Morgen (“tomorrow” in German, but also “morning”, i.e. the dawn of a new day) is the title of this poetic musical journey imagined by Franco-Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig and Texan pianist Jonathan Ware, tackling three composers who at first glance seem quite stylistically different: Duparc, Strauss and Rachmaninov. This album precedes their tour of several European concert halls in early 2020, including a performance at London’s Wigmore Hall in February.
In her first album Miroirs released in autumn 2018, Elsa Dreisig presented various pieces with strong female characters in order to “offer different ‘reflections’ on an operatic situation or character”. In this new album, it’s a more intimate side that she wants to unveil to the listener, with a choice of melodies inviting us to follow her on an introductory journey through the Vier letzte Lieder by Strauss: an adventure bringing us close to the many facets of the soul.
For Jonathan Ware, this is his first recording of the piano version of Aux Étoiles, one of the only orchestral works composed by Henri Duparc, a low-key musician whose depressive personality darkened much of his life. Delicately scored by the composer, the work which is subtitled Entracte pour un drame inédit (Interlude for an original tragedy) was destined to be an opera based on Pushkin, but sadly never saw the light of day. The esteemed nocturne, created in 1912 in Montreux under the direction of a young Ernest Ansermet, was regularly performed in popular concerts throughout Europe at the beginning of the last century before fading into obscurity. © François Hudry/Qobuz