"Lied der Nachtigall" ... Erna Berger (1941)

Please activate the HD function(1080p/720p) before watching the video or watch it with a larger type player (in 480p)

"Lied der Nachtigall" (The nightingale's song) is another classic Franz Grothe composition. The song was featured in the 1941 biopic "Die schwedische Nachtigall" which focused on the romance between Swedish singer Jenny Lind and Hans-Christian Andersen. Lind was played by the popular Ilse Werner. Great German soprano Erna Berger dubbed Werner's singing voice in the movie.
Hans-Christian Andersen was played by Joachim Gottschalk. It was the latter's last movie. Gottschalk, his wife Meta Wolff and their son committed suicide in 1941 after Gottschalk had come under increased pressure to divorce his Jewish wife. The collective suicide shocked the movie crowd. It was forbidden to openly talk about the Gottschalk case and friends and famous colleagues were ordered to stay away from the funeral. One of the few to ignore the order was actress Brigitte Horney - a frequent co-star and close friend of Gottschalk.

"Die schwedische Nachtigall" was a successful movie not only in Germany but also abroad. In France "Die schwedische Nachtigall" was called "Jenny Lind - Le Rossignol Suédois". The song "Lied der Nachtigall" became "La chanson du rossignol". It was recorded by the soprano Annie Rozane and Annie Bernard.

The version by Annie Rozane can be found in my channel :
   • "Chanson du Rossignol/ Lied der Nacht...  

"Lied der Nachtigall" is a Franz Grothe classic and is still performed today. A wonderful rendition by Ingeborg Hallstein can also be found on YouTube.

The video features a picture of Erna Berger as well as pictures of Ilse Werner, star of the movie. It also features the Belgian movie poster from ca 1942 with its original publicity.

About the record

Telefunken
E.3264/026662

Berlin,
1941

Record in quite used condition

This record was recorded with an Nagaoka MP10 cartridge with 3,5mm 78rpm stylus as well as 78rpm phono preamp. The restoration was done as truthfully as possible.