Franz Schubert: Lieder, Vol. 3

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Music reviews of Franz Schubert: Lieder, Vol. 3

Music Review: PERFECTION
Rating: 5 Stars

The essence of Lieder is that the voice and the piano should be equal partners. The piano part is not mere accompaniment to the song, but carries a fair share of the meaning. Similarly the voice has to extract the full dramatic meaning from the lyric (easier in some cases than in others). Good lieder thus calls for an almost telepathic rapport between a singer and a pianist both of outstanding range and sensitivity.

Fischer-Dieskau and Moore are certainly the greatest exponents of their generation, perhaps of all time. Not only were their gifts extraordinary, but they were there at the right moment: they were the leading interpreters of lieder at the point in history when the studio recording was first overtaking concert performance as the principal medium through which music reached the masses. In consequence, whether or not these particular performers were "better" than any other in history is academic; to an unprecedented and unsurpassed extent they double-handedly defined the art of lieder.

This boxed set is part of a survey of nearly all the Schubert lieder suitable for male voice, recorded when both men were at their peak. It is impossible to do justice in words to the sheer, inexhaustible depth of beauty and emotion in this work.

The three song cycles: Die Schone Mullerin (The Miller's Beautiful Daughter); Winterreise (Winter Journey) and Schwanengesang (Swan Song) do not necessarily contain a concentration of Schubert's best settings. However, the first two titles show off the performers' craft to particularly wonderful effect, simply because their narrative thread makes particularly gruelling demands on their sense of mood and pacing.

Schwanengesang is not a true song-cycle - it represents a collection of unconnected settings put together posthumously by Schubert's publisher. However, unlike the unmitigated gloom of the two earlier works, Schwanengesang boasts an astonishing range of emotions from the dread of Kriegers Ahnung (Warrior's Foreboding) to the despair of Doppelganger (it means what it says) to the frivolous joy of Taubenpost (Pigeon Post).

This is earth-shatteringly beautiful music, flawless technical perfection and concentrated emotional dynamite. It's also an acquired taste, so don't take the risk without hearing a few samples first. But on the other hand, don't dismiss it after just one quick listen. Work at it as I had to - the pay-off is unequalled in the world of music.

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