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02/11/2025
“Volume 2: Licht und Schatten”
Franz Schubert: Die junge Nonne, D. 828, opus 43, n° 1 – Auflösung, D. 807 – Die Allmacht, D. 852 – 3 Ländler, D. 366: n° s3 & 4 – Der Einsame, D. 800, opus 41 – Abendstern, D. 806 – Normans Gesang, D. 846, opus 52, n° 5 – Das Heimweh, D. 851, opus 79, n° 1 – 6 German Dances, D. 820: n° s 1‑3 – Fülle der Liebe, D. 854 – Des Sängers Habe, D. 832 – Auf der Bruck, D. 853 – Im Abendrot, D. 799 – 5 German Dances and Ecossaises, D. 783, opus 33: n° 2, n° 4, n° 5, n° 6 & n° 7 – Lied des gefangenen Jägers, D. 843, opus 52, n° 7 – An mein Herz, D. 860 – Wandrers Nachtlied, D. 768, opus 96, n° 3 – Wiedersehn, D. 855
Samuel Hasselhorn (baritone), Ammiel Bushakevitz (piano)
Recording: b-sharp, Berlin, Germany (March 2024) – 66’48
harmonia mundi HMM 902747 (Distributed by [Integral]) – Booklet in English, French and German
 
Schubert may have composed more than 600 songs, but the typical Lieder listener has probably heard fewer than a dozen in live performance (plus two or three song cycles). harmonia mundi seeks to remedy this oversight in part by offering Volume 2 in its series of Schubert art songs. The collection includes 15 songs and German dances for piano under the rubric, “Licht und Schatten”, or, “Light and Shadow”. The selections are presented here 200 years after their composition by Samuel Hasselhorn, baritone, accompanied by pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz. You’ve met both of these gentlemen before in ConcertoNet in my September 4, 2023, review of their Die schöne Müllerin .
According to some Schubert scholars, the year 1824 was a difficult time for the 27‑year‑old composer as the prospect of terminal illness increasingly absorbed his thoughts. In 1825, however, he experienced renewed optimism, encouraged by a warm circle of friends, including his travel companion and prominent Viennese baritone, Johann Michael Vogl. Fate and time were to prove these affirmations false, however, as Schubert was to die in 1828. Yet the encouragement of friends in 1825 had a positive effect on his disposition and the quality and quantity of his later work.
“Licht und Schatten” focuses on Schubert’s flickering moods from 1824 through 1825 as he wandered from melancholy to hope. From the opening song, Die junge Nonne (The Young Nun) to the concluding Wiedersehn, the album unfolds melodiously as shadows recede and dark turns to light.
Samuel Hasselhorn gives an inimitable performance of Schubert’s settings of selections by German Romantic poets and two narratives from Sir Walter Scott, reimagined by poet Adam Storck. Equally at ease on both the operatic and art song stage, the German‑born singer combines clear articulation with impeccable phrasing. Hasselhorn’s sensitivity to the nuances of the music and the subtle expressions of verse make this an unforgettable listening experience. For example, in the song, Das Heimweh (Homesickness), the singer pines for his Alpine home in melancholy tones. His heart seems to stop, with an octave drop at the word, “dunkel” (darkness). Yet, after a piano interlude, the mood shifts to romantic love, forthright and unsentimental. Hasselhorn then switches in mood and heft with a beguiling ditty about a musician’s affection for his zither.
Let us not forget the baritone’s partner in these colorful miniatures: Ammiel Bushakevitz. The pianist is a true collaborator in bringing these songs and dances to vivid life, two musical hearts playing as one. Probably the most familiar music on the album is six German dances, performed with gentle tenderness by this gifted Schubert interpreter. Not surprisingly, the album concludes with a sweet, but never cloying Wiedersehn, blending together all that is best in the German art song tradition, Hasselhorn’s voice shimmering against Bushakevitz’s halo of delicate percussive tones.
This is an album certain to please admirers of Schubert’s music and an open door to some of his less well‑known but still captivating creations.
Linda Holt
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