Readers already familiar with Matthias
Goerne will know of his intelligence
as well as the natural beauty of his
voice. Certainly the two come together
magnificently in this sterling Schumann
recital. Planning is excellent, thoroughly
thought-through to make a straight traversal
a pleasure. It is so complete in fact
that, whatever its strengths (and they
are legion), one does not feel like
immediately hearing more. Not for nothing
is the last lied heard the final song
of the cycle Myrthen, Op. 25
- aptly named ‘Zum Schluss’ – ‘In conclusion’.
Six Lieder from Myrthen - settings
of Heine and Rückert - are in fact
peppered throughout the recital. Also
included are the dramatic ballads Belsazar
and Die beide Grenadiere to make
a recital that covers an usually wide
emotional terrain. The later Schumann
songs are a reminder of the fascination
of this period of the composer’s creative
output.
Curiously, it is the
opening lied that asks the most questions
– ‘Mir ist’s so eng überall!’ (‘Everywhere
I feel confined!’) sings the protagonist,
yet despite Goerne’s undeniable sense
of authority, I wonder if he’s reflecting
the distracted nature of the words themselves.
There is another slight caveat, one
that recurs later in the disc. As Goerne
ascends to the higher parts of his range,
his tone thins. This does not seem to
be an expressive device as it recurs
regularly. In a sense, then, it is the
second lied on the disc (‘Du bist wie
eine Blume’ from Myrthen) that
more accurately reflects the recital
as a whole. Here Goerne is completely
at home, spinning his legato over a
softly pulsating accompaniment. But
again, a small caveat – do I detect
an inserted ‘h’ on the word ‘Ei – (h)
– ne’ in the first line? I can find
no fault with the beautiful ‘Die Lotosblume’,
another slow lied and one that shows
off the bottom end of Goerne’s range.
Both this and ‘Was will die einsame
Träne’ that follows focus on Nature
(no surprise in this repertoire) but
in complementary ways, the first an
appreciation thereof, the second a reflection
on the transitory way of life/love.
Looking at the text
for ‘Dichters Genesung’ one might expect
one of the longer lieder. In fact it
is a mere 2’47 and affords an excellent
opportunity to revel in Goerne’s exemplary
diction and, indeed, characterisation;
the words of the Elf-Queen are in inverted
commas, and Goerne appropriately lightens
his tone at this point.
It is in the slow,
simple lieder that Goerne excels. ‘Liebesbotschaft’
glows precisely with Goerne’s careful
handling, not over-emoting over Eric
Schneider’s sweet bed of sound. And
thereby preparing the coup of the final,
ultra-tender line - and it is performed
in that way, too - ‘der ich einzig nur
maggedenken’ (‘she is all that I think
of’).
‘Abends am Strand’
is a strange poem, slurring as it does
the people of Lapland (‘In Lappland
sind schmutzige Leute, plattköpfig,
breitmülig, klein’; ‘In Lapland
the people are dirty, flat-headed, wide-mouthed
and small’), yet Schumann writes with
such beauty that it is a compelling
composition. What a contrast lies in
the next lied, the late ‘Es leuchtet
meine Liebe’ (‘My love shines forth’).
Urgent and determined, in this performance
it seems intent on bursting the bounds
of its remit as lied such is its dramatic
impact.
One of the most impressive
of the lieder here comes in the form
of ‘Die Löwenbraut’, Op. 31 No.
3, a nine minutes plus setting of Adalbert
von Chamisso’s poem about the relationship
between a keeper’s daughter and a lion,
and how the child connects with the
beast only to be mauled by it. This
has to be the highlight of the recital.
Goerne and Schneider are absolutely
mesmeric. By not hurrying in the least,
the performers keep the tension growing
and growing as the poem progresses.
Schumann’s setting is masterly – note
the adventurous, ‘scrunchy’ harmonies
around 7’00 as the lion bars the girl’s
exit The coda is absolutely gripping.
The decision to juxtapose
this with another long poem (‘Belsazar’,
at 4’58) is a brave one, but one that
works. This song could almost be subtitled,
‘On the dangers of blasphemy’, and Goerne
and Schneider tell the tale in the bleakest
of terms. Again, Goerne can seem a little
strained at the top, but the recompense
is the spine-chilling declamation of
the final couplet: ‘Belsazar ward aber
in selbiger Nacht von seinen Knechten
umgebracht’; ‘But that very night Belshazzar
was slain by his vassals’.
‘Der Einseidler’ (‘The
Hermit’) is given with a lovely, silken
line, the dynamic level so consistently
low that Goerne hardly has to raise
the volume at all for the climactic
final stanza - beginning, ‘O Trost der
Welt, du stille Nacht!’; ‘O solace of
the world, you silent night!’. A supreme
utterance in itself, it provides also
the perfect foil for one of the most
famous Schumann Lieder, ‘Die beide Grenadiere’.
Another lied in which the singer is
asked to articulate different characters,
Goerne varies his tone accordingly.
Goerne does sound strained at the word
‘Kanonengebrüll’ (‘Cannon’s roar’),
although he and his pianist both clearly
enjoy the Marseillaise reference.
The Romantic sweep
created by Schneider’s seemingly impulsive
accompanimental figure for ‘Widmung’
is carried through by Goerne. The shifting
moods meld miraculously; the line ‘Du
bist die Ruh’ is truly magical. Only
fitting that when we arrive at the final
lied on the disc (‘Zum Schluss’), its
dark shadow is cast long after the music
dies.
Wonderful.
Colin Clarke
.
Matthias Goerne (baritone); Eric Schneider (piano).
