Tuesday, July 26, 2011

RECORDING OF THE MONTH- July 2011: Schubert's Winterreise with Gerald Moore 1955/ Hotter vs. Fischer-Dieskau

Franz Schubert, possibly among the most underrated of all composers (in my humble opinion), composed his second song cycle, die Winterreise D.911 between 1827 and 1828. It was 5 years after his first cycle and 5 years after he had been diagnosed with syphilis: the disease which went on to take his life at the young age of barely 31 years of age.

By the time he was writing Winterreise, his illness was rather advanced and this song cycle took up the majority of his time and energy. It seems to have excited him from the beginning, as is shown in his friend, Joseph Spaun's description of the first 'performance' of the cycle, Schubert playing and singing it to his friends at Schober's (another friend) house. Spaun reports that when they didn't particularly care much for the gloomy, mournful tone of the pieces, Schubert said to them, "I like these songs more than all the rest, and you will come to like them as well."

The cycle was written in two halfs. The first, dating to February 1827, and the second, later in 1828. It comprised of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller. The song cycle is not composed in the same order as the poems were originally published. Some singers in the past have attempted to perform the songs in their original, poetic line-up, but these performances always feel rather contrived and affected. The trust must be given to Franz Schubert.

We see how much these songs took of Schubert's time in the letters and accounts of his friends. By January 1828 he was rarely seen attending the still popular Schubertiads. His friend and poet, Mayrhofer noticed this change not only in his life, but in the music as well.

The choice of Winterreise proved how much more serious the composer had become. Seriously ill for a long time - winter had set in for him.

It is true that his music had undergone a major change in this time. Take for example the opening bars of "Gute Nacht", the first song of the cycle. It opens with a pulsating wandering motive similarly to that in Die schöne Müllerin... but the radical difference in feeling that is evoked shows just how much he had grown in those years since his illness had set in.

This cycle probably proves as the pinnacle of his compositional acheivements, however it is a different kind of composition than his Ballad like Lieder such as Erlkönig and Gretchen am Spinnrade, but Müller was not Goethe. He was a different type of poet. The unpretentiousness and simplicity of Müller's poems are matched by the simplicity of Schubert's musical settings. "His sole interest is in the depth of feeling, not in psychological over-refinements" says Fischer-Dieskau.

Franz Schubert took a group of relatively unexciting, mediocre poetry and made it a cycle that changed Lieder forever and literally defined what a "song cycle" is.

Out of the many wonderful recordings that have been made, two in particular stand out. The fascinating coincidence is that these two were recorded in the same year with the same pianist.

1955 with Gerald Moore

Hans Hotter vs. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Hotter's recording was released first and by '55 he was a very well established and respected singer in the world of opera and Lieder. Especially recognized for his Winterreise. Fischer-Dieskau was barely 30 years old upon this release and was not yet recognized as the Lied interpreting champion that he would one day become.

Gerald Moore is undoubtedly among the greatest collaborative pianists to have ever lived and graced the world of Lieder. The way he articulates these pieces shows a superlative artistry that has yet to be beaten. In particular, his use of subtle and varied stacatto in pieces like "Gefor'ne Tränen", "Auf dem Flusse", and "Letzte Hoffnung" is especially noteworthy in the perfect creation atmosphere, something so many pianists through the years have failed at. He was one of the first pianists to move beyond the role of accompanist and show us all how much of a partner pianist and singer need to be in this artform. The music that comes out of his fingers is entirely motivated by the text and the communication of whoever is on the other side of that keyboard. Listening to these two recordings exhibits this as clear as day.

First of all, probably the biggest difference between these two artists (Hotter and D. F.-D.) is that Hotter's approach is the perfect example of communicating these texts without "acting them out"... he communicates every emotion and evokes every mood in an effective and personal way while always maintaining a feel of "3rd person." He narrates and comments on the events of the sad wanderer while watching over. Fischer-Dieskau is much more personally involved with his interpretation. He feels what this anonymous lover is feeling. He sucks us into this epilogue of sorts and when he weeps, we weep, when he has a glimmering moment of hope (however much in vain) we feel that glimmer.

The atmosphere that is set by Hotter's readings is a heavy one. This is not a recording that one can casually listen to while getting ready for a dinner party. The haunting, morose feelings that it leaves with the listener will linger like the love that was lost before this cycle even begins. This cycle, while performed originally by a baritone, was actually composed for high voice. Hotter, being a bass, transposes these songs down quite a bit, doing this, they sometimes lose some of their brilliance of tone. They get a bit muddled in the lower registers and even in the top, clarity is not necessarily his strongest suit. Word colouring and the ability to evoke through the means of language, however, are. His dark, molasses-like voice in pieces like "Die Krähe" send a chill down the spine of any coherent listener.

The young Fischer-Dieskau may not have the advantage of years under his belt, but he has the unique gift of individualizing words. Of all the words sung in these 24 poems, while one listens to it, it feels as if no word is ever repeated. The ups and downs of this cycle are showcased by his vigorous colour shifts. Especially in the early songs of the journey, his occasional outbursts leave the listener nothing less than slightly disturbed. His unmatched clarity of tone and language creates a delicacy and subtleness that chills the listener like a ghost recalling these distant and painful memories. Instead of just presenting a dejected lover who has lost hope, he lets us into these poems in a way that makes US the lover, he finds his way into that small hidden place in us and forces us to feel.

Each artist has a stamp of uniqueness by the way they each end the final song. Fischer-Dieskau goes out with a bang and proclaims the final line, with a harsh fortitude, while Hotter fades away like the fine morning mist. What each means to a listener could be infinite, but I am not writing about the psychological implications of Schubert's view of the meaning of Müller's texts. It's about two documentations that one can experience to form their own comprehensions.

Of all the recordings that exist, these two fascinate me most. Other excellent variations are Gerhard Hüsch, Julius Patzak's, Peter Pears's (which uses the some of the original versions of Schubert's songs, before the revision), Matthias Goerne's live recording with Alfred Brendel, Christian Gerhaher's and Fischer-Dieskau's version from 1966 with Jörg Demus (Dietrich's favorite of all the versions he recorded). Some of them are in the original keys which gives them an intricacy that can be lost when transposed down.

Two other recordings of note: Christopher Maltman's latest Wigmore Hall performance with Graham Johnson. He has new transpositions that put the songs very high in the baritone voice so as to counter the original keys better that sit very high in the tenor voice. Also the Peter Harvey's recording with Gary Cooper. They perform on a period Pianoforte and in a period temperament, so it can occasionally sound lightly out of tune to our 21st century ear, but is probably closer to Schubert's sound world that the piece was written in.

Of the two that were discussed, if I had to choose one, I would choose Fischer-Dieskau's. I believe that it is the recording that set the new standard for all Lieder that has been performed and/or recorded since. I think it has more "life" and brings the listener into a more personal and intimate place. However, Hotter has a very unique way of making that original text shine through Schubert's music with a life of its own.

Two must have recordings for any fan of Lieder or art song.

-Christopher Michael Kelley