Schubert - Der Vollmond strahlt - Seefried / Werba 1952

Franz Schubert
Der Vollmond strahlt D.797 n°3b (Wilhelmina von Chézy)
Irmgard Seefried
Erik Werba
Studio recording, Vienna, 9.I.1952
Der Vollmond strahlt auf Bergeshöhn -
Wie hab ich dich vermißt!
Du süßes Herz! es ist so schön,
Wenn treu die Treue küßt.
Was frommt des Maien holde Zier?
Du warst mein Frühlingsstrahl!
Licht meiner Nacht, O lächle mir
Im Tode noch einmal!
Sie trat hinein beim Vollmondschein,
Sie blickte himmelwärts;
"Im Leben fern, im Tode dein!"
Und sanft brach Herz an Herz.

[@_PROCLUS]

💝💝💝 TY

[@_PROCLUS]

Irmgard Seefried 1919 - 1988
Maria Theresia Irmgard Seefried was born in Köngetried, Bavaria, Germany, the daughter of Austrian-born parents. She studied at Augsburg University before making her debut in Aachen in 1940. She began to sing leading parts in 1942 and the next year she made her debut at Vienna State Opera ... From then on, she remained with the State Opera until her retirement in 1976.

[@mckavitt]

I have a friend who told me he heard Seefried, whom he'd adored, sing badly a bit late in her career. I never did. She sounded like this, great, right to the end, even in the late 60s, which most fans deplore.

[@jasonhurd4379]

My first exposure to Seefried was when I was nine years of age and heard her as Hänsel in the Cluytens set (with Rothenberger as Gretel). I wasn't old enough to appreciate all her qualities, but even at that age, I perceived that she had a strong, characterful vocal personality that virtually leapt from the speakers. Later, in college, I heard her Ariadne Composer in the live 1944 Vienna performance, and have been a worshipper ever since. I am not deaf to her faults: a 1953 live Exultate jubilate with Bruno Walter exposes her lack of a reliable florid technique, but somehow her fresh, spontaneous manner makes her sketchy fioritura endearing rather than irritating. What enchants me about Seefried is the same thing that I love about Elisabeth Grümmer: the total honesty and genuineness of their approach. There is not the slightest hint of archness or artifice, as there sometimes is with Schwarzkopf (another artist I adore): all is charmingly set before us in an almost childlike way, neither naïve nor falsely innocent, but rather with a friendly smile and a welcoming manner, as if to say, 'Here's a song I really love, and I hope you will love it, too'.