There could be no better way to bring the Wolf Centenary
series to a close than this triumphant recital, a subtly programmed
set of songs demonstrating Wolf’s fulfilment of the Wagnerian ultimate
of the fusion of poetry and music, and it was inevitable that Goerne
and Schneider should have been chosen to give it, since their partnership
is so evocative of that ideal union described by Schubert when he wrote
of himself and Vogl that ‘we seem to be one’. This was, unquestionably,
an evening of great singing – provided one defines that as a beautiful
voice allied to an acute intelligence, used in the service of the music
and with the power to communicate lovingly detailed insights to the
individual listener, as opposed to any kind of wincingly arch or over-stated
complicity with an audience. With each recital, Goerne seems to grow
in musical stature, and I was not alone in finding this to be one of
the very greatest recitals experienced at this hall.
The Mörike lieder began appropriately with ‘Verborgenheit’
since this was the first of Wolf’s songs to achieve popularity in England;
as always with Goerne, he was able to become one with the music straightaway,
taking us with him into the world of the song with such intimacy – his
singing is now so much a unified whole that it almost seems inappropriate
to single out particular phrases, but the forte at ‘Wonniglich’ revealed
an exceptionally resonant power as well as eloquent expression. ‘Fussreise’
followed this and, for once, you could understand Wolf’s comment that
this was a song to make you want to die – Goerne took the phrase ‘Wonnegeister
spürt / In der ersten Morgensonne’ in an unbroken arc of sound,
and Schneider superbly evoked the walking stride in the piano. This
group closed with a performance of ‘An die Geliebte’ which gave ample
demonstration of precisely why those who really know about the art of
Song consider Goerne to be the greatest lieder singer now active: here
was deeply fervent, intensely beautiful singing, employing a seamless
stream of sound whilst avoiding mere wallowing in tonal perfection,
under total control from ecstatic forte (‘Zum Himmel auf’) to the softest
piano in the final line in which the quiet, firmly supported legato
was spun out with such heavenly slowness.
‘Der Feurreiter’ was given a performance that I cannot
imagine being equalled – I have certainly never before been so aware
of the black smoke and satanic presence, or being so gripped by the
disturbing narrative. Most singers do not go beyond what might be called
‘wildness’ in performing this song, but Goerne’s penetrating understanding
of the sinister events told in such sparse language was completely involving
from start to finish: the final part, with ‘Brennts!’ just verging on
hysteria, the line ‘Husch! da fällts in Asche ab’ delivered in
an urgent semi-whisper and Schneider’s almost manic diminished sevenths,
was completely mesmerizing. After this, ‘Auf ein altes Bild’ revealed
Goerne’s unique inwardness and his ability to caress words so quietly
that you feel that you are their only recipient – has anyone ever sung
the phrase ‘der Jungfrau Schoss!’ with such warmth and delicacy?
The all-Goethe second half began with a fascinatingly
characterized ‘Der Rattenfänger’ in which Schneider’s consummate
playing of the tarantella accompaniment rightly inspired some to applause,
and Goerne’s razor-sharp diction allowed us to savour every description
of this strange combination of seducer and control-freak.
The central experience of the evening was a ‘Ganymed’
which was almost enough to render me speechless: it certainly made every
other performance of this song seem pale by comparison, and was another
object lesson as to exactly why there is no one to touch this singer
in this repertoire – this was extraordinary singing in every way, employing
an astounding dynamic range, an unsurpassed sense of rhythm and a wonderful
variety of tone colours as well as a deep understanding of the sensuality
and yearning of the poem’s import. The performance gradually grew in
fervour from an almost eerily calm beginning, until at ‘In diesen Arm’
both singer and pianist seemed to be as men possessed: in the heat of
passion, however, subtlety of expression was never neglected nor words
glossed over, ‘schmachte’ being exceptionally resonant, and ‘Hinauf!
Hinauf strebt’s’ delivered with such fervid intensity that Goerne looked
as if he really might be carried up to the Gods. It is in such performances
as this one that he seems to be, for want of a better phrase, in another
place – I can’t pretend that I know where it is, but I do know that
it is a wonderful place to be and that I’ve never been there with any
other singer.
The exquisite ‘Anakreons Grab’ was a perfect envoi
– Gerald Moore wrote that he liked ‘…to indulge in the notion that
Goethe had this very music in mind when he wrote the little poem. If
singer and accompanist will share my credulity it (will give) some indication
of the almost miraculous fusion of words and music.’ In this performance,
that ‘credulity’ was not difficult for the audience to share – without
any exaggeration or overstressing of individual words, without a single
aspirate and blessedly free of any archness, the melancholy beauty of
the lines was conveyed with nobility and that high seriousness which
delineates Goerne’s art: during the phrase ‘Es ist, Anakreons Ruh’ with
its heart-rending little pause you could almost hear the audience holding
its collective breath, and the final line ‘Vor dem Winter hat ihn endlich
der Hügel geschützt’ was simply perfection in its understated,
devoted expression. ‘Perfection’, of course, is an overused term considering
that it is often applied to the merely competent, but I would venture
that there were very few amongst us on this occasion who would dispute
that Goerne and Schneider came as close to it as can be expected on
this earth.
Melanie Eskenazi
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