Václav Jan Krtitel Tomášek wrote numerous songs and short piano pieces, genres in which his works predate those of his rather more famous near contemporary Franz Schubert by some years. Quite why they are so neglected today is a mystery as this enthralling new album from Renata Pokupic and Roger Vignoles unfolds twenty-eight songs of a rare appeal. Perhaps we should not be surprised: Tomášek was one of the very few composers of Goethe settings to meet with the great poet’s (relatively) undivided approval.
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Reviews:
Many of Tomášek’s songs are little gems in their own right, and you can hear why Goethe himself approved of settings including Heldenröslein...Pokupi?’s supple, gleaming mezzo-soprano could use a notch more color at times, but is eloquent nonetheless, and pianist Roger Vignoles makes each song sound its best.
– Guardian (UK)
While Tomášek had a gift for shapely, often plaintive melody, in an idiom somewhere between Mozart and Schubert, he never hijacks a poem to create a new musical-dramatic entity, as Schubert famously did. There is much to charm and delight here…[and] the Croatian mezzo Renata Pokupic is a persuasive Tomášek advocate.
– Gramophone
Goethe warmed to Tomášek, declaring that his Mignon songs showed true understanding of his poetry…his delightful, often salonesque, piano writing is palpably enjoyed by Roger Vignoles, and Renata Pokupic's mezzo, whose slightly accented German and rolled 'r's has an apt flavor and timbre.
