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Franz SCHUBERT (1897–1828) Schubert-Lied-Edition: 28 - Schubert’s Friends,
Vol. 3 1. Fischerweise, D.881 [2:58] 2. Des Sängers Habe, D.832 [2:53] 3. Totengräber-Weise, D.869 [5:44] 4. Geheimnis, D.491[2:29] 5. Einsamkeit, D.620 [17:38] 6. Nach einem Gewitter, D.561 [2:23] 7. Abschied, D.475 [4:23] 8. Der zürnenden Diana, D.707 [4:55] 9. Nachtstück, Op. 36, No. 2, D.672 [4:37] 10. Herrn Josef Spaun, Assessor in Linz, D.749
[4:48] 11. Der Jüngling auf dem Hügel, D.702 [5:05] 12. Der Zwerg, Op. 22, No. 1, D.771 [5:11] 13. Abschied, D.578 [2:31] 14. Selige Welt, D.743 [0:59] 15. Schwanengesang, D.744 [2:48]
Rainer Trost (tenor); Ulrich Eisenlohr (piano)
rec. Radiostudio Zurich, DRS, Zurich, Switzerland, 24-27 April 2007
The sung texts and English translations can be found at www.naxos.com/libretti/557567.htm NAXOS 8.557567
[69:20]
A couple of the songs here are among the more frequently performed
ones and they invite comparison. I have never heard Rainer Trost
as Lieder singer but know him well in other capacities. On disc
he was a splendid Camille on Gardiner’s Die lustige Witwe
almost fifteen years ago and I have heard him as a leading Mozart
singer. All of this is an excellent background for success in
Lieder, where lyrical warmth and ability to express nuance are
essential. The first track, Fischerweise, introduces him
as a rather powerful singer but also an elegant and sensitive
one. His voice has bite and character which makes him stand out
from a lot of able but rather pale competitors. His approach is
vivacious and fresh and his enunciation is clear. His phrasing
is musical and flexible to the texts but he has a tendency to
overstress isolated words or syllables. He sets them in extra
bold type instead of italics. This description is somewhat
exaggerated, maybe, and it is far from a common feature but every
now and then it is noticeable. The overriding impression is, however,
of an expressive, well articulated and sensitive singer with a
generally beautiful voice. He is capable of dramatic singing,
though there are places where he overtaxes his basically lyric
tenor. The almost operatically dramatic Herrn Josef Spaun,
Assessor in Linz (tr. 10) is such a case, another one is Der
Zwerg (tr. 12), once impressively recorded on a Telefunken
LP by a splendid Mozart singer of an earlier generation, Werner
Hollweg. Rainer Trost’s reading of this dramatic, bleak and sad
song is fully up to the requirements and has the listener spellbound
until the bitter end. He also shows impressive stamina in the
demanding Der zürnenden Diana, where there is hardly any
point of rest for singer or the pianist.
There are two songs
entitled Abschied, D.475 a setting of words by his friend
Mayrhofer, D.578 to a text by himself. Both songs are melancholy
but beautiful and Trost is at his lyrical best here. The final
two songs are settings of texts by Johann Senn, another friend,
who was sent to prison for fourteen months and then banished
to the Tyrol. Schubert was never to see him again and the death
symbolism of Schwanengesang (tr. 15) – nothing to do
with the group of songs published after Schubert’s death – may
well be ‘a metaphor for the enforced silence of his exiled friend’
as Ulrich Eisenlohr puts it in his notes. The song as such is
a captivating farewell.
The most remarkable
work on this disc is however Einsamkeit D.620 (tr. 5),
lasting for almost 18 minutes and in effect a song cycle in
six sections, variable in moods but still coherent. It has a
very active piano part and calls for dramatic singing, sometimes
in recitative style, as well as intimate lyrical moments. Schubert
thought very highly about it, writing: ‘… the best thing I have
done so far.’ This was in 1818, five years before he composed
Die schöne Müllerin, and a possible influence may have
beenBeethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte. It is
certainly a bold composition and Eisenlohr and Trost give it
an involved and concentrated performance. The tenor sings with
a glow and a plangent tone that recalls Fritz Wunderlich. My
only previous version of it is a wartime radio recording issued
on a pair of Acanta LPs, coupled with Die Winterreise
and sung by Peter Anders. Anders, who started as a lyric tenor,
was already moving into heavier roles in the 1940s and was an
important Walther in the 1950s. His reading is even stronger
than Trost’s, who pushes his beautiful voice too much in some
of the climaxes, whereas Anders expands with Heldentenor sheen.
Trost is however a sensitive interpreter and this extraordinary
work would by itself make the disc desirable.
Good recording and
excellent notes. Schubert lovers should find a lot to admire
on this disc.
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