Juliane Banse / Martin Helmchen HINDEMITH Das Marienleben

The German soprano Juliane Banse has sung the Lieder of Brahms, Schubert, Wolf, Ullmann, Strauss, Schumann, Loewe and Berg, earning a reputation for both the quality of her interpretations and the warmth of her timbre. She and her regular partner Martin Helmchen, who has just joined Alpha, have chosen to record Paul Hindemith’s song cycle Das Marienleben, composed in 1923 and revised by the composer in 1948. A bewitching, sometimes disturbing cycle whose texts, taken from the great poet Rainer Maria Rilke, retrace the life of the Virgin Mary. Fifteen poems, fifteen episodes tinged with mysticism and lyricism. They proved to be the ideal inspiration for Hindemith, whose compositional style here draws on both the power of Wagner’s operas and the subtle nuances of Debussy.

Juliane Banse / András Schiff SONGS OF DEBUSSY AND MOZART

One of the recurrent highlights of András Schiff’s chamber music series at the Mondsee Festival over the last decade has been his duet performances with Juliane Banse. The singer first went there, at the pianist’s invitation, in 1994. “I just sang five Mendelssohn songs with him then, but we realized right away that we were a good team,” says Ms Banse. Since then the duo has been a special commitment, a project returned to whenever crowded itineraries permit. “Songs of Debussy and Mozart” is their first album together.

A spontaneous, fresh approach, and an exchange of new ideas and insights in the music, has characterized their work. “The extraordinary things about working with András Schiff are that there are no rehearsals in the conventional sense; there’s no writing in the margin of the score, and fixing details and approaching the work the same way each time, none of that. It’s very different every time, which makes the live situation very exciting. Many new things always happen. If I have a new idea – and sometimes I’ll do things I’ve never done before - I know he’ll be able to accommodate it…”

Debussy songs have formed part of Banse/Schiff’s core repertoire from almost the beginning of their association, and were obvious choices for their first ECM recording, but Banse also felt that Mozart’s songs are consistently undervalued in contemporary recitals and chose to cast a fresh light on them.

“Generally the songs don’t get the attention they deserve. We wanted to put Mozart in the centre of the recording.” In bringing together songs of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Claude Debussy they uncover perhaps surprising ‘similarities’ between the composers. The mood is intimate, the atmosphere consistent. The French songs of Mozart including “Dans un bois solitaire” and “Oiseaux, si tous les ans” form one  bridge to Debussy’s world. “Both composers are very delicate in the expression of feeling in their songs” says Banse, “both very personal, and they both give so much from themselves.” Connections are stressed by Banse’s forthright approach to the Mozart. “You have to dare to sing the Mozart lieder as if they were impressionistic songs – then they suddenly become what they really are.” (ECM Records)