When writing his 1840 song cycle Dichterliebe Robert Schumann turned to Heinrich Heine’s book of poetry, the Lyrisches Intermezzo, to choose his text to set to music. This book contains 64 poems, many of which are very direct and concise, often comprising just 8 lines of text. Schumann picked 16 gems that became his song cycle that forms the centre of this programme.

As a prelude to the cycle, we return to the Lyrisches Intermezzo to explore some of the poems left behind. In settings by Schumann’s 19th century contemporaries: Hensel, Loewe, Mendelssohn and Lang, we celebrate Heine’s poetry and bring it into the 21st century with a new BBC Radio 3 commission by Héloïse Werner, which receives it’s world premiere today.

Helen Charlston (Mezzo Soprano) & Sholto Kynoch (Piano)

“Magical – Charlston’s feeling for a phrase’s shape never wavers… Kynoch has the ability to nail the opening mood of a song, something he absolutely achieved in the light first bars of Ständchen. Charlston told the story beautifully… a masterclass of legato from both.”

(Seen and Heard International, March 2022)

Holywell Music Room, Oxford

16th October 2023, 1pm

Tickets available from Oxford International Song Festival