FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Die schöne Müllerin,
D795.
Christian Elsner (tenor);
Ulrich Eisenlohr (piano).
Naxos 8.554664 [DDD]
[63'35]
Crotchet
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This is the fifth volume of Naxos' 'Deutsche Schubert-Lied Edition', a
super-budget competitor to Graham Johnson's exemplary series on Hyperion.
The parallel can even be made as regards documentation - Karsten Bartel's
notes are substantially longer than Naxos' norm, and the texts and translations
usefully include annotations as to textual omissions within poems, as well
as texts from Müller's original that Schubert chose not to set. But
at the point one actually listens to the disc, the comparison with Hyperion's
high-class achievement evaporates. The roller-coaster emotional ride of
'Schöne Müllerin' is severely blunted: for example, there is little
detectable sense of elation at the crucial song, 'Mein!' (the turning point
of the cycle). Rather the listener is aware of Elsner's struggling technique,
particularly his careful negotiation of slurs, as if they lie beyond his
technical capabilities.
This is only one example of many. The plodding, heavy piano introduction
to the first song, 'Das Wandern' is the antithesis of the purposeful, hearty
stride it represents. The rapt repetitions of 'Pause' degenerate into literal
repeats and the protagonist seems barely perturbed by his adversary, the
hunter (in 'Der Jäger'), much less thrown into jealous angst. Elsner
seems to have spent so much time on his diction (generally excellent) that
everything else in the interpretation suffers. The irony is that both singer
and pianist achieve the requisite stillness of the nineteenth song, 'Der
Müller und der Bach', but by then it's all too little too late. As if
the effort exhausted them, the final magical 'Des Baches Wiegenlied' reverts
to the uninspired norm of this reading and (for the first time in my experience
of this work) seems over-long. The recording needs further depth - as it
is, it highlights the shortcomings of this issue.
There are so many alternatives of this work which go to the heart of this
song-cycle that any recommendation whatsoever is precluded. Try Fritz Wunderlich
and Hubert Giesen on DG The Originals
447
452-2, or any of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's accounts.
Reviewer
Colin Clarke
Performance
Recording
For reviews of other releases in this series,
see the Naxos
Deutsche Schubert-Lied Edition page
