SCHUBERT
Schwanengesang. Auf dem Strom. Die Sterne
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Mark Padmore (ten); Paul Lewis (pn); Richard Watkins (hn)
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HARMONIA MUNDI HMU 907520 (67:23
Text and Translation)
Truthfulness is the element absolutely necessary for the journey of a Schubert song from the mouth of the singer to the ear, the brain, and finally the heart of the listener. Writing about her heroine in
Song of the Lark,
Willa Cather remarks, “Only the stupid believe that to be truthful is easy. Only the artist, the great artist knows how difficult it is.” Truth seems to be the wellspring of artists such as Karl Erb, Tiana Lemnitz, Robert Tear, and Thomas Allen, but ultimately it is not for us to know for certain that this is so. We only believe them—and that is a very simple matter. We spontaneously believe or disbelieve.
Although I don’t believe the gifted and scrupulously erudite Mark Padmore, it should be said that he has a rather pretty voice; his phrasing is graceful, his pitch accurate, his German elocution admirable if somewhat self-conscious, and for the most part his technique serves him well. However, it is difficult to believe a singer, or anyone else for that matter, when he is given to overstatement: In “Liebesbotschaft” one finds him a little too ardent, his tone a little too sweet, his phrasing a little too gracefully turned. “Das Fischermädchen’s” lilting accompaniment prompts him to lilt even more. He is a little too agile, a little too
grazioso,
and stretches the dotted notes into double dots, giving the youthful “Fischer” a pixie-like personality. “Der Doppelgänger” becomes melodramatic rather than dramatic. Heine and Schubert of course predate Freud, and though the scenario is grim and the emotions painful, it is not a histrionic psychological display. Padmore’s dramatic powers do not convince us we are hearing a warrior in “Kriegers Ahnung.” His exaggerated consonants and crooned
pianissimos
belie their intended effect and give in its place the impression of a fragile schoolboy imitating a grown man. “Der Atlas” is consistently oversung: The voice spins out of control; the tone becomes strident, the vibrato excessive; the song’s emotional power vanishes. The wanderer in “Aufenthalt” shrinks in stature to a petulant youth through the heavy application of word-painting, which is far too obvious to be effective.
Brausen
and
rauschen
are, after all, spelled with only one “r,” but from the outset of the entire work we have come to expect a tattoo of rolled “r’s” to accompany words such as these. We also come to expect the fashionable straight tone whenever
Tod
or
Ruh
occur in the text.
Pianist Paul Lewis seems to be the dominating presence in this enterprise, the underlying force in shaping the dramatic landscape of the whole cycle as well as its individual 14 components. His imaginative powers are considerable, and each song is exquisitely linked to the next by wonderfully played preludes and postludes, bringing to brilliant life the feelings, sights, and sounds of the text. The tremolos and arpeggios describing the city’s misty image in “Die Stadt” and the double-dotted chords that reflect the warrior’s foreboding of death in “Kriegers Ahnung” are especially fine, perhaps the finest I know. Lewis’s accompaniments move with an irresistible, almost forceful flow, carrying the singer on its current, often setting a dramatic tone his collaborator is not capable of matching. Perhaps the legendary Gerald Moore’s 16th notes in the introduction to “Liebesbotschaft” are more perfectly voiced in the Hans Hotter EMI recording, but Lewis is also a brilliant solo performer, and brings more to these accompaniments than accompanists usually do—including the porcelain-toned Gerald Moore!
As Hotter’s name has been mentioned, I would like to say that his recording of
Schwanengesang
speaks to me more deeply than any other. In contrast to Mark Padmore, Hotter’s expressiveness is carried mainly by vowels, that is, by his tone of voice, rather than exaggerated consonants. Hotter also never oversteps his vocal bounds. Furthermore, there is simplicity in his singing, a lack of extraneous decoration, although he observes the composer’s various musical suggestions. Consequently the beauty and meaning of Schubert’s great music is set free to speak for itself, rather than through a scholarly advocate. Finally, Hotter uses his magnificent voice to serve the music, whereas it seems to this listener that Padmore uses the music to serve himself. This might explain the random inclusion of
Die Sterne,
as it affords a perfect opportunity for the tenor to display many of his particular vocal and temperamental assets.
Auf dem Strom
is a pleasure to hear largely through the handsome tone of Richard Watkins and the flowing triplets of the accompaniment.
The technical aspect of this recording is superb, in keeping with the tradition of all Harmonia Mundi productions.
Raymond Beegle
