# Trying to find a great recording of Morgen (aka what is Schwartzkopf singing?)



## adrien (Sep 12, 2016)

Hi

as the title says, I'm looking for a great recording of this. I have the Jessye Norman one, which is fantastic, but in some ways I think she is a bit too strong for this song.

Anyway, I looked over dozens of others.

And I have a wtf moment with Schwartzkopf's version, I have no idea what she's singing but it sure as heck isn't "und morgen wird die sonne wieder scheinen" If anything the 2nd word sounds like the french word marais.

Unless it's some weird German dialect. Nobody else pronounces it like she does, anyone know why she sings it like that? It's extremely off-putting for me.


----------



## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Try Barbara Bonney if you want a version with piano.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Dame Felicity Lott; "Morgen!"; Richard Strauss


----------



## adrien (Sep 12, 2016)

thanks everyone


----------



## adrien (Sep 12, 2016)

Rogerx said:


> Dame Felicity Lott; "Morgen!"; Richard Strauss


hmm, she's pretty good, but drifts a bit sharp in places (like wieder in the first line).


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)




----------



## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

adrien said:


> Hi
> 
> as the title says, I'm looking for a great recording of this. I have the Jessye Norman one, which is fantastic, but in some ways I think she is a bit too strong for this song.
> 
> ...


Given that she was German born and bred I would imagine that her singing was pretty _echt!_ A lot of people find her style a bit, how shall I put this, mannered. I personally like her voice and love her Strauss.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Elisabeth Schumann:


----------



## Dirge (Apr 10, 2012)

I've long favored the old Jussi Björling/Harry Ebert recording [HMV '39]:





I also like Lisa Della Casa/Sebastian Peschko [Electrola/HMV '62]:


----------



## Schwammerl (Apr 4, 2020)

Do people prefer the orchestral or piano version of this song? I prefer the piano: as I have commented elsewhere, there is more freedom for the singer and more musical possibilities for the pair in the piano version. Though I must admit, the main "accompaniment" melody (it's actually a duet with the voice) does sound right on a solo violin.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Schwammerl said:


> Do people prefer the orchestral or piano version of this song? I prefer the piano: as I have commented elsewhere, there is more freedom for the singer and more musical possibilities for the pair in the piano version. Though I must admit, the main "accompaniment" melody (it's actually a duet with the voice) does sound right on a solo violin.


Orchestral .....................long time nothing then...... piano.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Now here's a curiosity. In 1966 Schwarzkopf and Legge traveled to the USA during which time she made her only recording in America, and her only recording for CBS. Glenn Gould had expressed a desire to accompany her in a short programme of Strauss songs, but the sessions did not go well, with Gould continully improvising on Strauss's accompaniments.



> While we [Schwarzkopf and Legge] were listening [to playbacks] in the recording booth he did not come inn with us, and played on, with fingerless gloves and a coat on and was fantasising all the time, never hearing with us what he had done. We couldn't even discuss with him. He couldn't do it in the "Ophelia" songs, that's why we allowed them. We tried other songs, but I have not allowed them to be published, because he was playing pure fantasy with "Morgen" and what have you - he said that the printed notes were "short hand writing" for what Strauss really meant.


Certainly the two artists were hardly a match made in heaven and I wonder why Schwarzkopf and Legge agreed to the sessions. I know Gould somewhat embellishes the piano part, but the result is quite _interesting_, even if it's not how I'd always want to hear the song. Incidentally, Schwarzkopf definitely sings the word "morgen" quite clearly here.

I also just listened to the orchestral version under Szell and I agree she gives the word a different colour but it still sounds like "morgen" to me.

For a version with piano, I rather like this.






Talk about breath control, she and Moore sustain a very slow tempo here. This is genius. Even at this slow tempo, Moore plays with incredible songful legato and Baker doesn't so much sing the song as just feel it. Really wonderful.


----------



## NLAdriaan (Feb 6, 2019)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Now here's a curiosity. In 1966 Schwarzkopf and Legge traveled to the USA during which time she made her only recording in America, and her only recording for CBS. Glenn Gould had expressed a desire to accompany her in a short programme of Strauss songs, but the sessions did not go well, with Gould continully improvising on Strauss's accompaniments.
> 
> *Certainly the two artists were hardly a match made in heaven* and I wonder why Schwarzkopf and Legge agreed to the sessions. I know Gould somewhat embellishes the piano part, but the result is quite _interesting_, even if it's not how I'd always want to hear the song.


Thanks for the Gould/Schwarzkopf 'Morgen', which I actually find more attractive than the Moore/Baker version. I can imagine the clash of character & culture between the two artists and would have loved to be a fly on the wall during the sessions. But the result of this song sounds very good in my ears.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

NLAdriaan said:


> Thanks for the Gould/Schwarzkopf 'Morgen', which I actually find more attractive than the Moore/Baker version. I can imagine the clash of character & culture between the two artists and would have loved to be a fly on the wall during the sessions. But the result of this song sounds very good in my ears.


That rather suprises me, I must say. Given that Gould is playing what amounts to a free re-arrangement of Strauss's piano part, I suppose we can't really compare him to Moore, but Moore shows here why he was so well regarded as an accompaniment, his slow, lyrically sustained accompanist, providing a perfect introduction to Baker's hushed entry. Throughout you feel that the two artists are completely at one with their vision and Baker is able to swell the tone, letting it flower and flourish before bringing it back again to an almost whispered pianissimo. I think it might e the most perfect realisation of the song I've ever heard.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Now here's a curiosity. In 1966 Schwarzkopf and Legge traveled to the USA during which time she made her only recording in America, and her only recording for CBS. Glenn Gould had expressed a desire to accompany her in a short programme of Strauss songs, but the sessions did not go well, with Gould continully improvising on Strauss's accompaniments.
> 
> Certainly the two artists were hardly a match made in heaven and I wonder why Schwarzkopf and Legge agreed to the sessions. I know Gould somewhat embellishes the piano part, but the result is quite _interesting_, even if it's not how I'd always want to hear the song. Incidentally, Schwarzkopf definitely sings the word "morgen" quite clearly here.
> 
> ...


I have a personal affection for this song, having included it on my recital program when I graduated from college in 1972. Schwarzkopf and Baker both do it beautifully. I'll have to say that the former doesn't particularly move me - maybe she'd have achieved that extra dimension with a different accompanist - and that the latter's extremely contained pianissimo and choice to make a gradual crescendo from the first phrase to the word "glucklichen" seem a touch calculated.

I know I'm nitpicking here, but what the hell, it's what we do! My choice for this song? Lotte Lehmann said that Elisabeth Schumann was the perfect Lieder singer, and Schumann's version of "Morgen" (with orchestral accompaniment) has the magical raptness that I miss in Schwarzkopf's and the spontaneity that I miss in Baker's.






Since I first heard Elisabeth Schumann some 50 years ago (in Schubert's "Traume"), I've felt that there never was a singer who sounded less calculating in her music-making, or less cultivated in her vocal emission. While technically flawless and interpretively subtle, she sounds as if she isn't even trying to do anything and hasn't an idea in her head; she's like some angelic child who expresses her feelings with a spontaneous hug that makes all questions of technique and interpretation irrelevant. She simply breathes the music out. Again and again I find her exquisite beyond reason, and beyond compare, in a lot of things, including many songs of Schubert, Strauss, Schumann and others, and in certain operatic parts such as Sophie (Rosenkavalier) and Eva (Meistersinger). She declined to sing the latter in the opera house, feeling it was too heavy for her voice, but in that famous recording of the quintet with Schorr, Melchior and others she attains the sort of ideal realization this wretched world doesn't even deserve to hear.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I have a personal affection for this song, having included it on my recital program when I graduated from college in 1972. Schwarzkopf and Baker both do it beautifully. I'll have to say that the former doesn't particularly move me - maybe she'd have achieved that extra dimension with a different accompanist - and that the latter's extremely contained pianissimo and choice to make a gradual crescendo from the first phrase to the word "glucklichen" seem a touch calculated.
> 
> I know I'm nitpicking here, but what the hell, it's what we do! My choice for this song? Lotte Lehmann said that Elisabeth Schumann was the perfect Lieder singer, and Schumann's version of "Morgen" (with orchestral accompaniment) has the magical raptness that I miss in Schwarzkopf's and the spontaneity that I miss in Baker's.
> 
> ...


I see what you're driving at and I agree the Elisabeth Schumann is absolutely lovely. But I do love Baker's version too, and Schwarzkopf singing the orchestral version. Do I have to make a choice?


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I see what you're driving at and I agree the Elisabeth Schumann is absolutely lovely. But I do love Baker's version too, and Schwarzkopf singing the orchestral version. *Do I have to make a choice?*


Heh heh. DavidA thinks you do, or that you want to, or that you want him to, or something...


----------



## adrien (Sep 12, 2016)

Coming back to this thread a couple years late, I see there were quite a few suggestions I missed. Thanks so much everyone who made them! Some very special recordings there.


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I like this with Fritz Wunderlich and also Eileen Auger​​


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

adrien said:


> Coming back to this thread a couple years late, I see there were quite a few suggestions I missed. Thanks so much everyone who made them! Some very special recordings there.


And I find that vey nice for and from you, revisiting is also a good idea.


----------



## clachat (11 mo ago)

Nuria Rial


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

MAS said:


> I like this with Fritz Wunderlich and also Eileen Auger​​
> 
> 
> 
> ​​


​​Wunderlich is one of my favourite tenors. The sheer beauty of his voice always disarms me. However I find that this is taken just a bit too fast, which he means he cannot create an atmosphere of rapt stillness as the best versions above do. Not one of his best performances.He's much better in the ardent ebullience of a song like _Heimliche Aufforderung._​​_



_​​I enjoyed Auger's performance. She has a better tempo, but her pure, girlish timbre lovely though it is, is not my preference _for this song. _Eisabeth Schumann also has a girlish timbre, but the tone is warmer and I like her use of portamento. She also has a better legato in the difficult first phrase.​


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

clachat said:


> Nuria Rial


I'm afraid I don't find this compares with any of the versions which have been posted above. She has a pretty voice, but her legato is a bit suspect and the interpretation is rather penny plain.


----------



## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

"Morgen" is one of my favorite songs. I've long favored soprano Arleen Auger's version on her debut CBS LP from the mid-1980s. During this later stage of her career, Auger enjoyed a kind of 'Indian summer' vocally, with her gorgeous voice remaining remarkably fresh at an age when most singers' voices have started to go into decline. She is accompanied by the excellent pianist Irwin Gage, & the sound recording is first rate. However, on CD, it was an early digital era disc & these days could use a fresh remastering (& hopefully will get reissued soon). Here they are performing "Morgen" live in concert around the same time,






Dame Janet Baker's studio version is another great favorite of mine, with pianist Gerald Moore: 



 In addition, there's a BBC recording from Baker at the Aldeburgh Festival, as well as a beautiful live performance of the orchestral version from Baker on You Tube, which are well worth hearing:






Among other piano versions, I've liked soprano Gundula Janowitz, as well, again with Gage, performing the song live in a concert at the Concertgebouw in 1977: Gundula Janowitz sings "Morgen" by Richard Strauss (1977, Audio Only)_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

While among the older recordings, I've liked Lisa Della Casa's 1962 recording with pianist Sebastian Peschko: Lisa della Casa: Morgen! by Strauss.

As for the orchestral versions, I've most liked two recordings--(1) from Felicity Lott with conductor Neemi Jarvi, & (2) Gundula Janowitz with Richard Stamp:










Lastly, I wanted to add that I very much like the insightful playing of Michael Raucheisen in his piano version with Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, but find her singing overly loud & insensitive in comparison, & unfortunately, ill-suited to his fine artistry: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf sings Morgen by Richard Strauss (1945)_哔哩哔哩_bilibili.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Josquin13 said:


> "Morgen" is one of my favorite songs. I've long favored soprano Arleen Auger's version on her debut CBS LP from the mid-1980s. During this later stage of her career, Auger enjoyed kind of 'Indian summer' vocally, with her gorgeous voice remaining remarkably fresh at an age when most singers' voices have started to go into decline. She is accompanied by the excellent pianist Irwin Gage, & the sound recording is first rate. However, on CD, it was an early digital era disc & these days could use a fresh remastering (& hopefully will get reissued soon). Here they are performing "Morgen" live in concert around the same time,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The 1945 Schwarzkopf/Raucheisen recording is quite early, made whilst she was still studying with Raucheisen's wife, Maria Ivogün and was not yet the refined artist she was to become, so it's hardly a fair comparison. Ivogün may have given Schwarzkopf her fine technique, painstaking work in which they built the voice from the inside out as it were. (Schwarzkopf relates how they started off with the best sounding notes in her scale and tried to reproduce the same sound on notes both above and below those notes.) Her artistry as a musician came later when working with Walter Legge and the many great musicians he paired her with - Furtwängler, Karajan, Edwin Fischer, Gieseking. Moore and the like.

The songs she recorded with Raucheisen are interesting, but for the most part they cannot compare with those she made once she had been contracted by EMI shortly afterwards.


----------



## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

Thanks for your information, I hadn't realized that Schwarzkopf's recording of the piano version was made so early in her career.


----------



## LKB (Jul 27, 2021)

No mention of Fischer-Dieskau/Moore on EMI? That is rather curious, imho.

Anyway, he and Baker were always my favorites. 









Lieder by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau - New on CD | FYE


6CD set - A treasure trove of Strauss lieder, Richard Strauss' many lieder are among the glories of the literature. The legendary Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's universally considered as among the greatest ever interpreters of the lied form, and one the 20th centuries great baritones. Accompanied by...




www.fye.com


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Josquin13 said:


> Thanks for your information, I hadn't realized that Schwarzkopf's recording of the piano version was made so early in her career.


I don't think she ever recorded the piano version again in the studio, except for the one with Glen Gould, which she would not approve for release, because Gould played what amounted to a free adaptation of the printed score.


----------

