An Die Musik

Title: An Die Musik - Favourite Schubert Songs

Deutsche Grammophon

DG 445 294-2

Date Released: 1994

This cd has been around for a while, but sometimes it takes a while before things penetrate into the hinterlands.

As you may know, my primary interest is Lieder, by which I mean specifically German-language art songs. My introduction to this genre came through Fischer-Dieskau, which is both a blessing and a curse, for I am one of those increasingly rare individuals who genuinely likes the F-D approach to Lieder. For me, Lieder are an inextricable mixture of sound and sense, and singers with beautiful voices who skim over the surface of these songs are anathema to me. I like F-D's light-weight, unbalanced, essentially high baritone voice. I like his laser-precise diction and his interventionist approach. This being the case, it's hard for me to get excited about most contemporary singers of Lieder. Some of them offend me, most of them merely bore me.

Bryn Terfel's Schubert recital on cd is made up completely of songs I first heard sung by Fischer-Dieskau, many of which he "owns," as far as I am concerned. And so it was no surprise that, as is always the case, I began listening to this cd with F-D sitting on my shoulder, as he always does (and a heavy burden he is, too), sending annoying little whispers into my ear as we moved from song to song. But something astonishing happened. As we reached midpoint in this recital, F-D whispered, "Okay, I'm leaving now," and a great weight lifted--and he stayed gone until the recording was over. I think a miracle may have occurred . . . .

This recital consists of 23 songs, many of which (such as "Erlkönig," "Heidenröeslein," "Über allen Gipfeln," "An die Musik") are by now in the warhorse category. None of these performances could be called a failure, most of them are first-rate, and some of them are better than that. The one song I could have done without is "An die Leier," a clumsy, noisy song that is hardly worth the air to sing it, IMHO. If I had been consulted, I would have suggested replacing it with "Der Zwerg," which should be a wonderful song in Terfel's hands (throat).

The first half of the recital (songs 1-11) I would classify in the "good but not great" category, even though the performances far surpass any other current Lieder singer I can think of; however, on the F-D scale of zero to ten, only one of them rates a 10, although Terfel starts with a performance of "Gruppe aus dem Tartarus" that's worth a 9.5. His big, dark baritone is ideal for this song, and my only reservation is that he really doesn't sound at all pressed. This is a song about desperation, and Terfel just sounds too comfortable. The best song of the first eleven is "Ständchen" ("Leise flehen meine Lieder"), which is warm, intimate, and, despite the size of the voice, very delicate. The early songs on the cd are characterized by some very abrupt and extreme contrasts of tempo and dynamics, and yet often fail to convey the central mood or meaning of the song. For example, in "Die Taubenpost," Terfel tries to emphasize the central importance of longing in this song by slowing down and dropping his volume on "die Sehnsucht" in the line "Sie heisst die Sehnsucht--kennt ihr sie?" but the problem is that it comes too late. The sense of longing must color the entire song, not be introduced abruptly at the very end. The same problem occurs in "Der Wanderer," which is again pervaded by that arch Romantic mood of longing, as demonstrated by the central statement "Ich bin ein Fremdling überall" and is hammered home in the final line "Dort, wo du nicht bist, dort is das Glück." Terfel just sounds too healthy and happy and rather as if a bad thought has never burdened him for long, which is certainly a problem in the Lieder repertoire. Nevertheless, he sings all these songs better than most.

The first half of the recital ends with a rousing "Erlkönig" that is marred somewhat by eccentric changes in tempo and an Erlkönig who doesn't sound nearly nasty enough. Even with those reservations it provides a great deal of excitement. The second half begins with "Der Tod und das Mädchen," and offers one fine performance after another, including superb renditions of "An die Musik," "An Silvia," and "An die Laute." The high points come, however, with "Auf der Bruck" and "Rastlose Liebe," two less-frequently sung songs that need a big voice and a maximum of energy. On the F-D scale of 0 to 10, these two rate a 12, as Terfel can provide all the voice that F-D lacks. Where F-D sounds strained, Terfel sails along with no sign of stress and realizes the songs completely. These are songs where sounding comfortable is a virtue, and Terfel makes the most of it. In "Auf der Bruck," in particular, Terfel would have benefited from a more virtuosic pianist--I can only imagine what the song would sound like if he could sing it with Sviatoslav Richter at the piano, as F-D does on two live recordings from the 1970's.

However, the performance that really astonished me was "Ganymed." I approached this one with extreme reservations--Wotan sings Ganymed? Baron Oches sings Ganymed? Not very likely! Against all expectations, it is superb. Despite the huge, dark voice, the performance is delicate and beautifully contained, conveying from the outset a sense of wonder and longing that builds unerringly to excitement mixed with a shot of fear ("Ich komm', ich komme/Ach, wohin? Wohin?"), and from there into a final ecstacy without ever losing a sense of balance and proportion. I still can't believe how good it is, however often I play it.

Terfel's virtues are obvious in this recording: a big, dark, attractive voice, a sure technique, plenty of imagination and sensitivity to the words. Whether one agrees with everything he does or not, he is never boring. He is clearly "school of Fischer-Dieskau," but he is not a mere imitator. He has things of his own to say and the confidence to say them, not to mention the talent to bring it off. His major weakness (and this is a bit of a quibble) is occasionally mushy diction and some rather non-idiomatic German sounds ( his "l" and "ch" sounds, for example) which really only stand out as lapses in otherwise remarkably idiomatic German (especially coming from someone who reportedly does not speak the language, which I find inexplicable). The biggest problem is a too open "au" that sounds rather like "aow," which is very jarring when it recurs in a song like "Über allen Gipfeln," e.g., "in allen Wipfeln/spürest du/kaum einen Hauch," and the final "Balde/ruhest du auch." Similarly, one winces a bit at the end of "Der Musensohn"--"Wann ruhe ich ihr am Busen/ auch endlich wieder aus?" *Not* the final sound you want to hear!

I also think it is a bit of a handicap in a Lieder singer to sound so hale and hearty and essentially untroubled. One of Fischer-Dieskau's great strengths was a voice that sounded *naturally* sad and a bit neurotic--in short, tailor-made for Lieder. Terfel has to work to find ways not to sound too happy and well-adjusted, but I am happy to report that he is largely successful, at least on this recording.

Have I been gushing a bit? Sorry, but it's really exciting to discover a young singer who seems to have all the equipment of a great Lieder singer and the imagination to use it properly. I look forward to hearing more Lieder from Terfel in the future, and F-D has sent me a spirit message that says he would be happy to not have to sit with me through any more freeze-dried Lieder recitals!

Celia A. Sgroi October 1996

Celia A. Sgroi
State University of New York
College at Oswego
sgroi@oswego.oswego.edu