1-1: Vorspiel (3:58) 1-2: Der Nekar (7:17) 1-3: Wie Meeresk?sten... (2:10) 1-4: Ihr Sichergebaueten Alpen... (4:39) 1-5: Der Spaziergang (4:16) 1-6: Die Asyle (5:16) 1-7: In Lieblicher Bl?ue... (4:43) 1-8: Der Ister (9:46) 1-9: Lebenslauf (1:21) 1-10: An Zimmern (4:32) 1-11: Die Wanderung (21:14) 2-1: Ann Die Parzen (2:35) 2-2: Vom Delphin (5:02) 2-3: Das Fr?hliche Leben (11:17) 2-4: Die Heimath (11:38) 2-5: Burg T?bingen (18:23)
Description:
The German Romantic poet Friedrich Hölderlin spent most of his life in isolation in a tower on the banks of the Neckar river, following a mental illness. His poems have long fascinated composers. 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of his birth. The Nicaraguan-British composer Geoffrey Álvarez's monumental song cycle, "Hölderlinfenster" imagines the poet through a "frame" of Schubert's "Schwanengesang". Poet and composer never met in real life but perhaps here their spirits do. Álvarez writes music of great intensity and intimate drama on a sometimes epic scale. His highly personal tonal language defies easy categorization but conveys a "Hölderlin river journey" with admirable expressiveness.