Gisela May - Brecht-Songs - Eisler - Dessau

Gisela May was, along with Helene Weigel and Lotte Lenya, one of the definitive postwar interpreters of the music composed for Bertolt Brecht by Kurt Weill, Hanns Eisler and Paul Dessau. The husky simplicity of her voice particularly suited Eisler - who despised sentimentality and valued clarity of expression. The power of Brecht's poetry shines through her delivery of songs like the astonishing "O Falladah, die du hangest" - written from the angle of an exhausted horse lying helplessly on a busy street as a mob of desperate Depression-era Berliners carve up her living body for meat. 

This is not a comfortable image - but Brecht is showing us that economic injustice has uncomfortable consequences. Compare "O Falladah" with the "Song of the Invigorating Effects of Money" and the listener begins to understand that Brecht and Eisler deserve to be remembered not only as talented agitators for Marxist revolution but also as acute observers of human nature. One cannot say if the results of the famous Brecht-Eisler collaboration are timeless, but they certainly have a long shelf life.

Also noteworthy in this album are the "Song of the Moldau" and two anti-war hits  - "Song of the Woman and the Soldier" and "Song of a German Mother." Note also the contrast between Eisler's lively, jazz-influenced style and Dessau's sometimes plodding treatment of songs from Brecht's later plays, which constitute the second half of the CD.

Like other albums in Edel's "Berlin Classics" series, the Gisela May CD offers digitally-remastered analog recordings from the GDR (East German) recording industry. 



Tracklist:

Hanns Eisler (1898-1962):
1	Lied Eines Freundenmädchens
2	Lied Von Der Belebenden Wirkung Des Geldes
3	Kuppellied
4	Das Frühjahr
5	Mutter Beimlein
6	O Falladah, Die Du Hangest!
7	Ballade Von Der Judenhure Marie Sanders
8	Das Lied Von Der Moldau
9	Das Lied Vom Kleinen Wind
10	Das Lied Vom Kelch
11	Und Was Bekam Des Soldaten Weib
12	Ballade Vom Weib Und Dem Soldaten
13	Lied Einer Deutsches Mutter
	Paul Dessau (1894-1979):
14	Lied Der Mutter Courage
15	Lied Vom Fraternisieren
16	Salomon Song
17	Lied Von Der Grossen Kapitulation
18	Als Ich Nachher Von Dir Ging
19	Sieben Rosen Hat Der Strauch
20	Das Pferd
21	Der Rabe
22	Der Igel
23	Die Kellerassel
24	Lied Vom Achten Elefanten
25	Ballade Vom Forster Und Der Grafin
26	Kleines Lied
27	Grusches Lied Vier Generäle
28	Lied Einer Deutsches Mutter
29	An Meine Landsleute

Gisela May - Brecht-Songs - Eisler - Dessau
(320 kbps, cover art included, missing track now included)