Carl Loewe was born in Löbejün, studied inHalle, toured through Germany in his mid?20s and then secured an appointment asprofessor and Kantor at the Gymnasium andseminary in Stettin (formerly in Prussia, nowin Poland), where he remained for the rest ofhis life. A contemporary of Schubert, he wasa central figure in Stettin’s musical life, andwas a prolific composer of songs andoratorio to cater for the increasing musicalappetite of the late?19th?century Germanbourgeoisie.Loewe is today remembered for histreatment of the ballad, a relatively newgenre at that time which took the form of alengthy story comprising many verses,characters and dramatic events. Country life,olden or idealised times, love and thepassing of time are often the subject matterfor his works, which are set to a variety ofthen?contemporary poets ranging fromclassical masters Rückert and Schiller tomore forward?looking ones such asChamisso; while Prinz Eugen (1844) recountsthe victory of Prince Eugen of Savoy duringthe Austro?Turkish War of 1716–18, forinstance, ‘Süßes Begräbnis’ describes thefinal resting place of a shepherdess (1837).Also included on the release is Loewe'sintimate setting of Goethe's ‘Erlkönig’, adirect contrast to Schubert's infamous andmuch more extrovert rendition of the text,composed just one year earlier.Performing these often over?looked worksare the tenor and bass singers EberhardBüchner and Theo Adam, accompanied byNorman Shetler and Rudolf Dunckelrespectively. The two duos cover all mannerof moods in what are highly atmosphericpieces, and in doing so offer a strong casefor why Loewe – nicknamed the 'Schubert ofNorth Germany' in his day – deserves to bebetter known.

Eberhard Büchner tenor

Norman Shetler piano

Theo Adam bass

Rudolf Dunckel piano