Schumann: Dichterliebe & Kerner-Lieder

Schumann’s Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Love) is one of the pinnacles of the art-song repertoire, and German tenor Jonas Kaufmann digs deep into its tangled emotional undergrowth in this 2020 recording, made during Covid lockdown. Kaufmann’s sweet-toned upper register lends a honeyed beauty to the early songs in the cycle, where love’s first flush is intoxicatingly depicted. When things go sour, however, Kaufmann’s gruffer, baritonal colourings surface, particularly in his truculently disillusioned account of “Ich grolle nicht”. Pianist Helmut Deutsch accompanies with disarming sensitivity, especially in the aching coda of the cycle’s final song, “Die alten, bösen Lieder”. Another set of Schumann songs, the Kerner-Lieder, also features on this album. Though not a coherently planned cycle like Dichterliebe, they make compelling listening in Kaufmann’s moody, dark-hued interpretation. Six songs from a 1994 student performance of Dichterliebe make for a fascinating bonus, contextualising Kaufmann’s eventual ascent to the peak of his profession.