As is the case for many musicians who grew up listening to baroque music, René Jacobs’ evolution follows the chronology of music history. After treating us to Monteverdi, Pergolesi, Charpentier, Dumont, Bach and Handel, the countertenor eventually became a conductor in his own right. He’s enjoyed great success across the globe, both in concert and in opera, and has developed a rich and varied discography totalling more than 260 recordings spanning almost fifty years (most of them for the French label Harmonia Mundi).After his mostly successful forays into the operatic repertoire of Monteverdi, Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, the Belgian musician has now turned his attention to Weber’s Der Freischütz, which is often considered the founding work of German romantic opera. With its mixture of black magic, popular culture and nascent nationalism—a combination which would go on to become the basis for German expressionist cinema a century later—Weber’s opera greatly influenced a whole generation of composers, starting with the young Richard Wagner.With this release, René Jacobs also doubles as a musicologist who’s keen to get back to the original source. His version of Weber’s masterpiece is based on the original project, readjusting certain scenes and placing them into their original positions. As in the early days of stereophony, his recording is staged (or embellished with sound effects) to compensate for the absence of visuals which brings the numerous German dialogues to life. The gunfire, sounds of nature, flowing water, bells, birds (and even the disturbing wolf howls made by the choristers!) make for a nice touch.This new recording was intended to commemorate the bicentenary of the work in 2021, though it was delayed due to Covid-19. However, its release will be followed by a large concert tour in Europe and it will likely become a real landmark in the Freischütz discography, which already features Carlos Kleiber’s famous 1973 recording for Deutsche Grammophon: an act that’s difficult to follow.Recorded in Freiburg-im-Breisgau in June 2021, this new production has been meticulously carried out thanks to the German-speaking cast, the incredible Zürcher Sing-Akademie choir and, last but not least, the powerful, clear sound of the Freiburger Barockorchester. They all come together beautifully under the passionate conducting of René Jacobs. This recording is exceptional. © François Hudry/Qobuz

For his first release on Alpha, the clarinettist and conductor Jörg Widmann celebrates the music of a composer who wrote some of the finest pieces ever devoted to his instrument: Carl Maria von Weber. With the ensemble of which he is principal conductor, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, he has recorded the Clarinet Quintet (in its version with string ensemble) and the Concertino, composed in 1811 and 1815 respectively, along with the ever-popular Overture to Der Freischütz. The pianist Denis Kozhukhin joins Widmann to perform the Grand Duo concertant. This album is the first in a series of recordings that will also give us a chance to meet Jörg Widmann in his role as one of the most active composers of his generation. © Alpha Classics

We have Marek Janowski to thank for this studio version of Weber's masterpiece, recorded in 1994 in Berlin, and painstakingly remastered by RCA in 2017. Here the German conductor returns to a work which he knows in minute detail. Marking a bridge from the tradition of the "singspiel" in the style of the Magic Flute and the young Wagner of the Flying Dutchman, Freischütz represents the starting point for German romantic opera. This piece was recorded in the Sendesaal of Radio Hesse in Frankfurt in 2018, a large room built from light wood, with excellent acoustics and completely reconstructed in 1987. This new version, probably produced in the wake of two concert versions, includes short narrations written by Katharina Wagner and Daniel Weber to replace the long original dialogues. The excellent distribution is dominated by two great Wagnerian singers with powerful voices: Lise Davidsen and Andreas Schager. Janowski blazes at the stand, lending the work a constant and theatrical tension, with energetic tempos and a sense of poetry that will stand the test of time. This is a very accomplished new version which easily ranks alongside the legendary recordings of Wilhelm Furtwängler (1954), Josef Keilberth (1958), Eugen Jochum (1960) and Carlos Kleiber (1973). © François Hudry/Qobuz

This recording was made in April 2012 from a pair of live performances of Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz at London's Barbican, and just a year later the great British conductor Colin Davis was dead at 85. The continuing high quality of his music-making in old age, in something as taxing as a full-length operatic score, deserves study in itself, and this release, apparently the last of his numerous operatic recordings (including at least one other Der Freischütz), is certainly a worthy conclusion to the oeuvre. The London Symphony Orchestra is putty in Davis' hands, and they create a warm, magical tone that is of the essence of the pure German Romanticism of this superantural-themed opera. Davis' approach is quite deliberate as to tempo, and the singers, including Simon O'Neill as the titular "free-shooter," Christine Brewer as Agathe, and Sally Matthews as Ännchen, seem taxed occasionally, but all are attuned to the moods of the work. Those moods may seem to shift abruptly inasmuch as the spoken dialogue is cut, presumably to fit the entire opera on a pair of CDs. Just as the CD made concert-length programs of instrumental music possible, new models of digital distribution ought to enable musicians to present operas in full. But these are small complaints, and this is a solid note on which to bring down the curtain on Davis' remarkable career. The LSO Live label's sound is never less than clear. © TiVo

200 years ago, on May 26th 1821, today's Berlin Concert Hall was inaugurated as “Königliches Schauspielhaus”. Destroyed as “Preußisches Staatstheater” during World War II, the building, located in eastern Berlin, was rebuilt during GDR times and reopened as “Konzerthaus” in 1984. The premiere of Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz on June 18th 1821 was a highlight of the opening year. The work became his most popular opera and one of the key works of the 19th century. A few days later, the composer (who died at the age of only 40 in 1826), had another piece premiered at the “Königliches Schauspielhaus”: his brilliant Concert Piece for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 79. This year the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, with its principal conductor Christoph Eschenbach, will be celebrating these historic events. Weber holds a special place in the life of the great German conductor and pianist, as Der Freischütz was the first opera he saw at the age of ten. Eschenbach is being joined in this program, which combines overtures, arias and the famous concert piece, by two artists who reside at the Konzerthaus Berlin and are also Alpha artists: soprano Anna Prohaska and pianist Martin Helmchen. © Alpha Classics

The stars of this recording of Der Freischütz are conductor Joseph Keilberth, the Chorus of Deutschen Oper Berlin, and the Berlin Philharmonic. The chorus sings with wonderfully full, warm tone and high spirits, creating vivid characterizations of the hunters, peasants, bridesmaids, and spirits that populate the opera. The Berlin Philharmonic performs with complete assurance and stylishness, beautifully capturing the atmosphere of the opera's widely diverse scenes, and Keilberth keeps the dramatic tension high. The leads are more than adequate, but not stellar. Rudolf Schock is a bland Max, and his voice lacks the sheen and resonance to give him a real heroic presence. As Agathe, Elisabeth Grummer conveys a woman of fragile temperament through a somewhat tremulous tone. She has no difficulty with the role's demands, but there is a pronounced change in timbre between her upper and middle registers, most noticeably in "Und ob die Wolke sie verhülle." The secondary roles are more memorably taken. Lisa Otto is an adorable, perky Ännchen, and she sings with silky smoothness. Hermann Prey is a powerful Ottakar, and best of all is Gottlob Frick, hugely resonant and authoritative in the small role of the Hermit. This performance includes the spoken dialogue, which is delivered with great effectiveness. EMI's sound is clean and creates a good sense of dramatic space.© TiVo