麻豆社

Live from Wigmore Hall, London, introduced by Sara Mohr-Pietsch.

In February 1840, Robert Schumann wrote to his fianc茅e the virtuoso pianist Clara Wieck that he had just completed a large cycle of song setting poems by Heinrich Heine. This was the Liederkreis Op. 24, and it would be his first published song cycle. 1840 was Schumann鈥檚 'Liederjahr', his year of song, during which he composed over 125 songs and this somewhat lesser-known set is full of pathos. Faur茅's Verlaine settings of 1892-4 are dedicated to the singer Emma Bardac, with whom Faur茅 was in love at the time. (After her affair with Faur茅, Emma met Claude Debussy whom she would eventually marry.) These two passionate song-cycles are performed by two exceptional artists: Eric le Sage, the French pianist especially admired for his interpretations of Schumann and Faure; and Julien Pr茅gardien, the German tenor lauded for his versatility of repertoire.

Robert Schumann: Liederkreis Op. 24
Gabriel Faur茅: Nocturne No. 6 in D flat Op. 63
La bonne chanson Op. 61

Julian Pr茅gardien (tenor)
Eric Le Sage (piano)