Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974) and the Bavarian Werner Egk (1901-83) had careers that ran in parallel. Both produced their most characteristic music in the mid 1930s to the mid 50s. Both composers were influenced by French music of different types – Martin by Debussy, and Egk by the neo classicism emerging from Paris in the 1920s. Both composers felt comfortable with the 18th century, though again with different musical aspects of that century – Martin with Bach, Egk with the Rococo period.

Martin’s ‘Six Monologues from Jedermann’ set words by Hugo von Hofmannstahl’s Jedermann (1903-11), which as a modern version of the medieval morality play. Martin’s cycle is not intended as incidental music to the play. They are for the concert song cycle. He later intended to compose an opera on the Jedermann story, but instead turned to Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The result was his opera ‘Der Sturm’, premiered in 1956. On this CD we have the overture and two arias.

In contrast to Martin, Egk was a man of the theatre. A pupil of Carl Orff, he had already composed two operas in the 1930s, including one on Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. The Temptation of St Anthony is a concert work for contralto and string quartet – the version here with the addition of the string orchestra dates from 1952. The title page of the score says that the work 'is based on airs and verses of the 18th century’. The work combines cantata and pastoral from the Barock with spiky Pulcinella like music, and considerable humour on the absurdity of life and death – a contrast to Jedermann’s fear of dying and meeting the grim reaper.

‘Fischer-Dieskau's voice was in superb condition when he recorded this music: he sings it with great conviction and authority and is admirably recorded. A welcome and rewarding reissue.’ - Gramophone June 1983

‘Janet Baker sings the piece most beautifully.’ - Gramophone February 1967

Contents:
Frank Martin
Six Monologues from Jedermann
Hugo von Hofmannstahl
1. No.1 Ist alls zu End das Freudenmahl
2. No.2 Ach Gott, wie graust mir vor dem Tod
3. No.3 Ist als wenn eins gerufen hätt
4. No.4 So wollt ich ganz zernichtet sein
5. No.5 Ja! Ich glaub: solches hat er vollbracht
6. No.6 O ewiger Gott! O göttliches Gesicht!

Three Excerpts from Der Sturm
William Shakespeare
7. No.1 Overture
8. No.2 Mein Ariel!
9. No.3 Hin sind meine Zauberei’n

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone)
Berliner Philharmoniker / Frank Martin
Recorded: May 1963, Philharmonie, Berlin

Werner Egk
The Temptation of St Anthony
d’après des airs et des vers du XVIIIe siècle
10 No.1 Ciel! l’Univers va-t-il donc se dissoudre?
11 No.2 C’étoit ainsi, c’étoit ainsi
12 No.3 On vit sortir d’une grotte profonde
13 No.4 On vit des Démons, de tous les cantons
14 No.5 Quelques-uns prirent le cochon
15 No.6 Sur un sopha
16 No.7 Ronflant comme un cochon
17 No.8 Courez vite, prenez le patron
18 No.9 Le saint, craignant de pécher
19 No.10 Piqué dans ce bachanal
20 No.11 Tel qu’un voleur, sitôt qu’il voit main forte
21 No.12 Ah! mon Dieu! que je l’échappe belle!
22 No.13 Le Démon, quoiqu’il passe pour fin
Janet Baker (mezzo-soprano), Koeckert Quartet
Strings of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Werner Egk
Recorded: November 1965, Residenz, Herkulessaal, Munich