Matthias Goerne, bar. – SCHUBERT Edition Vol. 4 “Heliopolis” – with Ingo Metzmacher, piano – Harmonia mundi HMC 902035, 71:35 (with bonus DVD) ****:
Continuing with Volume 4 of an extensive survey of Schubert Lieder, Matthias Goerne joins forces in this latest album with Ingo Metzmacher on the piano. Like many of Schubert’s well-known song cycles including Winterreise and Die schöne Müllerin, the subjects of Schubert’s songs often represent “a material existence, an inner/ interpersonal conflict.” Setting music to poems by such literary figures as Johann Mayrhofer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Friedrich von Schlegel among others, Schubert has left his mark as ‘Father of the Lied.’ As Goerne himself explains, “Schubert is the composer who is the starting point of absolutely everything; unless you’ve really understood and absorbed Schubert, I’d go as far as to say, it’s impossible to grasp Schumann, or Brahms, or Mahler, or everything that comes afterwards.”
The Goerne/Metzmacher duo documents an important partnership, and for those familiar with their orchestral concerts together at the concert hall, this album further elaborates on the fruits of this musical relationship in a more intimate setting at the Teldex Studio of Berlin. Matthias Goerne is above all a born Schubert interpreter certainly in his generation – he possesses a lustrous golden quality, but when required, he can articulate the most rich virile baritone voice that few equals can meet. His extensive experience in the lied pays handsome dividends in bringing out the inner messages and conflicts Schubert has set his music to the texts. Listen to the tenderness and caressing attentiveness Goerne brings to the text of the “Pilgerweise;” the bold masculinity he conjures with “Der Kreuzzug” or how he narrates capably the youthful innocence of a young boy in “Atys.” All the nuances of the text are delivered by Goerne with absolute clarity and unpretentiousness. As his accompanist, Ingo Metzmacher brings an excellent pianistic command at the keyboard, particularly in his treatments with the myriad of inter-phrasing and dynamic details that support like a fitting glove Goerne’s fine voice.
The pellucid recording is accompanied by a bonus DVD that explains its making. Here Goerne and Metzmacher share with viewers their interpretations on the creative genius of Schubert and the implications his music has had to the generations of composers that followed. The DVD also includes rare footage in the preparation of this recording, although Harmonia mundi appears to have left out the references to the recording engineers of this recording in the accompanying booklet. Otherwise, here is a recording with strong recommendations to anyone keen on this unique musical partnership.
TrackList:
1. Die Götter Griechenlands, D677 (Schiller)
2. Philoktet, D540 (Mayrhofer)
3. Fragment aus dem Aischylos, D450 (Mayrhofer)
4. Der entsühnte Orest, D699 (Mayrhofer)
5. Aus ‘Heliopolis,’ D753 (Mayrhofer)
6. Aus ‘Heliopolis,’ D754 (Mayrhofer)
7. An die Leier, D737 (Bruchmann)
8. Atys, D585
9. Meeresstille, D216 (Goethe)
10. Der König in Thule, D367
11. Blondel zu Marien, D626
12. Die Gebüsche, D646
13. Der Hirt, D490 (Mayrhofer)
14. Pilgerweise, D789 (Schober)
15. Wandrers Nachtlied, D224
16. Frühlingsglaube, D686
17. Das Heimweh, D851 (Pyrker)
18. Der Kreuzzug, D932 (Leitner)
Abschied, D475 (Mayrhofer)
— Patrick P.L. Lam
