Album: Hans Werner, Henze In Lieblicher Bläue (Wergo)

In Lieblicher Bläue (In Lovely Blueness) takes its title from the Hölderlin poem used as the text for Hans Werner Henze's "Kammermusik 1958", a lengthy suite for solo tenor, guitar and small ensemble.

 It's a strange, uneven piece whose dozen sections – solo guitar passages called "Tentos", austere vocal and guitar settings, and ensemble passages – are just about resolved in the closing "Adagio". But it's a rocky ride: the occasional strident discordancies suggest the poet's descent into mental illness, while the darting strings and winds act like a web ensnaring the hapless vocal. The suite is accompanied here by the ensemble piece "Apollo et Hyazinthus", in which the prominent flute and harpsichord create a quizzical, mysterious mood.

Download: Kammermusik 1958; Apollo et Hyazinthus