Brahms: Die schöne Magelone, Op. 33

Baritone John Chest’s career has been gathering pace with remarkable speed, and here’s his debut solo recording. His smooth, expressive voice, which made him such a wonderful Pelléas, is put to terrific use in Brahms’ Die schöne Magelone. It’s often performed with narration to link the 15 songs, but here we have just the music. However, such is Chest’s identification with the chivalric world of the medieval knight Peter and his love for the beautiful Magelone that he carries us along. Marcelo Amaral is a subtle partner and clearly relishes the harmonic twists and turns of the piano writing.