Klaus Mertens; Volodymyr Lavrynenko - Johann Vesque von Puttlingen: Unerhort! Romantische Lieder ('Romantic Songs')

During his lifetime, Johann Vesque von Puttlingen was both an accomplished lawyer and a celebrated composer, renowned even beyond his native Vienna. Shortly after his death, however, he and his music were quickly forgotten. The distinguished bass-baritone Klaus Mertens and pianist Volodymyr Lavrynenko show that this was perhaps unjustified with their recording of selected romantic songs by Puttlingen, including some first recordings, under the motto Unheard!. The songs are grouped around four core themes of Romanticism: love, farewell, pain and death. They are all based on texts by well-known contemporary poets, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Franz Grillparzer and Adelbert von Chamisso, but above all Heinrich Heine, whose romantic irony von Puttlingen also knew how to translate musically. Von Puttlingen's clear musical language follows in the footsteps of Franz Schubert's lieder. Klaus Mertens and Volodymyr Lavrynenko interpret the sometimes lively and entertaining, sometimes gloomy and melancholy songs in a multifaceted manner.