Two women and their songs

Two exceptional musicians from Bern have created a treasure with their interpretation of 35 songs from a period of over 100 years: a production that is exceptionally successful in terms of both program design and interpretative quality. Both soprano Katrin Frauchiger and pianist Katharina Weber are not only excellent interpreters, but also skilled composers, and it goes without saying that they also document their own work, combined with two song cycles by their composer colleague Jürg Wyttenbach and selected songs by Alban Berg and Hanns Eisler.

Katrin Frauchiger's songs on two texts by Meret Oppenheim ("Muse of the Surrealists"), Up there in that garden and In the beginning is the endintroduced by a prologue for solo piano, are of expressive beauty, both in the vocal part and in the free-tonal piano writing.

Despite their stylistic similarities, Katharina Weber's songs speak a completely different language Intermediate country on poems by Martin Merz: concise, expressive formulations, partly derived from the recitation of the texts by the poet himself, which the composer had access to on a recording.

The two song cycles by Jürg Wyttenbach - written for Frauchiger and Weber in 2014 - are also stylistically close to the work of the two composers. In the 8 Duettini based on haiku poems by the Japanese Issa (1763-1827) and Kurt Marti (1921-2017), Wyttenbach expands the tonal possibilities: The pianist sings along with certain passages in the duet and sometimes has to bow a string on the grand piano. In contrast, the cycle is characterized by strict simplicity Three short prayers to the Japanese goddess of mercy Kannon Bosatsu. Wyttenbach said: "I had never written anything that simple. I just wanted to get away from chromaticism and always had these Japanese sounds in my ear while composing."

I find the combination with eight songs from the Hollywood Songbook (1942/43) by Hanns Eisler and the Seven early songs (1905-1908) by Alban Berg. This is where the past comes into play, which is essential for Wyttenbach as well as for Frauchiger and Weber. The present reflects the past. Another plus point of this CD is the booklet with the excellent text by Doris Lanz.