Sibylla Rubens has
previously made some fine Bach recordings,
especially among the cantatas, but in
this recital she is able to take a more
centre-stage position in her own right.
She offers an interesting programme
of Mozart, Schubert, and the latter’s
friend Hüttenbrenner.
The highlight of the
disc is the quite wonderful selection
of lieder by Schubert. The chosen songs
suit Rubens’s voice to perfection, and
she is marvelously supported by the
accompaniments of the experienced Irwin
Gage. In this group of songs superlatives
abound, and to single any particular
performances out seems invidious. For
example, the famous An Sylvia (TRACK
11: 0.00) is delectable, so too the
three versions of Ellens Gesang (version
I, TRACK 12: 0.00), taken from Sir Walter
Scott’s The Lady of the Lake. Then come
the settings of Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister,
the Mignon songs, some of the finest
vocal pieces Schubert ever composed.
And that is certainly how they sound
here.
If this is probably
the best music among the collection,
the Mozart songs are most appealing
too. It is interesting how different
the voice sounds in these pieces. It
is much lighter in timbre, as though
Rubens has reinvented herself; or perhaps
it is simply the natural response of
her artistry to the music. If there
is a highlight among this collection,
it is perhaps the short but beautifully
judged song, Als Luise die Briefe (TRACK
6: 0.00), about the distraught girl
who destroys her love letters.
As for Anselm Hüttenbrenner,
his songs hardly reveal a neglected
genius, though they are well worth hearing,
and all praise for the decision to include
them as the ‘extras’ in this recital.
They are all nicely judged, and here
as elsewhere Irwin Gage lends his sensitive
support to Sibylla Rubens, an artist
of whom more and more should be heard.
If the recital is worthy
of the highest praise, and the quality
of the recording too, the policies of
Hänssler Classics’ editorial team
set altogether lower standards. Having
decided to go for German and English
texts in the thorough and useful supporting
notes, why on earth print only the German
texts with no translations. The expression
that comes to mind is ‘spoiling the
ship for the ha’peth of tar’. Nor is
it the first time that this company
has been guilty of such poor judgement
in this department.
Terry Barfoot