Last autumn I warmly
welcomed an excellent Winterreise by these same artists.
That particular recording was a very welcome follow-up to a
live performance that I’d reviewed
at the 2008 Cheltenham International Festival. At the same Festival,
which featured performances of all three Schubert song-cycles,
Paul Lewis had taken part in a performance of Die schöne
Müllerin (review).
On that occasion he partnered the young English tenor, Allan
Clayton. Now, as the second instalment of their project to record
the three cycles for Harmonia Mundi, Lewis and Mark Padmore
have taken into the studio their interpretation of Schubert’s
first Wilhelm Müller cycle.
Around the time of making this recording Mark Padmore and Paul
Lewis performed the cycle at the Wigmore Hall. Mark Berry, who
reviewed
the recital, found a good deal to admire in Padmore’s singing
but also expressed some reservations, noting a rather limited
range of tone. For Paul Lewis’s contribution at the piano he
had nothing but praise. Though I remembered reading Mark’s review
at the time – and thinking that a recording must surely be in
the offing – I deliberately refrained from revisiting it until
I’d completed my appraisal of this disc. I’m not surprised to
find that we’re at one in our approval of Paul Lewis’s contribution.
I also agree with Mark’s positive points about Mark Padmore,
not least his narrative skills and the clarity of his words.
I can see what he means about the English tenor tone. I must
say this wasn’t such an issue for me but other listeners may
come down on Mark’s side of the discussion so intending purchasers
would be advised to read his comments as well as mine.
I’ll declare straightaway that I found this to be a very impressive
traversal of Die schöne Müllerin. Both artists display
consistent intelligence and musicality and it’s evident that
they identify strongly with Schubert’s music. Padmore’s singing
provides a constant source of pleasure. His tone is light for
the most part – which I think is appropriate to a set of songs
about a young man – but he can deploy a touch of steel and some
tonal weight when required. His diction is exemplary and so
far as I could tell his German is excellent. I’m not a German
speaker but I recall that when I heard him sing Winterreise
at Cheltenham in 2008 I fell into conversation with a lady
afterwards who was a native German speaker and who commented
favourably on his German.
As for Paul Lewis, his contribution is marvellous. He is truly
sensitive both to the music and to the needs of the singer and
he forms a real partnership with Padmore: he is no “mere” accompanist.
My listening notes contain a large number of comments about
particularly pleasing features in the piano part. Indeed, he
impresses right at the very start with the sturdy vigour that
he brings to ‘Das Wandern’. In ‘Wohin?’ the rippling piano figurations
are beautifully placed. Later on, in ‘Morgengruss’ he voices
perfectly the pianist’s repetition of the singer’s melody in
the last line of each stanza. His touch in ‘Der Neugierige’
is delightfully subtle while his driving playing gives great
impetus to ‘Der Jäger’.
But no matter how skilful the pianism, a performance of Die
schöne Müllerin stands or falls by the quality of the singing
and, in my opinion, Mark Padmore really delivers. In the early
part of the cycle he is successful in depicting the naïve, eager
youth. His legato phrasing in ‘Wohin?’ is excellent, as is also
the case in ‘Danksagung an den Bach’, in which there are some
beautifully produced soft high notes to savour. In the following
song, ‘Am Feierabend’ he evinces ardour and determination in
the first stanza and, when that music is reprised, he introduces
a note of desperation. In between, in the central section of
the song, I especially admired the lovely quiet high note on
the word “allen”.
‘Morgengruss’ is a splendid strophic lied and Padmore
does it extremely well, not least in conveying the longing in
the last line of each stanza. As the cycle unfolds I like the
exhilaration he brings to ‘Mein!’, mistakenly believing that
he’s won the affections of the Miller’s daughter. In ‘Der Jäger’
his articulation of the words is biting. He takes the song at
a properly fast tempo but, unlike James Gilchrist in a recording
that I reviewed
recently, there’s never any feeling that the words are snatched:
Padmore gives himself enough space. The tone he strikes in ‘Die
liebe Farbe’ is plaintive and regretful while in ‘Die böse Farbe’
the listener can sense the youth thrashing around in uncertainty
and despair.
As the cycle reaches its tragic dénouement both artists
rise to the moment. Lewis plays with great sensitivity in ‘Trockne
Blumen’. The textures in this song are very spare; Schubert
uses limited means to get the poignant message across. As he’s
done so often in the preceding songs, Padmore displays expert
control, reducing to half-voice at times. It’s an intimate,
confiding reading from both musicians. At “Und wenn sie wandelt”
the mood changes, becoming more intense and Padmore excels here.
In ‘Der Müller und der Bach’ Padmore conveys the pathos of the
young man’s stanzas but warms his tone suitably for the stanzas
in which the brook replies. In this song the top of his voice
is free and easy – but that’s a comment I could have made about
almost any of the twenty songs in the cycle. Finally ‘Des Baches
Wiegenlied’ is gently consoling. The pace is easeful and both
singer and pianist sustain the musical line expertly in a touching
conclusion to their fine performance.
This CD is a worthy successor to these performers’ persuasive
account of Winterreise. Mark Padmore’s voice and his
way with these fresh and eloquent songs is very much to my taste
and his excellent singing is enhanced greatly by the presence
of so perceptive a partner as Paul Lewis. Though there are many
excellent versions of Die schöne Müllerin in the catalogue
those who share my preference for a tenor in these songs should
most definitely hear this CD. The recorded sound is excellent
and the booklet is very good and is clearly printed.
I believe that Mark Padmore and Paul Lewis are to record Schwanengesang
in the near future. I eagerly await the release of that disc
in 2011.
John Quinn
Mark Padmore (tenor); Paul Lewis (piano) 
