This album, released for the 100th anniversary of Gustav Jenner's death, features 17 of his songs set to texts by Klaus Groth and 22 by Theodor Storm, many of which are world premiere recordings.
Performer Biography
Ulf Bästlein, the baritone on this album, has released numerous CDs of song settings by various poets, including many world premiere recordings.
Instruments
The recording uses a 1928 Julius Feurich grand piano, chosen for its warm, voluminous, yet transparent sound, which suited the intimate nature of Gustav Jenner's songs.
Compositional Technique
Gustav Jenner's songs are characterized by their atmospheric essence and aphoristic brevity; many are less than a page long and sung in under 60 seconds.
Composer Biography
Gustav Jenner, the composer, was born in Keitum on Sylt in 1865 and was the only composition student of Johannes Brahms.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Gustav Jenner believed that music should follow the subtlest stirrings of emotion, expressing what language cannot, and that melody should be a musical expression of the impression a poem leaves on the composer.
Critical Reception
Gustav Jenner's works are largely forgotten today, despite being performed by famous singers during his lifetime, possibly because he avoided grand, success-driven compositions and was seen as a traditionalist.
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