Twilight

"Twilight" is the third album by tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Saskia Giorgini devoted to the song cycles of Robert Schumann, all of which were composed in 1840, a year in which the composer displayed an almost miraculous productivity. The album title and cover photograph are inspired by the song "Zwielicht", which together with "Mondnacht" from the same cycle op. 39 is often regarded as the embodiment of 19th-century German Romanticism. It is also an apt metaphor for Schumann's troubled soul, which continuously oscillates between light and darkness, between hope and despair. The selected songs shed a fascinating light on Schumann's dark inner world and are both an expression of his deep love for his wife Clara and of the euphoria he felt after overcoming a serious mental crisis. It is difficult to imagine better ambassadors for this repertoire than Ian Bostridge and Saskia Giorgini, whose musical partnership has made them seasoned advocates of German Lied.