Stenhammar Songs
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: (Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar
Label: Musica Sveciae
Magazine Review Date: 7/1990
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 74
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: MSCD623
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| In the forest |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| (4) Swedish Songs, Movement: Ingalill |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| (4) Swedish Songs, Movement: Fylgia |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| (7) Poems from Thoughts of Solitude, Movement: My ancestor had a large goblet (Min stamfar hade eal) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| (7) Poems from Thoughts of Solitude, Movement: You loved me (Du hade mig kär) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| (The) Girl came home from her tryst |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| (The) Girl on Midsummer Eve |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| Fir Tree stands alone |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| Ballad of Emperor Charles |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| (5) Songs to texts by Johann Ludvig Runeberg, Movement: Leaning on the fence (Lutad mot gärdet) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| (5) Songs to texts by Johann Ludvig Runeberg, Movement: The daughter said to her old mother (Dottern sadeamla moder) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| (5) Songs to texts by Johann Ludvig Runeberg, Movement: To a rose (Till en ros) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| (4) Songs, Movement: In the maple's shade |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| (4) Songs, Movement: Were I a small child |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| (4) Stockholm poems, Movement: A barrel-organ song |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| Melody |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| Love Song |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| (5) Songs of Bo Bergman, Movement: Stareye (Stjärnöga) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| (5) Songs of Bo Bergman, Movement: At the window (Vid fönstret) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| (5) Songs of Bo Bergman, Movement: Moonlight (Månsken) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| (5) Songs of Bo Bergman, Movement: Adagio |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo soprano Bengt Forsberg, Piano |
| (5) Songs of Bo Bergman, Movement: Ancient Dutchman (Gammal Nederländare) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| Songs and Moods, Movement: The Wanderer (Vandraren) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| Songs and Moods, Movement: The star (Stjärnan) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| Songs and Moods, Movement: Miss Blonde and Miss Brunette (Jungfru Blond och Jnett) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| Songs and Moods, Movement: A ship sails (Det far ett skepp) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| Songs and Moods, Movement: When the shadow of the casement falls (När genom) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| Songs and Moods, Movement: Why hurry so to rest (Varför till ro så bråt |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| Songs and Moods, Movement: To the land of bliss (Lycklandsresan) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
| Songs and Moods, Movement: Aladdin of the Lamp (Prins Aladin av Lampan) |
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer
(Karl) Wilhelm (Eugen) Stenhammar, Composer Håkan Hagegård, Baritone Thomas Schuback, Piano |
Author: Robert Layton
With every new addition to the Stenhammar discography, this composer grows in my estimation. Now that the two symphonies, the Serenade for orchestra and the six string quartets have been recorded, the only gaps in the repertoire are the piano concertos (the Sterling/Gamut account of the First is now on CD—see page 230—and hopefully, EMI will follow it with the reissue on CD of Janos Solyom's splendid version of the D minor) and the songs. This new issue bring no fewer than 30 of the latter into the catalogue.
As is well known, Stenhammar was a pianist of some renown; he played the Brahms concertos, as well as his own, with most of the major conductors of his day (including Karl Muck, Hans Richter and Richard Strauss) and was an admired soloist (giving Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, Opp. 109 and 110 and the Diabelli Variations all in one programme). He was also an impressive chamber-music player. True, he turned more and more to conducting in his later years, first at the Royal Opera, Stockholm, and then at Gothenburg, but it is less well known that he was much in demand as an accompanist, and toured extensively with John Forsell.
At home in his childhood, the family could muster a vocal quartet, for which Stenhammar composed a number of small pieces, though most of his youthful output was for solo voice. The songs on this disc cover his whole career: the very first, In the forest (''I skogen''), was written when he was 16, the last, Love song (''Minnessang''), comes from 1924 and was his final work. The bulk come from the 1890s and 1900s, including the setting of Runeberg's The girl came from meeting her lover (''Flickan kom fran sin alsklinas mote'') made famous by Sibelius's later setting.
Like Sibelius he set Runeberg and Swedish romantics such as Froding and Karlfeldt and their contemporary, Werner von Heidenstam, but at least a third of the songs recorded here are to texts of Bo Bergman. This last poet inspired some of the most thoughtful and inward-looking songs. The only non-Swedish text is an early setting, from 1889, of Heine's A fir tree stands alone (''Ein Fichtenbaum steht einsam''). Some songs are not new to the catalogue (Elizabeth Soderstrom and Kerstin Meyer recorded a number in the 1960s and Erik Saeden recorded Songs and Moods (''Visor och stamningar'') in 1970, but most are. In any event, this is the most comprehensive survey of them so far.
The majority of the songs (17) are allotted to Hakan Hagegard and Thomas Schuback. Generally speaking the earlier songs are more circumscribed by the conventions of their time but they never fall below a certain level of distinction, and some are very fine indeed. The Heine setting has a striking simplicity and feeling, and is given with great insight and sensitivity by Anne Sofie von Otter and her responsive accompanist. Stenhammar's setting of Runeberg's The girl came from meeting her lover (''Flickan kom'') is more subtle than the Sibelius setting, though for the most part none of his songs really match the greatest of either Sibelius or Nielsen, either in scale or inspiration. They are often highly original and forward-looking, such as Prince Aladdin of the lamp (''Prins Aladin av lampan''), and have a natural freshness and charm as inA barrel-organ ballad (''En positivvisa'') or Old dutchman (''Gammal nederlandare''). They are all beautifully fashioned with not a note out of place, and the product of a man of fastidious taste and poetic feeling. Many of the songs, such as Moonlight (''Mansken'') deserve a much wider exposure than they at present enjoy.
Hagegard sings with his usual intelligence and artistry, though there is an occasional hardening of tone in forte at the top of the register that I have not associated with him. Schuback accompanies superbly. Otter is a joy throughout. The documentation is of the highest quality within the usual constraints of the CD: the original texts are all given with detailed summaries in English, and there is an authoritative and scholarly essay by Dr Bo Wallner, which is a model of its kind. Strongly recommended.'
As is well known, Stenhammar was a pianist of some renown; he played the Brahms concertos, as well as his own, with most of the major conductors of his day (including Karl Muck, Hans Richter and Richard Strauss) and was an admired soloist (giving Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, Opp. 109 and 110 and the
At home in his childhood, the family could muster a vocal quartet, for which Stenhammar composed a number of small pieces, though most of his youthful output was for solo voice. The songs on this disc cover his whole career: the very first, In the forest (''I skogen''), was written when he was 16, the last, Love song (''Minnessang''), comes from 1924 and was his final work. The bulk come from the 1890s and 1900s, including the setting of Runeberg's The girl came from meeting her lover (''Flickan kom fran sin alsklinas mote'') made famous by Sibelius's later setting.
Like Sibelius he set Runeberg and Swedish romantics such as Froding and Karlfeldt and their contemporary, Werner von Heidenstam, but at least a third of the songs recorded here are to texts of Bo Bergman. This last poet inspired some of the most thoughtful and inward-looking songs. The only non-Swedish text is an early setting, from 1889, of Heine's A fir tree stands alone (''Ein Fichtenbaum steht einsam''). Some songs are not new to the catalogue (Elizabeth Soderstrom and Kerstin Meyer recorded a number in the 1960s and Erik Saeden recorded Songs and Moods (''Visor och stamningar'') in 1970, but most are. In any event, this is the most comprehensive survey of them so far.
The majority of the songs (17) are allotted to Hakan Hagegard and Thomas Schuback. Generally speaking the earlier songs are more circumscribed by the conventions of their time but they never fall below a certain level of distinction, and some are very fine indeed. The Heine setting has a striking simplicity and feeling, and is given with great insight and sensitivity by Anne Sofie von Otter and her responsive accompanist. Stenhammar's setting of Runeberg's The girl came from meeting her lover (''Flickan kom'') is more subtle than the Sibelius setting, though for the most part none of his songs really match the greatest of either Sibelius or Nielsen, either in scale or inspiration. They are often highly original and forward-looking, such as Prince Aladdin of the lamp (''Prins Aladin av lampan''), and have a natural freshness and charm as in
Hagegard sings with his usual intelligence and artistry, though there is an occasional hardening of tone in forte at the top of the register that I have not associated with him. Schuback accompanies superbly. Otter is a joy throughout. The documentation is of the highest quality within the usual constraints of the CD: the original texts are all given with detailed summaries in English, and there is an authoritative and scholarly essay by Dr Bo Wallner, which is a model of its kind. Strongly recommended.'
Stenhammar Songs
Explore the world’s largest classical music catalogue on Apple Music Classical.
Included with an Apple Music subscription. Download now.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £8.75 / month
Subscribe
Gramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.