Lehmann's Recording of the Rosenlieder

by Horst Wahl

To my great joy I have discovered that some of my earliest professional recordings, produced more than 64 years ago for the Odeon recording firm, have just been resurrected on a compact disk. Lotte Lehmann's interpretation of the "Rosenlieder" of Count Philipp zu Eulenburg are on Pearl GEMM CD 9409.

Eulenburg (1847-1921) belonged to Kaiser Wilhelm II's closest circle of friends and was elevated to the rank of prince in 1900. His hobby was the composition of songs in the folk tradition, and his "Rosenlieder" cycle enjoyed great popularity in the period just before the first World War. As it did not present great difficulties in its vocal, piano or violin parts, it was often quite satisfactorily performed during evening soirées by music-loving amateurs.

At the time the "Rosenlieder" recordings were made, on August 5, 1926, I was still quite a young man and had been employed a year and a half on the retail sales staff of Odeon. My acquaintance with Lotte Lehmann began in May of 1925 when the artist entered our retail outlet on Leipziger Street in Berlin one day to listen to a few new recordings of prominent sopranos. Although I was, of course, quite familiar with her appearance in photographs and on the Berlin Opera House stage, I did not immediately recognize her as she was wearing the latest rage in women's hats of the period. It was rather a pot-like affair and covered her face down to the eyes. When she asked me which sopranos I would especially recommend, I replied with cool placidity and the deepest certainty, "Well, if you ask my opinion, madam, there is only one—Lotte Lehmann. She is the greatest of them all."

You can well imagine how such a young coxcomb as I might have felt when from under the stylish helmet came the vigorous reply, "Thank you, young man, that is who I am."

There have been few times in my life as perplexed and confused as those moments. I might as well have been struck by lightning. From this moment on began a deep friendship which lasted for ten years and which belongs to the most wonderful experiences of my long life.

I had at that time a sound studio in Berlin on Augsburger St., where for three years I had produced for the private use of my customers, acoustic recordings on zinc, acetate or other synthetic materials. Among my clients were such important singers as Joseph Schwarz, my neighbor; Meta Seinemeyer, Sabine Meyen, Hedwig Francillo-Kauffmann, Margarethe Matzenauer, Michael Bohnen and Alexander Kirchner.

When I mentioned this sideline occupation to Lotte one day, she immediately decided to test her voice on my equipment. Among the test recordings were duets which we sang together, (I had studied voice with Prof. Bernhard Ulrich), among them the "Rosenlieder" of which we were both especially fond.

As we listened to these recordings, the sound of her voice and also of the accompanying piano was so remarkably natural sounding by acoustic recording standards of the day, that she asked me if this lieder cycle might not be commercially produced by Odeon.

At that very time, a major technological change was rolling through all recording firms: electric recording. Odeon had already taken its first steps in this direction, and it appeared as if the "Rosenlieder" with its simple piano and violin accompaniment would be an ideal test.

During the first electric recording session with Lehmann on August 2, 1926, I was otherwise employed and not at hand. Three days later we (Lotte, Dajos Bela, Mischa Spoliansky, Georg von Wysocki, Odeon artistic director, and myself) listened to the sample recordings.

It was sadly obvious to all of us that the electric microphone had not done justice to either Lotte's wonderful voice or Dajos Bela's lovely violin. Both came over the loudspeaker with much too sharp a sound.

After a conference with the management of the firm, Lotte was able to get permission for me to record these songs acoustically, using my own methods. To this end I then brought to the Odeon studio my own large horns, one for the singer and one for both accompanists.

Whereas the Odeon Trichter [horns] were made of cloth, the horns I had made for myself were of metal wound with insulating tape to prevent self-vibration. The larger diameter of these horns allowed the singer to come so near the device that occasionally her head would project into it. Happily for me, the calm and not overly tempestuous nature of the music worked all to the good, and most of the danger of "blasting" was avoided.

Lotte Lehmann signed the release for publication of the "Rosenlieder" on December 14, 1926. This lieder cycle was first offered to the public in March of 1927 under the errant nomenclature "Electric Odeon Recording," and in succeeding years, due to its high quality, it continued to be listed in all the catalogs as "electrically recorded."

Mischa Spoliansky, like Lotte Lehmann, lived a long life, and even in his late 80s appeared on German television recounting incidents of his artistic life.

In these songs Lotte quite consciously used a short and frequent taking of breath as a medium for musical expression, evoking her passionate presence. Instead of the higher range usually found in her other recordings, her voice moved here within a quite enchanting mezzo range.

If I allow a little self-praise here, the reproduction of the original "Rosenlleder" belongs to the best of acoustic recordings and is nearly impossible to distinguish from early electrics. Voice and accompaniment are both well balanced. The clearly audible breath brings the singer to vivid life before us. The current reissue on compact disk presents the first publication of the "Rosenlieder" since they were issued on 78rpm shellacs.