The Listener's Gallery Gregory Berg (bio) Heinrich Marschner: Songs for Baritone. Jeffrey Williams, baritone; Sangeetha Ekambaram, soprano; Jennifer McGuire, piano. (Centaur CRC 3846; 67:04) "Ballade vom Ritter Hugo," "Geständnis," "Leb wohl, Therese," "Die Vertraute," "Verloren," "Gebet," "Eine dunkle Stunde," "Herbstlied," "Der deutsche Wald, das deutsche Herz," "Des Harfners Klage," "Ungleiche Theilung," "Doppelte Gefahr," "Das sehnende Herz," "Ermuthigung," "Aufforderung," "Um Mitternacht," "Treue," "Tarantella," "Corsarenliebe," "Trost beim Abschied." Nineteenth century German lieder is a vast and complex universe. One could spend a lifetime exploring the songs of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Wolf, and never exhaust their riches. Of course, the world of lieder extends well beyond the scope of these four extraordinary composers, and we are grateful for those recordings and performances that broaden our understanding and appreciation for this genre and its limitless wonders. There are songs of composers such as Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Wagner, and Liszt whose renown in other genres sometimes leaves their songs unjustly neglected. One also finds treasures galore in the songs of composers like Louis Spohr and Carl Loewe, whose fame never equaled their most illustrious contemporaries but whose songs deserve to be better known. The recording at hand allows the listener to encounter the songs of Heinrich Marschner (1795–1861), a composer who is remembered (if at all) for his operas. He was a significant figure in Märchenoper or "Fairy Tale Opera," a genre essentially created by Carl Maria von Weber and brought to fuller fruition by Richard Wagner. Marschner's finest operas, Hans Heiling and Der Vampyr, while compelling in their own right for their vivid theatrical impact, are lauded chiefly as a potent source of inspiration for Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer. (One hopes that both works will begin to enjoy renewed attention from modern opera companies. Der Vampyr, in particular, deserves a more central position in the repertoire and has the potential to become a favorite.) Even people who have heard of Heinrich Marschner will probably have no idea that he was also one of the most prolific lieder composers of his generation. Liner notes of this new release tell us that Marschner composed more than 420 songs, which, in terms of sheer numbers, would place him ahead of every aforementioned composer with the exception of Schubert. It's difficult to know why his songs should have fallen into such deep oblivion; on the strength of what is heard here, they merit much more attention than they have hitherto received. Baritone Jeffrey Williams has sought to rectify this neglect with a marvelous new release that features the world premiere recordings of twenty Marschner songs. Williams tells us that he specifically selected these particular songs precisely because they have never before been recorded, and it's a choice for which we are grateful. Interestingly, the vast majority of these twenty songs feature poems that other composers appear not to have set to music. It may be that Marschner had an unconventional taste in poetry, or that he was drawn to texts that other composers perhaps found to be musically inhospitable. At any rate, it means that this release represents utterly new territory for even the most intrepid of lieder enthusiasts. What are we to make of these songs? They represent a refreshing addendum to our understanding of German lieder and are clearly the work of an imaginative and able composer. That being said, there is a slightly cumbersome quality to some of these songs that may help explain why they sank from sight. These are the kind of songs that require a singer of exceptional skill in order to redeem their full potential. We are told that most of these songs were specifically conceived with the baritone voice in mind, and Marschner clearly understood how to write effectively for that voice. Jeffrey Williams is a superb singer in every respect. His voice is opulent and beautifully balanced, and he sings with flawless musical polish and insightful expressiveness. One or two songs tax his bottom register, but one must also acknowledge the soaring beauty and ease of his top voice, which proves to be a huge asset time and time again. Texts are delivered clearly without sounding fussy or self...