Mozart, Schubert:  Werner Güra (tenor), Christoph Berner (piano) Wigmore Hall, London 28.02.2007 (AO)
 

William Lyne’s endorsement of Werner Güra on his first appearance at the Wigmore Hall was so enthusiastic that audience expectations were extremely high.   Perhaps Güra himself felt the pressure, as he seemed to over-compensate any anxieties by being “too” relaxed and genial. Many critics trashed him. Evidently they don’t like either intense or non-intense singing! Some in the audience could, however, sense that there was more to him than that one performance might imply.  Beneath the affable charm, there also lurked sound technique.  This performance, only five years later, demonstrates that Lyne had a point. Güra is good, though don’t expect pyrotechnics.

He’s a natural stage animal, the fluidity of his body movements enhancing his singing.  Naturally, he has a flourishing career in opera.  Thus he started the recital with six songs by Mozart.  His delivery was pleasant enough, but with Das Vielchen, he sang with heartfelt engagement.  This piece is more than a “Lied” in the sense of simple sing, but harks towards what we know as “Lieder” with more sophisticated musical variation. 

Güra’s recording of Die Schöne Müllerin was highly praised.  At first, I wasn’t much impressed but on repeated hearings, his understated style grew on me, and I’ve come to value it highly.  Another example of being careful about first impressions! So hearing his Schwanengesang was worthwhile.   With maturity, Güra’s deepened his interpretations.  He leapt into Liebesbotschaft with firm attack.  This time, the “rauschendes Bächlein” (murmuring brook) really is benevolent, and the vigorous approach matched the pounding rhythms in the accompaniment.  The emotional and musical transitions in Krieger’s Ahnung were clearly defined.  Güra has been thinking about the structure of the song, carefully observing its internal patterns.  For example, he adapts the pauses between words to create a sense of anticipation, which gradually leads into an expansive denouement on “Herzliebsten” where tension is released, just before the final “Gute Nacht!”

He shows similar depth in Der Atlas and Doppelgänger, neither song easy territory for a lighter voice.  By softly shaping the phrases in the latter song, and emphasizing the deeper vowel sounds, he evoked the sensuality which underpins the eerie mood.  “Still is die Nacht”, he sings, pauses slightly, and then “Es ruhen die Gassen.  In diesen Haus wohnte mein Schatz”.  It’s interesting hear “Schatz” (sweetheart) spat out with such bitterness.   Some singers make the climactic last verse, where the poet addresses “Du Doppelgänger” truly chilling, but here the effect was more diffuse.

Güra’s strengths lie in his essentially lyric style.  He’s in his natural element with more graceful songs like Ständchen.  The lilting rhythms in the first verse were deftly floated.  When the poet tells his lover not to fear the “Verräters fiendlich Lauschen” (eavesdropping enemies), Güra deepens his tone to express reassuring intimacy. He returns to the gentle, rocking ebb and flow of the last verse literally “quivering” as it says in the translation, before the lovely last line, “Komm! beglücke mich !”    

Accompanying a singer whose characteristics are elegance and lightness of touch requires quite different skills to, say, accompanying one whose natural style is more intense.  Berner is a very good pianist, but a little too dominant and individual.  This worked well enough in the Mozart songs where the balance is more in favour of the piano, the voice part almost an accompaniment.  In the Schubert songs, the piano comments on and emphasizes the voice.  At times, Berner’s playing was more adamant than suited Güra’s more lyrical style, but he was conscientious enough to adapt his playing to bring it in line.  In the purely piano parts, you can hear that Berner is a good soloist. 

Five years ago, I thought that Güra needed more steel in his soul to reach his full potential.  Just as you need grit to make a pearl, you need depth to sing Lieder.   I’m glad to say that he does seem to have found that inner strength and blended it well with his gift for lyricism.    His new recording of Schwanengesang, accompanied by Berner, is out in the shops on 5th March.

Anne Ozorio