Description

After Franz Schubert considered as the originator of the German Romantic lied, the names of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms are worthy of figuring in the first ranks of the many composers who have contributed to this repertoire. Their respective outputs are considerable – some 250 lieder for Schumann and just over 200 for Brahms. However, what distinguishes them foremost as masters of the genre is the originality of their approach: each in his way was able to go beyond the Schubertian model. Thus, their individuality is manifest either in the choice of poets and the subjects of the poems, or in the musical treatment of these poems. Contralto Madeleine Jalbert and pianist Francine Chabot perform some of the greatest cycles from those two romantic composers.