Selected Art Songs for Medium Voice – Book One

Sommernacht (Summer Night) op.5, no.2

Recently re-discovered composer, Helen C. Crane’ s music for Solo Voice (medium) with piano accompaniment highlights her unique artistic voice.  Her music represents an unbroken strand of melodicism flowing from Schubert, Mendelsohn to Barber & Britten.  Here, in this first volume of her songs, the texts are all German, with the exception of one: Serenade (text by Felicia Dorothea Hemans).  In this Grenier Hall edition of Helen Crane art songs, each piece is accompanied with a word-for-word translation giving the performer a sense of mood and proper inflection.

Highlights of this volume include “Herbstlied” (Autumn Song) with a vibrant rhythmic ostinato and lovely memorable melody which glides gracefully above it all.   Noteworthy as well, is “Sommernacht” (Summer Night) with its nuanced contrapuntal texture of accompaniment, reminiscent of Mendelssohn or Wagner.  The latter groupings, op.32 and op.34 are settings of the poetic texts of Wilhelm Langewiesche.  Rich with imagery, she sets these texts to tone masterfully.  “Winterwanderung” (Winter Wandering) is haunting in its artistic combination and evinces a plaintive tone. It evokes a lonely scene, perhaps prescient in those days leading up the First World War.  Hear the sound of a young female composer who studied under Philipp Scharwenka in Germany previous to the advent of the First World War.  Wonderful music!  Check it out!   Art Song Book I Sampler

• Serenade  op.5, no.1
• Sommernacht (Summer Night) op. 5, no.2
• Herbstlied (Autumn Song) op. 5, no.3
• Heimat  (Homeland) op.32, no.1
• Morgenandacht  (Morning Prayer) op. 32, no.2
• Glucklich  (Happy) op. 32, no.3
• Erwarten (Expect) op. 32, no.4
• Mein Boot  (My Boat)  op. 34, no.1
• Neues Gluck (New Luck)  op. 34, no.2
• Erkannt  (Recognized)  op. 34, no.3
• Winterwanderung  (Winter Wandering) op. 34, no.4