SELIGE STUNDE – JONAS KAUFMANN

Jonas Kaufmann rejoins with his music companion Helmut Deutsch the recording of these lieder, a repertoire so adored by the singer, recorded at the heart of an exceptional period, marked by the pandemic that paused our lives. 

Reunited during confinement around a piano, the two artists recorded a generous bouquet of twenty-seven lieder which is the result of a common choice. 

The interpretation is invigorating. Jonas Kaufmann plays with highly refined style as a liederista, with a nuanced balance between containment and expansion.  

The artist’s voice perfectly matches the chamber repertoire because he is a sui generis tenor, with the central width and bass characteristic of a baritone. His admirable control of the volume allows him to be pathetic in exclamation and minimalist intimacy, admirably adapting to the poem’s demands.  

The tenor masterfully interprets Friedrich Silcher’s Lied ‘Ännchen von Tharau’, with an accompaniment that intertwines the text with the music very well. The piano melody turns out very expressive in the Austrian pianist’s fingers. This recital could not miss ‘Auf Flügeln des Gesanges’ op. 34/2 by Felix Mendelssohn, one of the most beautiful songs in the Lied. Kaufmann’s voice flows over the subtle and ethereal melody played by Deutsch. Starting with non-German-speaking composers, the tenor sings “Ich liebe dich”, by Edvard Grieg, with a “parlado” style in some phrases. Then with a powerful and highly moving voice, he sings the declaration of love to his beloved. Kaufmann is a master in controlling the level of expressiveness; he knows how to provide exactly the right touch of passion. 

The program evolves with a constant gradation in emotion, moving from naive love to burning passion and ending with disillusion and farewell to life.  Kaufmann’s wide vocal palette acquired with maturity and experience works wonders here: he plays the heroic voice sparingly, using all his artistic resources from a seductive principal voice to a keen sense of phrasing, notably in Strauss’s Allerseelen and Zueignung.  

Kaufmann elaborates the texts with such detail and sings them with such wise application that each piece gains unity and the whole, familiarity. 

Some listeners might be surprised by the choice of Tchaikovsky but keeping in mind that this is a “romantic songs” disc, it takes on its full meaning.  The balance of its verses and the beauty of the words in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poem Nur wer die Shensucht kennt is just divine. 

Kaufmann is an excellent storyteller and the magnificent accompaniment of Deutsch creates the perfect atmosphere for these narratives. The excellent performance of Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch make this album a true treasure for all Lied lovers.