Fischer-Dieskau sings Berg

[diegobueno]

Today is Jan. 23, 2023, and it is fitting to observe the day by listening to Alban Berg. Berg regarded the number 23 as his magic number (apparently he hadn't gotten the word about 42 being the meaning of life). Anyway, I've really been admiring this performance of Berg's Op. 2 songs by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau with Aribert Reimann (the man who completed the 3rd act of Lulu) on the piano.

I am just stunned at Fischer-Dieskau's musicianship here. He sings every note perfectly, accurately, expressively and with remarkable breath control. His diction is clean (I'm hoping maestro will agree with me here, and if he doesn't I hope he'll weigh in. I hope he weighs in in any case). The music is just barely tonal in places, and the key signatures seem to be put there because the composer thought it more convenient to cancel accidentals than to write them in. Fischer-Dieskau seems completely at home in this music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I_7OHTr400

[Belle]

I agree, it's absolutely stunning. This music isn't something I can listen to every day but when in the mood it sets the right tone. Was wondering if this composition adhered to Twelve Tone principles as it's hard to tell even looking at the score. Once upon I time I learned about tone rows, but it was always just a whisker beyond my grasp.

[diegobueno]

Berg wrote these songs in 1909, some 14 years before the 12-tone system came into being. Berg adopted the 12 tone system very reluctantly and out of veneration for Schoenberg his teacher, but he only used it in his last four works (The Lyric Suite for string quartet, the concert aria Der Wein, the opera Lulu, and the Violin Concerto) and he employed it very freely.

One of the things that strikes me about the op. 2 songs is the frequent appearance of the "blues chord", (a dominant 7th chord with a minor 3rd on top). You hear it in the 5th measure, and then again two measures later, and many other places. I can't imagine that Berg was aware of blues music in 1909, but to my ears that bluesy feeling pervades the music and adds to its mystery and its appeal.

[Belle]

Thanks for clearing that up.

I agree about the 'blues chord', which probably was a natural consequence of the way tonality was being 'challenged' from Liszt onwards. And in the case of the Berg songs this adds piquancy. I no longer have my piano so cannot go and play a V7 with minor 3rd on top!!

[maestrob]

Berg wrote these songs in 1909, some 14 years before the 12-tone system came into being. Berg adopted the 12 tone system very reluctantly and out of veneration for Schoenberg his teacher, but he only used it in his last four works (The Lyric Suite for string quartet, the concert aria Der Wein, the opera Lulu, and the Violin Concerto) and he employed it very freely.

One of the things that strikes me about the op. 2 songs is the frequent appearance of the "blues chord", (a dominant 7th chord with a minor 3rd on top). You hear it in the 5th measure, and then again two measures later, and many other places. I can't imagine that Berg was aware of blues music in 1909, but to my ears that bluesy feeling pervades the music and adds to its mystery and its appeal.

Thanks for these, Mark! I wasn't familiar with the Op. 2 Songs, and hearing Fischer-Dieskau sing them so perfectly was certainly a rare treat. I was particularly struck by the key signature in #3, with 7(!) flats. The pianist was very much in tune with F-D's exact pitch and dynamics. His range is remarkable, from a high F natural to a low E natural. A definitive performance, then.