Demolition Series

Robert Schumann's choral works are rarely performed and recorded, but here Harmonia Mundi offers a second recording in less than a year (the first was Philippe Herreweghe's recording of Szenen aus Goethes Faust') to rectify that situation. 'Der Rose Pilgerfahrt' was written in 1851, Schumann's first major work since moving to D sseldorf the year before and assuming responsibility for some choral-orchestral portions of the Niederrheinisches Musikfest.
As the oratorio stood at the time, 'Der Rose Pilgerfahrt' is somewhat of an anti-oratorio. For the two preceding centuries the oratorio had primarily been a biblical drama, with rollicking choruses and set-pieces for the soloists. Schumann's oratorio here has a tighter dramatic flow, with the soloists integrated more into the fabric of the work. Gone is the stop-start, aria/chorus alternation of the traditional oratorio.
Marcus Creed and the RIAS-Kammerchor capture the intimacy of this work, which was premiered in the music room of Schumann's D sseldorf townhouse with his wife Clara at the piano. The singing is excellent throughout, and Philip Mayers' fortepiano accompaniment enhances the performance nicely.