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Aylish Kerrigan and Dearbhla Collins fascinate with a perceptive and very expressive Schoenberg interpretation.

Arnold Schoenberg is one of the most polarizing and influential figures in music history. His renunciation of music conventions and genres resulted in a final break with hundreds of years of tonality. Although he placed himself exactly in this tradition, he defined the parameters of music shortly after 1900 in a completely new manner. The ‘Book of the Hanging Gardens’ was composed during the turbulent years in which not only the concept of music suddenly changed, but the political and social tensions surrounding World War I created a new world order. In the 15 poems by Stefan George, a love story unfolds set in a sensual, exotic garden, inspired by the Greek saga of the Babylonian Gardens. Each of the poems represents a different feeling and in the end, encompasses the full range and dimensions of human feelings.

Aylish Kerrigan and Dearbhla Collins express each of these nuances perfectly despite the contrasts between the songs and manage to maintain the tension of the cycle from the beginning to the end. At times the extremely short songs pose difficulties for the musicians to communicate the mood from the first note onward. But the two Irish ladies manage just that in the recording released this year on the Métier label. The continually changing gestures and the rhythmic and musical complexities make enormous demands on the singer and pianist. Only those who manage to internalize and understand each facet of the songs through intensive work and immersion in the material can succeed in embarking with the listener on this southern journey, each moment painted in a different emotional colour.

The second song cycle, ‘A Girl’, first performed in Dublin in 1978, evokes a different atmosphere in each of the 22 musical images. The dramatic story of a young girl who becomes pregnant out of wedlock and is driven to suicide by the mockery and humiliation of her surroundings, demands a detailed portrayal of complex emotions. The songs present her feelings as she moves towards suicide and Bodley, quoting the poet Brendan Kennelly, described the work as ‘a drama involving hardship and indignity as well as moments of happiness and beauty, vividly apprehended’. With breathtaking expression, Aylish Kerrigan manages, even in the high vocal range, to express so much pain and suffering in her voice that she leaves the listener shocked and stunned. She lives the role of the young girl and Dearbhla Collins completes the fantasy with sensitive piano accompaniment. Together they create a ghostlike scenario from individual images that mesmerizes the listener completely. The excellent tonal balance allows both the high and low frequencies to be heard clearly without one dominating the other.

Whether one already appreciates Schoenberg’s music, especially his Lieder, or is a Lieder enthusiast with the desire to gain a new impression through a very focused interpretation of these compositions, one should not miss this first class recording.
Interpretation **** Sound quality *** Repertoire ***** Booklet ****