This Mahler CD from
Preiser Records brings two historic
recordings by top singers of their day.
The disc opens with the Lieder eines
fahrenden Gesellen – the "Songs
of a Wayfaring lad", a fairly conventional
tale of a grief-stricken lad wandering
in the hope of forgetting the agony
of love. These are performed by the
baritone Josef Metternich, who attained
fame as an opera singer, specialising
primarily in Italian roles, although
also venturing into Wagner and Strauss.
Leopold Ludwig, distinguished in particular
for his interpretations of German operatic
and symphonic works, here conducts the
Radio Symphonie Orchester Berlin most
admirably. It is not the most promising
of starts, unfortunately, as Metternich
growls and croaks his way through Wenn
mein Schatz Hochzeit macht, sounding
both rather rough and slightly dreary.
His voice comes to life in the next
song, Ging heut morgens uber’s Feld,
however, which is lively, sparkling
and quite sweet. His lovely, rich, dark
tone is here very appealing. The ensuing
Ich hab ein gluhend Messer shows
Metternich’s forte to be the dramatic
and wild songs for which his voice is
so suited. The song-cycle concludes
with Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem
Schatz, in which Metternich’s voice
is slightly strained on the higher notes
in the middle section of the song, yet
this lends a naivety that is not out
of place here, and doesn’t detract.
Des Knaben Wunderhorn
comprises the rest of the disc, with
Alfred Poell and Lorna Sydney. Poell
was another opera singer, who pursued
a successful international career whilst
remaining closely associated with the
Vienna State Opera. Sydney sang at Vienna
for much of her working life before
returning to her native Australia. The
conductor Felix Prohaska was also very
strongly tied to Vienna, the city of
his birth, where he conducted both opera
houses. The songs set folk poems which
depict childhood imagination and range
from military marches and nocturnes,
through tales of love and death to a
fantasy world of speaking animals. The
songs gave their name to the Wunderhorn
Symphonies (numbers 2, 3 and 4),
which are partly based upon Des Knaben
Wunderhorn. Poell commences with
Revelge. As with Metternich,
this opening song is a little disappointing.
It is slightly lack-lustre and spiritless,
particularly at the beginning. Given
that it is a song about a soldier who
dies, it is sung too smoothly and nicely,
and could do with more passion and harshness.
What does immediately strike one, however,
is the quality of the orchestra, which
is extremely good. Poell’s voice is
very heavy, dark and sombre, which makes
it perfect for songs such as Der
Tamboursg’sell, in which he is terribly
effective, but slightly less good at
certain points in Lied des Verfolgten
im Turm, where he needs a little
more lightness and spirit. In Lob
des hohen Verstandes his voice is
a bit too heavy for a song about a cuckoo.
Yet he attempts - and succeeds - in
injecting comic inflexions into the
latter with the he-hawing of the donkey,
which is most pleasing. In both this
song and Der Schildwache Nachtlied
he is slightly wobbly on higher notes.
Lorna Sydney is very
good. She creates an aptly sombre air
in the heart-rending Das irdische
Leben, and a beautifully rich tone
in Rheinlegendchen. She depicts
the scene well in the lively and lilting
Verlorne Muh, and is suitably
dramatic and evocative in both Des
Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt and
the most beautiful Urlicht (melancholic,
and deeply moving). Wo die schonen
Trompeten blasen is arguably the
most outstanding collaboration on this
disc between exquisite singing – tender
and sensitive yet powerful, with gorgeous
tones - and excellent playing from the
impressive and deeply sympathetic Wiener
Staatsopernorchester. Just listen to
the delicacy of the bird-imitating flutes
and oboes, and the transparency of the
muted horns – such empathic playing,
lush and romantic, as if each member
of the orchestra were deeply aware of
the every nuance of the singer and responded
accordingly.
The recorded sound
is not great – rather muffled throughout,
too closely miked in places, and there
is a terribly distracting and intrusive
squeaking, as if of a wheel, during
the first song on the disc, as well
as the occasional noise such as a loud
cough towards the end of the fourth
song. Yet this is to be expected, and,
to a certain extent, forgiven. The disc
has all the trade-marks of a historic
recording – the singers employ much
vibrato and portamento, are occasionally
inaccurate at hitting the right note
bang in the centre (especially the baritones
when it comes to the higher notes, where
we also find their voices rather strained
and a little wobbly).That said, the
orchestras are fantastic, the picture-painting
is remarkable and the singers evoke
the spirit of the songs brilliantly.
There are a myriad
versions of these works available –
ranging from Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
and Furtwängler (EMI), Schwarzkopf
conducted by Georg Szell, Barbirolli
with Janet Baker, Haitink with Jessye
Norman and Shirley-Quirk through to
Boult, Klemperer, Tennstedt, Masur (with
Siegfried Lorenz) and Neeme Järvi.
Each of these recordings has things
to recommend it, yet this disc is a
worthy competitor – and something of
a pioneering recording - and would be
worth getting for Wo die schonen
Trompeten blasen alone!
Em Marshall
Josef Metternich (baritone), Radio Symphonie Orchester
Berlin/Leopold Ludwig (Lieder eines fahrenden
Gesellen) 
