Franz Schreker composed his Romantic Suite in 1903, around the same time he began work on his opera Die Ferne Klang. Though the two works share stylistic traits (those being post-Wagnerian chromaticism), the highlight of the suite actually is the Intermezzo, a wistful and tender work for string orchestra that recalls the melancholy strains of Edvard Grieg. Prelude to Das Spielwerk (1911) and the Five Songs of 1909 represent Schreker’s mature style: sensuous, evocative, and inhabiting the nebulous harmonic regions lying between Tristan and Alban Berg. The songs’ restrained and somber mood reflects that of the texts which, drawn from varied sources, deal with lost love, loneliness, despair, and hope, all tellingly revealed by Katarina Karnéus’ heartfelt and moving singing.
Lastly, Prelude to a Grand Opera (1933) comes from Schreker’s uncompleted Memnon. Based on an Egyptian subject, the score makes much use of colorful percussion and Eastern modalities. By this time Schreker had refined his sound world down to its purest elements. Gone are the extended chromaticism and luxuriant sonorities of his earlier works, replaced instead by sparser textures and more clearly distinct thematic materials (though these don’t always hold your attention over the piece’s 24-minute duration). Vassily Sinaisky’s full immersion in and enthusiasm for Schreker’s style carries over to his BBC players, who deliver nothing less than highly committed performances of this unfamiliar music. Chandos’ warm, reverberant-yet-detailed recording completes the package.