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Hello Darkness
Various composers

Olivia Vermeulen | Jan Philip Schulze

Hello Darkness

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917288728
Catnr: CC 72887
Release date: 14 January 2022
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917288728
Catalogue number
CC 72887
Release date
14 January 2022

"A more composite poster would be difficult to lay out, constituting a considerable challenge for the interpreter: who proves to be flexible, imaginative, always highly communicative."

Classic Voice, 02-6-2022
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Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

Dedicating a CD to the dark side of the Lied might seem inappropriate in these times of Covid, climate change and refugee crises, but as a mezzo-soprano Olivia has always been drawn to the darker roles in opera, the sad arias in oratorio and the deep laments in song. After our recent recording (‘Dirty Minds’), which focused on ‘la petite mort’, it seemed a natural progression to turn our attention to ‘la grande mort’!

Darkness in the outside world and the inner self has always been – alongside Love – one of the chief themes of vocal music, and compositions and songs about death are legion during every period of musical history. The music on this recording is extremely diverse and we relished the idea of programming songs from different centuries in different styles and genres. We begin with a collection of songs about melancholia, inner abysses, longing for death and murderous lust. But the CD is also rich in songs about comfort and hope, light instead of despair – with lashings of black humour!

Composers down the ages have used innovative approaches to render the theme of death. Chromaticism is used tellingly by Monteverdi and Schubert. Duparc’s sensuous ‘Extase’ (1878), is nothing short of a miniature Liebestod. Korngold and Wolfgang Rihm play with translucent semitone sighs, Schumann’s ‘Nachtlied’ is characterized by hovering harmonies; Strauss and Korngold use late-romantic opulence; while tonality with Charles Ives and Alban Berg begins to lose its hold, while Berg, abandons tonality entirely. John Cage goes a step further and directs the pianist to drum the notes on the lid of a completely closed piano. Randy Newman’s ‘In Germany before the war’ is wreathed in mystery.
Op deze nieuwe cd Hello Darkness brengt Olvia Vermeulen een ode aan de dood. De lugubere kant, intense rouw, maar ook lichte en vermakelijke inzichten – alle aspecten van de dood komen aan bod. Samen met pianist Jan Philip Schulze beweegt Vermeulen zich van barok tot 21ste eeuw. Van Cage tot Billie Eilish, van Schubert tot Kreisler, van Monteverdi tot Randy Newman. Ondanks het sombere onderwerp is het een opname met een grote verscheidenheid aan stemmingen, klanken en sferen. Een spannende en levendige luistervaring, vol verrassingen.

De Edison winnende mezzosopraan Olivia Vermeulen speelt internationaal grote operarollen, maar schept een speciaal genoegen in solorecitals met een rafelrandje. Haar eerste cd Dirty Minds - ook met Schulze - met liederen over lust, macht en erotiek, werd unaniem geprezen door de wereldwijde pers. Het aspect humor is een grote bindende factor in de samenwerking van Olivia Vermeulen en Jan Philip Schulze.

Olivia Vermeulen is niet zomaar een zangeres. De pers komt superlatieven tekort als het om haar stem gaat. Geprezen om haar ‘uitzonderlijk kleurrijke stem’, de ‘exquise, onuitputtelijke zoetheid’ ervan en het feit dat zij ‘alles met begrip en karakter zingt’, is Olivia een van de toonaangevende vocale artiesten in de hedendaagse klassieke muziekwereld.

Een cd wijden aan de duistere kant van het Lied lijkt misschien ongepast in deze tijden van Covid, klimaatverandering en vluchtelingencrises, maar als mezzosopraan heeft Olivia zich altijd aangetrokken gevoeld tot de donkere rollen in een opera, de droevige aria's in oratoriums en de klaagzangen in het Lied. Na de recente opname Dirty Minds, die zich richtte op 'la petite mort', leek het natuurlijk om de aandacht te richten op 'la grande mort'.

Duisternis in de buitenwereld en het innerlijk is altijd – naast liefde – een van de hoofdthema's van vocale muziek geweest. In elke periode van de muziekgeschiedenis zijn er legio composities en liedjes over de dood gemaakt. De muziek op deze opname is zeer divers. Er staan stukken op uit verschillende eeuwen in verschillende stijlen en genres. Te beginnen met een verzameling liedjes over melancholie, peilloze innerlijke diepten, verlangen naar de dood en moordlust. Maar de cd is ook rijk aan liedjes over troost en hoop, lichtheid in plaats van wanhoop – met bij vlagen, zwarte humor!
Eine CD der dunklen Seite des Liedes zu widmen, mag in Zeiten von Covid, Klimawandel und Flüchtlingskrisen unpassend erscheinen, aber als Mezzosopranistin hat sich Olivia schon immer zu den dunkleren Rollen in der Oper, den traurigen Arien im Oratorium und den tiefen Klagen im Lied hingezogen gefühlt. Nach unserer letzten Aufnahme ('Dirty Minds'), die sich auf 'la petite mort' konzentrierte, schien es eine natürliche Entwicklung zu sein, sich auch ' la grande mort' zu widmen!

Die Dunkelheit in der Außenwelt und im Inneren war - neben der Liebe - schon immer eines der Hauptthemen der Vokalmusik. Kompositionen und Lieder über den Tod sind in allen Epochen der Musikgeschichte zahlreich vertreten. Die Musik auf dieser Aufnahme ist äußerst vielfältig, und wir haben es genossen, Lieder aus verschiedenen Jahrhunderten in unterschiedlichen Stilen und Genres zu präsentieren. Wir beginnen mit einer Sammlung von Liedern über Melancholie, innere Abgründe, Todessehnsucht und mörderische Lust. Aber die CD ist auch reich an Liedern über Trost und Hoffnung, Licht statt Verzweiflung - mit einer Prise schwarzen Humors!

Komponisten haben im Laufe der Jahrhunderte immer wieder innovative Wege beschritten, um das Thema des Todes zu verarbeiten. Die Chromatik wird von Monteverdi und Schubert aufschlussreich eingesetzt. Duparcs sinnliche "Extase" (1878) ist nichts weniger als ein Miniatur-Liebestod. Korngold und Wolfgang Rihm spielen mit durchscheinenden Halbtonseufzern, Schumanns "Nachtlied" ist von schwebenden Harmonien geprägt, Strauss und Korngold verwenden spätromantische Opulenz, während die Tonalität bei Charles Ives und Alban Berg ihren Halt zu verlieren beginnt, während Berg die Tonalität ganz aufgibt. John Cage geht noch einen Schritt weiter und weist den Pianisten an, die Noten auf den Deckel eines völlig geschlossenen Klaviers zu trommeln. Randy Newmans "In Germany before the war" ist von Geheimnissen umwoben.

Artist(s)

Olivia Vermeulen (mezzo soprano)

Praised for the “exceptional wealth of colors” of her voice (Opernwelt) and her singing of “exquisite, inexhaustibale sweetness” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Olivia Vermeulen has established herself as one of the leading vocal artists in today’s classical music world. Her opera and concert performances in a wide range of repertoire from early music to 21st century works have stunned audiences around the world. Olivia Vermeulen has frequently worked with eminent conductors such as René Jacobs, Philippe Herreweghe, Pablo Heras-Casado, Daniel Harding, Marek Janowski, Michael Schønwandt, Lothar Zagrosek, Andrea Marcon, Giovanni Antonini, Iván Fischer, Markus Stenz, Frans Brüggen, Reinhard Goebel, Alessandro de Marchi, and Tomáš Netopil. She has appeared with many of the world’s most distinguished orchestras, including the Budapest Festival Orchestra, London...
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Praised for the “exceptional wealth of colors” of her voice (Opernwelt) and her singing of “exquisite, inexhaustibale sweetness” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Olivia Vermeulen has established herself as one of the leading vocal artists in today’s classical music world. Her opera and concert performances in a wide range of repertoire from early music to 21st century works have stunned audiences around the world.
Olivia Vermeulen has frequently worked with eminent conductors such as René Jacobs, Philippe Herreweghe, Pablo Heras-Casado, Daniel Harding, Marek Janowski, Michael Schønwandt, Lothar Zagrosek, Andrea Marcon, Giovanni Antonini, Iván Fischer, Markus Stenz, Frans Brüggen, Reinhard Goebel, Alessandro de Marchi, and Tomáš Netopil. She has appeared with many of the world’s most distinguished orchestras, including the Budapest Festival Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, and Camerata Salzburg, and has been invited to appear at leading festivals including the Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence, Ruhrtriennale, the Festival International d’Opéra Baroque & Romantique de Beaune, Munich Opera Festival, Musikfest Berlin, Kissinger Sommer, Rheingau Music Festival, and Mozartwoche Salzburg.
In 2019 Vermeulen celebrated her début at the Opéra National de Paris in a Romeo Castellucci landmark production of Scarlatti’s Il primo omicidio conducted by René Jacobs, a production she sang at the Berlin Staatsoper as well in the same year. 2018 saw her début with the Berliner Philharmoniker in a performance of Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor conducted by Daniel Harding. Her interpretation of the role of Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, performed on a 2018 worldwide tour with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra lead by René Jacobs, received rave reviews.

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Jan Philip Schulze (piano)

Pianist Jan Philip Schulze has enjoyed success as a soloist, chamber music partner and accompanist for lieder, giving concerts extensively across Europe as well as in the Far East. An expert in contemporary music, he is also active as a teacher, editor and organizer. With Juliane Banse, Annette Dasch, Rachel Harnisch, Dietrich Henschel, Jonas Kaufmann, Johan Reuter, Robert Dean Smith, Sarah Maria Sun, Violeta Urmana and Olivia Vermeulen, he has performed at the Salzburg Festival, the Schubertiad in Schwarzenberg, the festivals in Lucerne, Munich, Edinburgh and Tokyo, La Scala in Milan, the opera houses in Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, Paris, Brussels, London’s Wigmore Hall and the Berlin Philharmonie. He has given many premiere performances and worked closely alongside such composers as Hans Werner...
more
Pianist Jan Philip Schulze has enjoyed success as a soloist, chamber music partner and accompanist for lieder, giving concerts extensively across Europe as well as in the Far East. An expert in contemporary music, he is also active as a teacher, editor and organizer.
With Juliane Banse, Annette Dasch, Rachel Harnisch, Dietrich Henschel, Jonas Kaufmann, Johan Reuter, Robert Dean Smith, Sarah Maria Sun, Violeta Urmana and Olivia Vermeulen, he has performed at the Salzburg Festival, the Schubertiad in Schwarzenberg, the festivals in Lucerne, Munich, Edinburgh and Tokyo, La Scala in Milan, the opera houses in Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, Paris, Brussels, London’s Wigmore Hall and the Berlin Philharmonie.
He has given many premiere performances and worked closely alongside such composers as Hans Werner Henze, Wolfgang Rihm, Dieter Schnebel, Jörg Widmann, Manfred Trojahn, Nikolaus Brass and many others in the course of time. He has also performed piano concertos by Xenakis, Staude and Schöllhorn with the Munich Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the WDR Symphony Orchestra.
Always keen to discover unknown or adventurous repertoire, Jan Philip Schulze has built up an extensive and multi-faceted discography in recent years. As well as highly acclaimed recordings of piano works by Jörg Widmann and Hans Werner Henze, he has performed early Classical music with the Trio Amédée, piano sextets from France and lieder repertoire from Schubert to Carl Nielsen and Paul Hindemith.

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Composer(s)

Press

A more composite poster would be difficult to lay out, constituting a considerable challenge for the interpreter: who proves to be flexible, imaginative, always highly communicative.
Classic Voice, 02-6-2022

Vermeulen presents 'an ode to death': a dark programme of lieder and songs by the likes of Cage, Ives and even Billie Eilish. The eclectic programme occasionally jars, but there's nevertheless much to enjoy.
BBC Music Magazine, 17-3-2022

To sum up, this is a brilliant recital, one that is as thought-provoking as it is musically satisfying. It’s all caught in a top-notch recording, too.
Fanfare Magazine, 01-3-2022

She sounds very baroque with Monteverdi, she sounds classical with Schubert and she sings Eilish's music with a subdued pop voice. She can also handle music from the late romantic (R. Strauss and G. Mahler) and the contemporary (Rihm, Cage) with all her voice coloring without any problems.
Mania, 11-2-2022

singer and pianist have succeeded in surpassing their first CD Dirty Minds with brilliance. Make way for that second Edison!
De Gelderlander, 09-2-2022

Accompanied by the effortless phrasing Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen knows how to 'switch along' with the various types of music with her versatile use of voice.
Mania, 01-2-2022

Vermeulen's voice is a phenomenon: a slender but rich mezzo that folds lyrically around the most diverse pieces of music
De Standaard, 26-1-2022

Vermeulen's ode to death is anything but depressing. Vermeulen is convincing in every genre, brings characters to life in her voice – you can almost see them.
NRC, 20-1-2022

Mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen and pianist Jan Philip Schulze demonstrate on their new album Hello Darkness how finiteness provides endless listening pleasure.
De Volkskrant, 20-1-2022

can appeal to both classical music lovers and listeners of more contemporary, more adventurous genres.
Klara, 20-1-2022

Schulze once again shows himself to be a dream pianist, who unites in empathetic interplay with the singer's voice
Parool, 06-1-2022

Play album Play album
01.
Lasciatemi morire (Rinuccini) from 'L'Arianna“ 1608
01:19
(Claudio Monteverdi) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
02.
Listen before i go
04:33
(Finneas and Billie O Connell) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
03.
Der Tod und das Mädchen Op. 7/3 D. 531 (Claudius)
02:15
(Franz Schubert) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
04.
The curse of Millhaven from “Murder Ballads” 1996
04:49
(Nick Cave) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
05.
Der Jüngling und der Tod D. 545 (Spaun)
03:44
(Franz Schubert) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
06.
Dance of the moon in Santiago (García Lorca trad. Crumb) from “Sun and Shadow” 2009
03:02
(George Crumb) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
07.
In Germany before the war (Newman) From “Little Criminals” 1977
03:55
(Randy Newman) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
08.
The crow (Lang) from “The cold Trip pt. 2” 2015
01:44
(Bernhard Lang) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
09.
Ode an den Mord (Daniel Pongratz) From “Das ist alles von der Kunstfreiheit gedeckt” 2021
02:23
(Danger Dan) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
10.
Charlie Rutlage S. 226 (traditional, collected by J. A. Lomax)
02:35
(Charles Ives) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
11.
Death is just around the corner (Lippa) from “The Adams Family”
04:10
(Andrew Lippa) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
12.
The wonderful widow of eighteen springs (Joyce)
02:41
(John Cage) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
13.
Nachtlied Op. 96/1 (Goethe)
02:02
(Robert Schumann) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
14.
Zwei Gedichte von Marina Zwetajewa 2016 (trad. Waldemar Dege): ...bist fort
01:56
(Wolfgang Rihm) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
15.
Zwei Gedichte von Marina Zwetajewa 2016 (trad. Waldemar Dege): Zeit sich vom Bernstein zu trennen
01:17
(Wolfgang Rihm) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
16.
Urlicht (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
04:03
(Gustav Mahler) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
17.
Befreit Op. 39/4 (Dehmel)
05:03
(Richard Strauss) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
18.
Extase (Lahor)
03:07
(Henri Duparc) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
19.
Vier Gesänge Op. 2: Aus Dem Schmerz sein Recht (Hebbel)
02:32
(Alban Berg) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
20.
Vier Gesänge Op. 2: Schlafend trägt man mich in mein Heimatland (Mombert)
00:59
(Alban Berg) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
21.
Vier Gesänge Op. 2: Nun ich der Riesen Stärksten überwand (Mombert)
00:57
(Alban Berg) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
22.
Vier Gesänge Op. 2: Warm die Lüfte (Mombert)
02:29
(Alban Berg) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
23.
Als ik dood ben lig ik onder gras
00:35
(Jan Vermeulen) Olivia Vermeulen, Jan Philip Schulze
24.
from Lieder des Abschieds Op. 14: Sterbelied (Rosetti trad. Kerr)
03:35
(Erich Wolfgang Korngold) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
25.
from Lieder des Abschieds Op. 14: Dies eine kann mein Sehnen nimmer fassen (Ronsperger)
02:39
(Erich Wolfgang Korngold) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
26.
from Lieder des Abschieds Op. 14: Mond, so gehst Du wieder auf (Lothar)
03:15
(Erich Wolfgang Korngold) Jan Philip Schulze, Olivia Vermeulen
show all tracks

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