Review of Thomas Ullemans – Brahms Songbook Volume I

The “Song Book” of songs by Johannes Brahms, published in the first episode on the Linn label, contains songs from the “Schöne Magelone” as well as four settings by Klaus Groth. Dutch baritone Thomas Oehlemans and Malcolm Martineau chose a path of consistently moderate interpretation. This is especially true of pacing. This creates a fairly monochromatic representation that largely avoids large contrasts. However, this only fits this course to a limited extent, especially if you take Tieck’s story and its context into account. Even when it comes to color design and especially text lighting, Oliemans remains somewhat pale, at least when compared to the limited number of reference shots. Malcolm Martino is an experienced pianist, so the alliance with the singer is one of the most positive aspects of this recording.

Brahms Songbook Volume 1
Brahms: Romances from L. Tieck’s “Magelone”, op. 33 and four songs based on the poems of Klaus Groth

Thomas Ulemans (baritone), Malcolm Martino (piano)
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