Schubert, Schumann, Brahms & Wagner: Rheinmädchen

Featuring

Raphaël Pichon
Anneke Scott
Joseph Walters
Olivier Picon
Christopher Larkin
Yann Dubost

Marie-Amélie Clément
Emmanuel Ceysson
Bernarda Fink
Pygmalion
Richard Wagner
Robert Schumann
Johannes Brahms
Franz Schubert
Heinrich Isaac

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Recording & Production

The recording features a unique arrangement of Wagner's 'Das Rheingold' prelude, vocalizing the orchestral parts across 24 spatialized voices.

Historical Context

The album draws on the German imaginative heritage, where fascination with ancestral legends and foundation myths experienced an unprecedented revival in the 19th century.

Instruments

The recording uses period-appropriate horns, including a natural horn by Marcel August Raoux from around 1820 for the Brahms songs, and a copy of a natural horn by Ignaz Lorenz from around 1830.

Album & Artwork

This album, 'Rhinemaidens', is the first part of a trilogy exploring the use of canon in German musical history, focusing on feminine expression.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Despite being often portrayed as rivals, Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner both extensively used the horn and harp, instruments characteristic of their respective artistic visions.

Interpretation

The Ensemble Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon aim to challenge clichés about German music by exploring foundation myths and presenting composers like Brahms and Wagner as intertwined within a shared tradition.

Compositional Technique

The canon, a compositional technique inherited from Renaissance polyphony and counterpoint, is a central thread uniting the German composers featured on this album.