont, Ein Liebespsalm (Gypsy Melodies)
Schubert - Gute Nacht (Winterreise)
Schumann - In Der Fremde

At the moment!


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## Rehydration

Gurre-lieder. 
Strange pick, I know, but I admire Schoenberg for composing a work of such magnitude.


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## Joris

Schubert - An Den Mond (second setting) from Goethe-Lieder


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## Stargazer

If we're talking song cycles as a whole, I'd have to go with Winterreise. It's just too good to pass up and really has a bit of everything. Now if we're talking individual songs...I honestly couldn't choose. There's just so many that I love it would be hard for me to elevate a particular one above the rest.


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## Novelette

Schumann: 6 Gedichte & Requiem, Op. 90 - 7. Requiem
Schumann: Romanzen & Balladen III, Op. 53 - 3c. Der Arme Peter III, "Der Arme Peter"
Brahms: Vier Lieder, Op. 70 - 2. Lerchengesang
Haydn: Rose rot, Rose weiss
Beethoven: Adelaide, Op. 46


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## peeyaj

New obsession: Auf Dem Flusse, in Winterreise


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## Art Rock

Song cycles:
Schubert - Winterreise
Mahler - Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Ruckertlieder, Kindertotenlieder
Strauss - Vier letzte Lieder

Isolated songs: numerous from above cycles, Barber's Knoxville Summer of 1915, Strauss' Morgen.


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## quack

Been listening to a lot of Kurtag recently. He has several cycles with 10-20 songs, many less than a minute, he also has a large scale _Kafka-Fragments_ of 40 songs accompanied by violin.





Also no one has mentioned Berlioz's _Les Nuits d'Été_, just heard Frederica von Stade's recording and it has become my favourite.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

I can't pick one *Sibelius,* but all of op. 86 are heavenly. 
I also love Mondestrunken by Schoenberg.


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## Novelette

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I can't pick one *Sibelius,* but all of op. 86 are heavenly.
> I also love Mondestrunken by Schoenberg.


You, sir, are nothing if not consistent [with respect to Sibelius]. I admire that. 

And I agree with you about the Schoenberg.


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## Selby

Art Rock said:


> Song cycles:
> Schubert - Winterreise
> Mahler - Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Ruckertlieder, Kindertotenlieder
> Strauss - Vier letzte Lieder
> 
> Isolated songs: numerous from above cycles, Barber's Knoxville Summer of 1915, Strauss' Morgen.


Hard to argue with that list.


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## SiegendesLicht

My current favorite is Schubert's _Ganymed_, especially as performed by Ian Bostridge.


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## Celloman

One of my favorites is "Bredon Hill" from Vaughan Williams' _On Wenlock Edge_. It's impossible to pick a favorite from Schubert's lieder, they're all so good!


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## brotagonist

My favourite song cycle is still Schönberg's _Pierrot Lunaire_. Helga Pilarczyk is phenomenal! "Den Wein, den man mit Augen trinkt..."
A recent acquisition that I am especially fond of is Steven Kimbrough's _The Art of American Song: Songs of the Wild West_. I consider it a *major* discovery.
Another recent acquisition is Schubert's _Winterreise_ by Dietrich Henschel. I like this a lot, too.


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## Kieran

Favourite song cycles are the Goethe lieder, and Michaelangelo lieder, by Hugo Wolf...


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## EllenBurgess

these are my favorite song to listen up 
Die Schone Mullerin (piano) - Schubert
and
10 Biblical Songs (orchestral) - Dvorak


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## rborganist

No, Aramis, I don't think lieder is obsolete, either. There are not as many lieder composers today as at some periods of music history, but the concept of telling a story in the space of a two or three minute song is still viable, and there are many poets whose texts are well worth setting. I have written a cycle of five songs to texts by Emily Dickinson. I call it "Encounters"; they all describe encounters with nature. Samuel Barber wrote some lovely art songs (and lieder simply means songs in German--the singular is lied). However, I am also partial to Schubert; he was himself a tenor, so his vocal writing is especially sympathetic and idiomatic. I would have a hard time choosing one favourite, but Der Erlkoenig and Die Forelle would certain be in the top five, and I do love the cycle Die Schoene Muellerin.


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## mtmailey

I do not like just one song but very few like MEIN!,DER JAGER,HALT!,DIE LIEBE FARBE & DAS WANDERN.


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## Schumann

_Schubert:_

An Den Mond, D 296
Der Blinde Knabe, D 833
Der Winterabend, D 938
Litanei Auf Das Fest Aller Seelen "Am Tage Aller Seelen", D 343
Winterreise, Op. 89, D 911 - Das Wirtshaus
Winterreise, Op. 89, D 911 - Gute Nacht

_Schumann:_

4 Duette, Op. 78 - #2 Er & Sie
6 Gedichte & Requiem, Op. 90 - #7 Requiem
Dichterliebe, Op. 48 - #1 Im Wunderschönen Monat Mai
Dichterliebe, Op. 48 - #12 Am Leuchtenden Sommermorgen
Liederkreis, Op. 39 - #5 Mondnacht
Liederkreis, Op. 24 - #7 Berg' & Burgen Schaun Herunter

_Brahms:_

An Die Nachtigall, Op. 46/4
Erinnerung, Op. 63/2
Lerchengesang, Op. 70/2


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## LindnerianSea

I have a soft spot for Strauss's Vier Letzte Lieder. I remember Barber also having a magnificent set of four songs.


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## maestro57

Schubert - Auf dem Wasser zu singen, D. 774

would be my favourite Lied... I think.


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## Winterreisender

Schumann - Schöne Wiege meine Leiden (from Liederkreis Op. 24)
Schubert - Gute Nacht (from Winterreise)
Beethoven - An die Ferne Geliebte


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## jvardon

Schubert - Standchen, Gretchen Am Spinnrade


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## Winterreisender

In addition to Lieder, many of my favourite songs are by John Dowland, including this one:


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## Reichstag aus LICHT

Sticking to individual songs, i.e. outside Lieder "cycles", some personal favourites...

Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrade; Auf dem Wasser zu singen; Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen; Auf der Bruck; Die Taubenpost; Nacht und Träume; Der Musensohn

Schumann: Stille Tränen; Mondnacht; Der Kontrabandiste

Brahms: Von ewiger Liebe

Strauss: Morgen; Zueignung

Dudley Moore: Die Flabbergast


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## Pantheon

I'm very fond of Dvorak's Zigeunerlieder and duets (for example "The Wild Rose") 
Schubert : Auf dem Wasser zu singen, Du bist die Ruh, Trockne Blumen.
Bernstein's songs ("I hate music") as well.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT

Pantheon said:


> Du bist die Ruh


I'm amazed I left that gem off my original list. Seconded!


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## Pantheon

Reichstag aus LICHT said:


> I'm amazed I left that gem off my original list. Seconded!


I'm glad I could remind you !


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## ccravens

Been listening to Schumann's _Liederkreis_ (Eichendorff) lately.

Good stuff.


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## Pip

Strauss Four Last Songs, particularly "Beim Schlafengehen". Sung by Lisa Della Casa and the violin Solo is by Willi Boskovsky ,conducted by Karl Böhm


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## Andrei

The Field of the Dead from Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky is very moving. It is of course good enough to stand on its own but the context and touching words add to the mood.

The Songs in Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs are also very beautiful.


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## Winterreisender

New favourite songs from Schubert:

- Der Schiffer, D 536 (a very stormy piece, especially when sung by DF-D)
- Der Alpenjäger, D 588 (this one is a mini-epic and Schubert displays great skill as a storyteller. He captures a real sense of innocence, drama and pathos in a single lied)
- An den Mond in einer Herbstnacht, D 614 

I keep discovering new favourites thanks to my 21 disc box set of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore.

But my absolute favourite is probably Morgen Gruß from Die Schöne Müllerin


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## DaDirkNL

Schubert all the way. My favourite cycle would be Winterreise.


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## Janspe

Schubert's _Schwanengesang_ cycle is one of my all-time favourites.

My favourite individual song is probably _Der Müller und der Bach_ from Schubert's _Die schöne Müllerin_ song cycle. What a beautiful piece of music.


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## Tsaraslondon

Mahler's _Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen_ in its orchestral version, especially as sung by Dame Janet Baker and conducted by Sir John Barbirolli


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## Fried fifer

haven't gone deep into art song but Shuberts Erlkonig is what really sparked my interest in it, truly a incredible piece. Beethoven's Ich Libe Dich is fantastic as well and just sang it for my final performance. Not lieder but I Asao enjoy Vaughan Williams The Call.


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## SiegendesLicht

Some more gems from Schubert I have got to know and love resently: 

D052 Sehnsucht
D077 Der Taucher - a really long one, more like a medieval ballad
D095 Adelaide
D120 Trost in Tränen
D100 Geisternähe
D318 Schwanengesang
D415 Klage (Die Sonne steigt...")
D449 Der gute Hirt
D489 Der Wanderer
D586 Erlafsee
D673 Hoffnung
D686 Frühlingsglaube

...but there are still a lot more to discover.


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## JohnnyRotten

This one:


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## Andrei

The songs in the 2nd and 3rd movements of The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs
Dirge from Britten's Serenade for Tenor Horn & Strings
In the Field of the Dead from Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky


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## Winterreisender

Grieg is probably my second-favourite composer of songs, after Schubert of course! I love his Cycle "Haugtussa." In fact, he has many great songs, which I have had great pleasure exploring with this box set: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Centenary-E...id=1387824874&sr=8-4&keywords=grieg+centenary


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## MagneticGhost

I'll get back to you on this one.

My favourite songs at the moment based on a very small sample of the repertory

Schubert Gute Nacht (from Winterreise)
Viola

Rachmaninov - Vocalise


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## Aramis

An excellent song by Tchaikovsky in equally excellent execution:


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## Bellinilover

I'm new to Lieder, but I love the Four Serious Songs ("Vier ernste Gasange") by Brahms.


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## jvardon

These are very high on my list, neither of which is usually sung my voice type 
D118 - Gretchen am Spinrade
D957/4 - Standchen


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## AlexS

New to this forum -wish I'd found it earlier! 
What a huge subject lieder is: there's so much, and the boundaries are impossible to agree. Unsurprisingly Schubert seems to be on everyone's list of favourites. I'm surprised no-one's mentioned Poulenc, a particular favourite of mine, or Chabrier, or Eisler. But reading all the posts has shown me how much more there is to discover and enjoy.
May I put in a word for the NMC Songbook, a 4-CD compilation of about 100 songs by living composers? Some of these are wonderful and demonstrate that the form is far from obsolete. And Judith Weir's songs are terrific too.


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## Cantabile

Most favourite lieder, songs and bigger works for solo voice...
Schubert: An die Musik, Auf dem Wasser zu Singen, Du Bist die Ruh, Standchen ( Schwanengesang); Shepherd on the Rock 
Schumann: Dichterliebe
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde ( voice and orchestra)
Berlioz: Nuits d'ete ( voice and orchestra) 
Faure: Après une Reve, Ici-bas, Lydia, Dans les Ruines d'une Abbaye, Claire de Lune
Barber: Sure on this Shining Night; Hermit Songs; Knoxville Summer of 1915 ( voice and orchestra) 
Vaughan Williams: Silent Noon


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## Cantabile

I tend to like the French repertoire......There are some lovely songs by George Enescu, a Romanian composer (whom I thought was actually French for a long, long time) which are in French.....eg the beautiful Present de Couleur Blanche......
and for great fun, there's Eric Satie's Diva de L'Empire.


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## tomhh

Schubert's lyrical pieces.


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## Pimlicopiano

Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin. And as sung by Gerard Souzay with Daniel Baldwin accompanying (the 1965 Phillips recording).

But for a Schubert individual song that I don't think has been listed - how about Nacht und Traüme D.827 . Souzay recorded it twice, it's his second recording with Baldwin again that is just magical.


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## hpowders

Schumann Frauenliebe und Leben.


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## DiesIraeCX

I have not heard many song-cycles, but my favorites so far are all Mahler. 

- Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
- Das Lied Von Der Erde


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## MoonlightSonata

Schubert: Der Erlkonig and Die Forelle.


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## Balthazar

Refice: Ombra Di Nube

and

Canteloube: Bailero


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## Figleaf

Pimlicopiano said:


> Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin. And as sung by Gerard Souzay with Daniel Baldwin accompanying (the 1965 Phillips recording).
> 
> But for a Schubert individual song that I don't think has been listed - how about Nacht und Traüme D.827 . Souzay recorded it twice, it's his second recording with Baldwin again that is just magical.


Souzay's Schöne Müllerin was his one major failure among the recordings that I've heard, in my opinion anyway. I don't know if the recording I have is the same one you refer to, but its the one where he uses a sort of breathy effect to supposedly lighten his dark toned baritone into a timbre more suited to the young lad in the song. It sounds gruesome to my ear. It's a real shame, because his Winterreise is fantastic, and the Nacht und Träume you mention is one of my favourite records of all time. For Die Schöne Müllerin I would choose Peter Schreier, and also Franz Naval. For nearly everything else Lieder or melodie related, it's Souzay all the way, though with his earlier recordings when his voice was fresh preferable to the later ones where he sounds drier and occasionally tremulous. I feel bad for criticising him because he's one of my favourites and the singer who introduced me to much of the song repertoire, but I did find that Schöne Müllerin a massive disappointment after my hopes had been raised by his other records of Schubert songs.


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## Musicforawhile

No Grieg? My favourite is probably Letzer Fruhling by Grieg.


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## Figleaf

I will have to seek out Letzte Frühling. I think I can only name two Grieg songs, both absolutely ravishing: Oh, quand je dors, and Oh lieb, oh lieb, so lang du lieben kannst. I have a CD of Heddle Nash singing both along with some drawing room ballad type stuff, which I would enthusiastically recommend to anyone who isn't put off by that unfashionable repertoire.









Speaking of popular songs of that time, there's a favourite of mine which is sometimes wrongly attributed to Grieg on record labels, which had me puzzled for a while. It is 'Parais a ta fenêtre' by one Louis Gregh. It may not totally belong in this thread but I'm uploading it anyway for lovers of French song!


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## clara s

just now I am listening for one more time

an incredible song that PetrB had proposed in an other thread

and which impressed me then and became one of my favourite

Claudio Monteverdi and Zefiro Torna

with Rial and Zaroussky


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## Balthazar

One more: Tonerna, a Swedish song written by Sjöberg, as sung by Jussi Björling.


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## Cheyenne

My favorite single Lied is probably one of Schubert's Goethe Lieder -- I'm thinking the second adaptation of An Den Mond or Zuleika.. More on this after I've given it more thought!


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## AST

Poulenc C, the first art song I ever heard.


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## Buddha

I've always thought _Ständchen_ from Schubert's Schwanengesang would make a great musical overlay to various spies being - shall we say? - "terminated" in a Cold War espionage movie. This would be especially interesting considering the song's theme, in which the singer encourages his lover to delight him....


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## LittleSoubrette

I know it's probably a cliche response, but I've always loved "Gretchen am Spinrade." It's a very difficult song to sing, but also so much fun to perform!


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## silentio

Too many to list!!! But right now these songs speak to me the most:

*Refice*'s _"Ombra di nube"_






*Strauss*' _"Ruhe, meine Seele"_






*Brahms*' _"Da unten in Tale"_ (a folk song)






*Poulenc*'s _"Les chemins de l'amour"_


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## Retired

I am so very pleased that Hugo Wolf has been mentioned so often. He is one of my favorite lieder composers. I have always admired how his music mirrors the mood or drama of the text..such as the jauntiness of "Fussreise", the breathlessness of "Begegnung" or the brief but joyous moment of "sunlight" in "Verborgenheit".


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## hpowders

Robert Schumann Frauenliebe und leben.


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## Marilyn

Schubert's Winterreise and Mahler's Ruckert Lieder.


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## jvardon

Oh gosh, it's hard to pick just a few favorites - Schubert has so many.
These are my top ones, but there are more that I love from

D118 - Gretchen am Spinrade
D828 - Die junge Nonne
D911 - Winterweisse - 15.Die Krahe
D945 - Herbst
D957 - Standchen

If anyone notices, these are all in minor keys  The drama and suspense one can create in a minor key is just so captivating.


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## Albert7

Any lieder by Mahler is a plus for me.


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## Rhombic

I'm currently getting to know Romantic Russian lieder, especially those by Dargomyzhsky. Up to now, there have been no disappointments whatsoever. The volumes of his lieder and romances are available in imslp (which is, in some cases, interesting so as to search for specific lieder instead of dabbling -blindly- in the Internet).


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## jenspen

An umlaut-free list of some favourite Lieder:

Schubert - Nacht und Traume, Das Lied im Grunen, Die Gotter Griechenlands, Fruhlingsglaube, Im Fruhling

Schumann - all of Dichterliebe, all of Liederkreis op. 39 

Wolf - Anakreons Grab, Auf eine Christblume I, Die ihr Schwebet, Gesang Weylas, Und willst du deinen Liebsten


There are hundreds more....


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## Ilarion

I perceive the vocal music of Rubinstein to be vastly ignored...Take a listen to the link below:






Respectfully yours...


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## Figleaf

Ilarion said:


> I perceive the vocal music of Rubinstein to be vastly ignored...Take a listen to the link below:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Respectfully yours...


Great clip! Lovely voice and music. I think I've heard Chaliapin sing that, though I didn't know what it was.

I have some Rubinstein clips that I really love, though I don't know if it's the same Rubinstein or if they are songs as opposed to arias from some forgotten opera. First is the beautiful voice of Anton van Rooy singing Der Asra:






Also, 'Le Rêve du prisonnier' sung by Jean Lassalle:


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## MAS

Im abendrot, by Richard Strauss, Vier Letzte Lieder. Sung by Jessye Norman.


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## SingingMoore

Botschaft is tough but kinda amazing


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## SixFootScowl

Wow! My first lieder was Schubert with Gundula janowitz and I was kind of disappointed, but a year later, revisiting it, I like it, and now lieder, which I did not care for, is catching on. I just purchased some Wolf lieder with Ileana Cotrubas, which arrived a few days ago and has been played half a dozen times since. Moments ago I ordered a set of Janet Baker singing lieder of Mendelssohn, Schumann and Liszt--the clips are playing right now and I am loving it. One thing that stuck in my mind was a post (maybe this thread) where someone said that lieder was the purest form of singing. I almost resented the piano but now see that the piano is a wonderful part that only enhances the whole experience.


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## Steatopygous

Just joined this thread and haven't read it yet. Are we allowing anyone other than Schubert, and if so why?


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## TurnaboutVox

Steatopygous said:


> Just joined this thread and haven't read it yet. *Are we allowing anyone other than Schubert, and if so why?*


Well, yes. We got a complaint from a Mr. Weill and a Mr. Brecht about equal opportunities legislation, the Unions got involved and we had no choice.

This year I've been getting to grips with the lieder / songs of Vaughan Williams, Britten, Bridge, Mussorgsky, Schoenberg and very recently the complete songs of Francis Poulenc. Which are absolutely gorgeous, by the way. I don't take new music in very quickly, so I'll just allow myself to marinade in these over the next few months.


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## Renzo

There many lieder I have come to love* and I am looking for some fresh pieces.

* Morgen,Befreit,the four last songs of Strauss,wiegenlied, An die Musik, Nacht und Träume,Zueignung, Das Lied von der Erde,Ich bin der welt abhanden gekommen,Du Bist die Ruh,Auf dem Wasser zu Singen,Songs My Mother taught Me, Si Mes Vers avait des ailes,Dream of Gerontius, Elgar's Sea Pictures,Canticle for jean Racine.An Den Mond,Kindertotenlieder,Vocalise,Waldseligkeit, Urlicht.
I'm sure there are many more gems out there!
Thank you.


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## Renzo

I found that, for myself, the first version I hear of a piece is the one I like the best. I was introduced to Strauss' Four Last Songs by Kiri Te Kanawa and no one else's version pleased me so well ...until I heard Gundula Janowitz ! Now her recording of the songs is my favorite and has been for many years.


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## Bettina

My favorite song cycles (in roughly chronological order):

Beethoven, An die Ferne Geliebte

Schubert, Winterreise

Schubert, Die schöne Müllerin

Schumann, Dichterliebe

Debussy, Ariettes oubliées

Ravel, Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé


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## Renzo

I hit the link you gave and listened to the Rubinstein. I am a convert! A solid, lovely song. And what a voice !!
Boris Shtokolov. Where can I get a copy?? I've listened to it done by Chaliapin but I so prefer your version. It's slower and more heartfelt.


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## Pugg

Lost of them are on this:

http://www.talkclassical.com/40950-melody-day.html


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## hpowders

I'm not into lieder, but if someone put a gun to my head, strictly for purely selfish purposes of survival, I would scream:

Schumann's Frauenliebe und leben.

Now don't kill me!!


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## Lensky

*My favorite ever is :*


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## Guest

That is a great one. Personally, with as much as I like Mahler's Lieder, Schubert is just a bit better. I love the Erlkönig.


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## Pugg

Lensky said:


> *My favorite ever is :*


_Ever_ is a great word but it comes close.


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## bestellen

My favourite songs at the moment:

Schubert Gute Nacht (from Winterreise)
Viola


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## Razumovskymas

Debussy: La flûte de Pan (Chansons de Bilitis)
Schubert: Gute Nacht (Winterreise)


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## helenora

almost every day it's different, depends on a mood and a performer...difficult to name just one


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## silentio

Faure's *Le Secret*. Achingly beautiful and innocent. It was like time frozen.






P/S: The best rendition of this melodie was by Irene Joachim, the iconic Melisande. It is not available on Youtube. I think I will try to upload it soon.


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## David Phillips

'Go, Lovely Rose' by Roger Quilter as sung by Hubert Eisdell on a Columbia 78.


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## SiegendesLicht

Right now it is the English folk song "Down by the Salley Gardens" as arranged by Benjamin Britten and performed by Andreas Scholl. Can't wait to hear it live next year.


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## jenspen

SiegendesLicht said:


> Right now it is the English folk song "Down by the Salley Gardens" as arranged by Benjamin Britten and performed by Andreas Scholl. Can't wait to hear it live next year.


It's lovely. I googled and heard Andreas Scholl singing another Irish song to a traditional air - "She Moved through the Fair" (we sang it at school, but unaccompanied, which makes it sound even spookier). Have you heard it?


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## SiegendesLicht

^ Now I have, thank you. It is haunting and lovely. Andreas Scholl is coming to Hamburg with an entire program of British art songs and traditional tunes ("Greensleeves" too!), but this one is unfortunately not on the list.


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## fluteman

If we're talking song cycles, like many others I have to cite Schubert's Winterreise and Die Schone Mullerin, Schuman's Dichterliebe and Mahler's Das lied von der Erde, as many have here. But I'd also add Berlioz' Les nuits d'ete and Ravel's Scheherazade and Chansons Madecasses.


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## Pugg

High above all : Strauss Four last songs: Lucia Popp/ Klaus Tennstedt.


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