What a pleasure it is to see these discs encased in a smart,
sturdy cardboard box, along with a chunky booklet. Clearly, Challenge
Classics put a premium on presentation, and that includes opting
for a high-res recording. A risky strategy, you might think,
given that SACDs make up a small fraction of total disc sales,
but perhaps that’s what we need in a business dominated
by endless reissues and a dash to downsized downloads. The highly
regarded tenor Christoph Prégardien continues this theme
of quality with a well-chosen recital, spread - rather extravagantly
- over two discs. He is joined by Michael Gees, theatre owner,
composer, soloist and accompanist, who partnered him in an earlier
Challenge recording of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin (CC72292).
The recital begins - appropriately enough - with an invitation
to death in Bach’s ‘Komm, süßer Tod’,
which Prégardien sings with plenty of feeling and the
loveliest of vocal lines. Gees’s Baroque embellishments
are a delight too, both artists recorded in a warm, intimate
acoustic. The CD and SACD layers are fabulous, the latter adding
a burnished glow to the piano sound. In Mahler’s ‘Urlicht’ Prégardien’s ‘O
Röschen rot’ is achingly beautiful - what extraordinary
control of breath and phrase - Gees handling the song’s
changing metre with aplomb. As for the existential musings of Schwanengesang -
not the posthumous collection but the earlier song - Prégardien
darkens his voice most effectively, yet brings real radiance
to the closing lines.
What a promising start this is, Gees going on to make the most
of Schumann’s burbling accompaniment in ‘Stirb, Lieb’ und
Freud!’, his partner light-toned and supple throughout.
I particularly admire the cool elegance of Prégardien’s
higher register, unmarked by any hint of beat or strain. But
for a real sense of ecstasy Schubert’s ‘Auflösung’ (Dissolution)
is rather special. Listening to Dame Janet Baker and Gerald Moore
in this song (EMI 7243 5 69389 2) one is constantly reminded
of Schubert’s instrumental and vocal genius, as indeed
one is with Prégardien and Gees. The latter’s playing
is every bit as fluent as Moore’s, Prégardien singing
with barely suppressed joy and anticipation.
Evening has always been a powerful metaphor for life’s
passing - Richard Strauss’s lovely setting of Eichendorff’s Im
Abendrot comes to mind - and so it is with Mozart’s ‘Abendempfindung’.
Once again I had to marvel at the naturalness of this recording,
both in terms of overall sound and perspectives. Every nuance
and shift of Prégardien’s finely calibrated singing
is revealed here, Gees the most discreet of accompanists. The
two richly hued Brahms settings are no less beguiling, and I’m
delighted that this singer isn’t tempted to swoop and swoon
in ‘Feldeinsamkeit’. The restless nocturnal wanderings
of ‘Wie rafft’ ich mich auf’ call for a more
declamatory style that can expose any steel or unsteadiness in
the voice, but again Prégardien just breezes through.
The final items on the first disc include Schubert contemporary
Carl Loewe’s setting of the rather grim little piece, ‘Edward’.
The simple, folk-like melodies and larger-than-life vocal style
are well managed, this cautionary tale told with all the relish
these artists can muster. All credit to them for preparing such
an imaginative and varied programme, each item a welcome contrast
to what has gone before. And what better way to conclude than
with Max’s recitative and aria from Der Freischütz?
There is a wonderful internal contrast here, with bold writing
that soon modulating between music of human warmth and supernatural
chill. Gees makes the most of this spooky scene, the piano upfront
but never overbearing. Prégardien seems to be enjoying
himself too, although I do prefer it when he sings music that’s
more inward and lyrical, as that shows how finely honed his voice
really is, how alive he is to the subtleties of mood and characterisation.
Nowhere is the latter more evident than in Hugo Wolf’s ‘Denk’ es,
o Seele!’ which opens disc two. The spare accompaniment
underpins a bleak vocal part, Prégardien singing with
admirable directness, his voice pared of all sentiment. But it’s
the two Schubert settings, ‘Der Jüngling und der Tod’ and ‘Der
Tod und das Mädchen’, that add a much more personal,
intimate dimension to the poet’s dark musings. Prégardien
is wonderfully poised, especially in the second song, Gees all
but stealing the show with his lovely, pellucid playing. Moore
has always seemed unassailable in this repertoire, but I’d
say Gees is just as accomplished when it comes to natural, unaffected
playing and a keen ear for Schubert’s subtle rhythms and
melodic interplay.
Wolf’s ‘Anakreons Grab’ and ‘Das Ständchen’ are
different again, pianist and singer at home with the dark harmonies
of the graveside and the lighter, mercurial music of the serenade
that follows. Mercurial is certainly an apt description for the
little Mendelssohn piece, sung and played with great animation.
As for Loewe’s earl king, most listeners will probably
be more familiar with Schubert’s masterly setting of Goethe’s
awful tale. True, Loewe can’t quite match the latter for
sheer intensity and dramatic thrust, but Prégardien conveys
the father’s mounting anxiety and the child’s distress
most chillingly.
But then he really is an intelligent and resourceful vocalist,
able to colour, shade and project his voice without resorting
to irritating mannerisms or crude artifice. That said, I didn’t
care for his Lensky, ardent though it is, simply because the
vocal style is too lieder-like for my tastes. Of the two
Mahler settings ‘Revelge’ is the one that always
reminds me of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in his classic EMI account
of Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Szell and Schwarzkopf. Prégardien
isn’t a baritone but what he lacks in heft he makes up
for in the precision and perkiness of his delivery. Gees does
a splendid job with the song’s trumpet sounds and martial
rhythms; he is also most evocative in the quiet prelude to Mahler’s
great ‘signature’ piece, ‘Ich bin der Welt
abhanden gekommen’. At times Prégardien’s
voice takes on a Pears-like lyricism, especially in those higher,
more sustained passages. Deeply affecting, and a lovely coda
to a most memorable collection.
It’s been a while since I’ve heard lieder singing
of this quality. Add to that a first-rate recording, well-written
liner notes and top-drawer presentation and you have a set that
can easily take its place alongside the great collections both
past and present. True, it may seem short measure - around 45
minutes per disc - but really it’s quality and not quantity
that counts here. Indeed, if one were in the business of handing
out stars for artistic and technical merit this set would easily
be a 10/10. Yes, it really is that good.
Dan Morgan
Track listing
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) ‘Komm,
süßer Tod’ BWV 478 from Schemelli Liederbuch (1736)
[4:13]
Gustav MAHLER (1860-1911) ‘Urlicht’ from Symphony
No. 2 (1888-1894) [4:42]
Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) ‘Schwanengesang’ D744 (?1822)
[2:28]
Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856) ‘Stirb, Lieb’ und
Freud!’ from 12 Gedichte Op. 35 No. 2 (1840) [4:46]
Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) ‘Auflösung’ D807
(1824) [2:22]
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) ‘Abendempfindung’ KV523
(1787) [4:41]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) ‘Feldeinsamkeit’ from 6
Lieder Op. 86 No. 2 (?1879) [3:25]; ‘Wie rafft’ ich
mich auf’ from 9 Lieder und Gesänge Op. 32
No. 1 (1864) [3:40]
Carl LOEWE (1796-1869) ‘Edward’ from 3
Ballads Op. 1 No. 1 [4:44]
Carl Maria von WEBER (1786-1826) ‘Nein, länger
trag’ ich nicht die Qualen’ and ‘Durch die
Wälder durch die Auen’ from Der Freischütz (1821)
[6:45]
Hugo WOLF (1860-1903) ‘Denk’ es, o
Seele!’ from Mörike-Lieder No. 39 (1888) [2:41]
Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) ‘Der Jüngling
und der Tod’ D545 (1817) [3:09]; ‘Der Tod und das
Mädchen’ D531 (1817) [2:12]
Hugo WOLF (1860-1903) ‘Anakreons Grab’ from Goethe-Lieder No.
29 (1888) [2:38]; ‘Das Ständchen’ from Eichendorff-Lieder No.
4 (1888) [2:28]
Felix MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (1809-1847) ‘Neue
Liebe’ from 6 Lieder Op.19:4 (1833) [1:51]
Carl LOEWE (1796-1869) ‘Erlkönig’ from 3
Ballads Op. 1 No. 3 (1824) [3:26]
Hugo WOLF (1860-1903) ‘Dereinst, Gedanke
mein’ from Spanisches Liederbuch: Weltliche Lieder No.
22 (1889) [2:29]
Pyotr Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) Lensky's
Aria from Eugene Onegin Op. 24 (1877-1878) [5:28]
Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) ‘Kriegers Ahnung’ from Schwanengesang D957
(1828) [5:01]
Gustav MAHLER (1860-1911) ‘Revelge’ from Des
Knaben Wunderhorn (1892-1898) [6:23]; ‘Ich bin der
Welt abhanden gekommen’ from Fünf Rückertlieder No.
4 (1901-1902) [6:59]
Christoph Prégardien (tenor) 
[41:50
+ 44:47] 
