That baritone Matthias Goerne is one of the great lieder interpreters of our era is beyond question. Anyone pondering whether to attend his April 28 performance of Schubert’s great song cycle, Winterreise (Winter Journey), with Christoph Eschenbach in Davies Symphony Hall need only take a listen to this wonderful recording, Schubert: Erlkönig. Accompanied by Andreas Haefliger, this seventh issue in Goerne’s ongoing Schubert lieder (song) cycle for Harmonia Mundi not only finds Goerne in superb voice, but also presenting a better balance between light and dark than on some of his previous Schubert discs for the series
It’s not that Goerne avoids expressions of suffering and drama, for which he has a natural affinity. How can anyone avoid songs of suffering in Schubert’s oeuvre without sticking to a rather small list of delightful “hits” that are performed over and over again? But on this collection, he not only balances the morbid drama of “Erlkönig” (The Elf King) with the far lighter death of “Die Forelle” (The Trout), but also manages to begin with a prayer of affirmation, “Im Abendrot” (In the Evening Glow), and end with a wonderfully lyric affirmation of love, “Auf der Bruck” (At the Brook).
Listen To The Music
On the surface, “Im Abendrot” seems like a simple prayer. To pull it off convincingly, however, an artist must connect with the faith at its center as if shining a light from within. This Goerne does, not just by singing slowly, with great feeling, but also by lightening his voice, slowing down even more at the end of the first verse, and creating an illumined tone for the second. Haefliger is with him all the way, his expressive piano introduction setting the tone for the statement of absolute faith that follows.
The mood changes with the next song, “Der Wanderer” (The Wanderer). Again Haefliger’s introduction is eloquent, and the sea roars wonderfully. Goerne imbues the questions raised in the text with touching sweetness before the hollow resonance in his voice makes clear that the Wanderer’s fate is one of suffering and isolation. It is this supreme ability to alter tone — to convincingly move between seemingly innocent simplicity and crushing drama — that puts the song over the top, and makes the Wanderer’s journey so tragic.
It is this supreme ability to alter tone — to convincingly move between seemingly innocent simplicity and crushing drama — that puts the song over the top.Among the 19 songs in the collection are several beloved gems, including “Nachtviolen” (translated, in the liner notes as Dame Violets), “An den Mond” (To the Moon), “Am See” (By the Lake), “Alinde” (Alinda), and “Fischerweise” (Fisherman’s Song). Curiously, Goerne refrains from the usual treatment of the two most famous, “Erlkönig” and “Die Forelle.” While he masterfully captures the drama of the former to startling effect, he resists the tradition, first set down on record in 1906 by the great Lilli Lehmann, and conveyed to incomparable effect by such different singers as Gerhard Hüsch and Lotte Lehmann, to bring different voices to the father, son, and Earl King.
He also avoids the temptation, in “The Trout,” to overdo the simple story, as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was wont to do. I’m not totally convinced by his treatment, but in a recital filled with one gorgeously voiced song after the other that resonate with spiritual truth, a pretty melody here and there isn’t a bad thing. Music lovers wishing to understand what great lieder singing is about will find Goerne’s Erlkönig an object lesson in same.