Gerald Finley gives us a very particular interpretation of Schumann’s
songs; namely weighty and serious. Finley’s voice is very
beautiful and he is capable of encompassing a huge variety of
styles and tone. Here he is primarily deep and authoritative,
but this carries its own benefits. He conveys a world of emotion
through small variations in tone and timbre and has a repeated
ability to send a chill down the spine or to inflect a phrase
so as to suggest hitherto unsuspected meaning.
You see all of this at work in his interpretation of the Eichendorff
Liederkreis (Op. 39), and it’s interesting to compare
his approach to that of his recent Hans
Sachs which benefited from lightness of touch. Here the
opposite is true: he brings weight and depth to these songs
which some may think weighs them down a little too much. However,
you can’t argue with the power that he brings to songs
like Auf einer Burg or Wehmut. It also allows
him to bring a new dimension to songs like In der Fremde
(No. 8) or Im Walde: these seem to tread the line between
seriousness and levity, but Finley leads us more quickly to
the serious conclusion that the composer makes obvious only
in the final lines. Not everything is at this level of seriousness,
though. Die Stille is tripping and flighty in its take
on child-like happiness, helped enormously by Drake’s
well tailored accompaniment. The beautiful stillness of Mondnacht
(“perhaps the world’s loveliest vocal nocturne”,
according to Richard Wigmore in the booklet notes) is to die
for; Finley tapers down his voice to a near whisper at times,
growing in strength as the song progresses, while Drake surrounds
him with repetitive chords that are almost hypnotic in their
magic. Schöne fremde builds gloriously, and
the ebullient bliss of Frühlingsnacht will win over
all but the most cynical of listeners.
The Heine cycle, Op. 24, is just as varied and as effective.
The two opening songs find Schumann (and Finley) in outgoing
mood, but Finley’s dark, silken voice is perfect for the
sentiments of lost love found in the third song, while Drake’s
highly sensitive accompaniment seems to circle around the vocal
line without ever quite meeting it. Likewise, the restless,
trembling piano line in Schöne Weige meiner Leiden
is a brilliant illustrative accompaniment to the poet’s
aching sentiments of farewell. The seriousness of Finley’s
voice helps to lend extra weight to the sentiment of songs like
Berg’ und Burgen, and it brings remarkable intensity
to the brief, but extremely powerful subsequent song Anfangs
wollt’ ich. Mit Myrthen und Rosen encompasses
both the poet’s intensity and the musician’s optimism,
Finley and Drake summoning up the heights of their artistry
in a performance that is reflective and ambiguous, setting the
seal on the whole disc.
The Sechs Gedichte aus dem Liederbuch eines Malers (Six
poems from the songbook of a painter) were a discovery to me.
They’re certainly not as famous as the two Liederkreis
sets, but I found them delightful. The booklet notes go out
of their way to point out the poor quality of the poetry, but
there’s something endearingly whimsical about them, and
Schumann’s music elevates them to something special. Sonntags
am Rhein combines optimistic patriotism with the tone of
a hymn, while Ständchen and Nichts Schöneres
are lovely odes to Clara: the cycle was composed when Robert
and Clara’s marriage was all but certain. An dem Sonnenschein
is light-hearted nature painting, while Dichters Genesung
is a bustling, light-hearted song about the queen of the elves,
which ends much more merrily than most supernatural encounters.
The culmination of the cycle, Liebesbotschaft, is a solemn,
serious message of love, which finds Finley a little stretched
on the top note on which the movement inexorably peaks, but
it’s still a lovely performance of a very fine song.
Finley’s tone may not appeal to everyone in this release,
and some will want more variety of sound. He perhaps lacks the
universal expressiveness of Fischer-Dieskau or the breezy lightness
of Olaf Bär, still my overall preference for the two Liederkreis
settings, but he brings a weight and intensity that is all his
own. The recorded sound is lovely, though some may think it
captures Finley a little too closely to the detriment of the
piano sound.
Simon Thompson
see also review by John
Quinn
Gerald Finley (baritone) 