Beloved Soul: Mädchenchor Hannover

The Romantic period is not infrequently presented as an era of the beautiful. Songs about the yearning for nature, youth, and love, but also about a desire for death are a key concern in the music of the time. The Mädchenchor Hannover presents romances by Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms—two cornerstones in the nineteenth-century repertoire for women’s choir. In addition, the new recording features duets for two female voices by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. These pieces reveal the multifaceted nature of sentiments and their expression especially pertinently.

The compositions on this CD tell of love, life, and death, of the first meeting (‘Erste Begegnung’), as Schumann’s eponymous song is titled, and of parting: in Mendelssohn’s Wasserfahrt for example. Nicholas Rimmer accompanies the singers Ania Vegry (soprano) and Mareike Morr (mezzo soprano) on a historical Hammerklavier. The Mädchenchor itself sings a number of romances for female voices by Schumann, pieces which more than live up to their lyrical models in performance.

The exceptional quality of the Mädchenchor comes to the fore in this recording. Their youthfulness and lively nature literally bursts forth from the pieces. Every emotion, be it happiness or sadness, pain or joy, comes to life in the girls’ voices, and becomes a moving experience for the listener.

Mädchenchor Hannover
Gudrun Schröfel

Neue Chorzeit - CD Review (Oktober 2010, Ulrich Barthel):

„Der Mädchenchor Hannover leistet mit seiner neuesten Einspielung einen würdigen Beitrag zum Schumann-Jahr 2011. […] Dabei überzeugt der gewohnt frische und homogene Klang des Chores, der aber ebenso ausdrucksvoll und facettenreich die verschiedenen Stücke angemessen bedient. Chorleiterin Gudrun Schöffel legt dabei viel Wert au gute Textverständlichkeit und lebendiges Musizieren innerhalb der Chorgruppe, die von Nicholas Rimmer am historischen Hammerflügel einfühlsam begleitet wird.“