Catalogue | Voice

Edition Fischer-Dieskau (III) – L. v. Beethoven: Folksong Arrangements

• Scottish Songs, Op. 108 for one or more voices with accompaniment for piano, violin and cello
• Nr. 1 Musik, Liebe und Wein (02:07)  
• Nr. 3 „O köstliche Zeit“ (03:49)  
• Nr. 13 Trinklied „Schenk ein, mein guter Junge!“ (02:25)  
• Nr. 16 „Wenn doch die arge böse Welt“ (02:38)  
• Nr. 17 „Mariechen, komm an’s Fensterlein“ (02:37)  
• Nr. 18 O Zaub‘rin, leb wohl (03:57)  
• Nr. 19 „Wie gleitet schnell das leichte Boot“ (02:37)  
• Nr. 20 Der treue Johnie (05:35)  
• Nr. 22 Die Hochlandswache (02:55)  
• Nr. 23 Des Schäfers Lied „Die Maaslieb glänzt ...“ (03:05)  

• Irish Songs WoO 152
• Nr. 3 „Düstrer Dezember“ (03:59)  
• Nr. 4 „Der Morgenwind umspielt mein Haar“ (02:32)  
• Nr. 21 „Morgen für Grillen ein Hüter ist“ (02:16)  

• Irish Songs WoO 153
• Nr. 4 „Da Graubärte lehren“ (02:03)  
• Nr. 8 Nora von Balamagairy (04:02)  

• Irish Songs WoO 154
• Nr. 4 Irisch Blut: „Das Blut eines Iren“ (02:05)  
• Nr. 8 „Ernst und Weisheit sei verscheucht“ (02:29)  

• Miscellaneous Folk Songs / Welsh Songs WoO 157
• Nr. 11 Der wandernde Barde (03:29)  

• Miscellaneous Folk Songs / Welsh Songs WoO 155
• Nr. 16 Die Mädchen von Cardigan (02:43)  
• Nr. 17 Die Meierei (02:24)  

• Miscellaneous Folk Songs / Welsh Songs WoO 157
• Nr. 1 „Heil unserm König! Heil!“ (05:10)  
• Nr. 12 Die Gondel (03:51)  

Though he certainly had the talent for it, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau rarely took on humorous roles in the theater or concert hall. That he had a superb command of comic nuance is proved not only by his stunning personification of Falstaff in Verdi’s final opera, but by his performances of Scottish, Irish, and Welsh folk songs. In 1952 Fischer-Dieskau joined forces with the celebrated pianist Michael Raucheisen, two other instrumentalists, and the RIAS Chamber Chorus to record twenty-two folk songs from Ireland and Great Britain. The arrangements stem from none other than Ludwig van Beethoven, who dispatched a good many folk-song arrangements to Edinburgh for a handsome fee. The listener learns a great deal about love and nature, conviviality, national pride, and wine consumption in the British Isles – and can hear how supremely Fischer-Dieskau wields his baritone, from unin­hibited drinking songs to embodiments of innocent love.

The historical publications at audite are based, without exception, on the original tapes from broadcasting archives. In general these are the original analogue tapes, which attain an astonishingly high quality, even measured by today‘s standards, with their tape speed of up to 76 cm/sec. The remastering – professionally competent and sensitively applied – also uncovers previously hidden details of the interpretations. Thus, a sound of superior quality results. CD publications based on private recordings from broadcasts cannot be compared with these.

There is a “Producer’s Comment” from producer Ludger Böckenhoff about this production.