OTHMAR SCHOEK (1886-1957)

Notturno Op. 47

Christian Gerhaher: baritone

Rosamunde Quartet:

Andreas Reiner: violin

Diane Pascal: violin

Helmut Nicolai: viola

Anja Lechner: violoncello

Although generally acknowledged as one of the leading composers of his native Switzerland, Schoeck has never acquired a stable reputation outside the German-speaking world. This is partly due to his strong focus on the sung word: His output comprises eight operas, some 400 songs and a couple of smaller instrumental works. Moreover, his essentially late-romantic style was considered démodé after the Second World War when the avant-garde was arguing for a more rational and emotionally restricted approach to composition.

“Here is a composer who deserves rediscovery,” says Heinz Holliger. “His works often come across to me as immensely personal, intense utterances that are both touching and moving – perhaps none more so than the wonderful Notturno Op. 47.” Composed by Schoek between 1931 and 1933, it served as a personal confession after an unhappy extra-marital love affair. Its five movements set verses by German 19th-century-poet Nikolaus Lenau and by the great Swiss writer Gottfried Keller. The highly differentiated, insightful interpretation by Christian Gerhaher – one of the most distinguished young German “Lied” singers and a former disciple of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau – and the Rosamunde Quartet offers a strong plea for Schoeck’s expressive music and sheds an exciting light on his artistic preoccupation with the dark abysses of human existence.

ECM New Series 4766995