Summer: Sappho's Songs

While the world of musicology has grown accustomed to rediscovering unknown works by Baroque masters or so-called “minor masters” of the Classical period, the recovery of Romantic musical treasures is rather rare. Hans Sommer’s orchestral music, his cycle Sapphos Gesänge, or the Goethe Lieder are such exceptions. The protagonists of this recording—Elisabeth Kulmann, Bo Skovhus, and Sebastian Weigle—have rescued Hans Sommer from oblivion, a composer whose works have retained the power to move the listener. The songs presented here speak in a vivid and personal language that, situated close to Wagner and Strauss, already points toward Mahler, Wolf, and Berg. Above all, however, these songs are sensual and exciting from beginning to end.