Love's Lasting Power

KEITH BRAMICH is impressed by Schubert from Harriet Burns and Ian Tindale

'... very sympathetic to the twists and turns of Schubert's narrative ...'

The Scottish record label Delphian Records is becoming well known for its fascinating and quickly growing collection of albums. One advantage of working with this company may be the chance to record in little-known locations such as the fourteenth century St Mary's Church in Haddington, a town about seventeen miles from Edinburgh. St Mary's lay ruined for four hundred years after the Siege of Haddington, but was restored to its former cathedral-like glory beside the River Tyne in the twentieth century, completed in 1973.

Two young British artists - soprano Harriet Burns and pianist Ian Tindale - spent three days in St Mary's during February 2023, recording a series of Franz Schubert lieder which demonstrate 'love's lasting power' - the title of their album which will be released on 26 January 2024. The recording is clear and direct but with enough ambience to indicate something of the location.

Listen — Schubert: An mein Herz
(DCD34251 track 13, 0:00-0:58) ℗ 2024 Delphian Records Ltd :

Harriet Burns has a strong yet subtle, clear, expressive, operatic-sounding voice, and Ian Tindale's accompaniment is very sympathetic to the twists and turns of Schubert's narrative in, for example, Viola, setting Franz von Schober. This is the album's longest song, at nearly thirteen minutes, in which, to quote Katy Hamilton's astute and fascinating liner notes, 'a tender flower who is over-eager and subsequently blighted' is 'dying alone and ashamed'.

Listen — Schubert: Viola
(DCD34251 track 18, 4:41-5:31) ℗ 2024 Delphian Records Ltd :

In contrast, many of the songs are very short - particularly Die Liebe (Freudvoll und Leidvoll) at just over a-minute-and-a-half.

This is a fabulous and unique recital featuring some of Schubert's most popular songs, such as An mein Herz, Lachen und Weinen, Suleika I and Versunken, and exploring many different facets of human love. If, like me, your German is ein bisschen schlecht, then you'll find it useful that the booklet includes all the song texts and English translations.

Harriet Burns and Ian Tindale - definitely two names to watch out for - will give a recital with the same name as this album on 30 January 2024 at the Oxford International Festival of Song - almost certainly designed as a launch recital for this new album.

Follow the links in this box for more information about Delphian Records and this release, Schubert Lieder: Love's Lasting Power.

There are more articles here about vocal music, piano music, chamber music, Austria, UK and nineteenth century classical music.

There's a list of other recent recorded music reviews here, and there are details of other recent albums here.

The background image on this page has been derived from the 1899 oil-on-canvas painting of Franz Schubert at the piano by Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).

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Love's Lasting Power

KEITH BRAMICH is impressed by Schubert from Harriet Burns and Ian Tindale '... very sympathetic to the twists and turns of Schubert's narrative ...'

KEITH BRAMICH is impressed by Schubert from Harriet Burns and Ian Tindale

'... very sympathetic to the twists and turns of Schubert's narrative ...'