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Schubert: Schwanengesang / Rutherford, Asti
BIS

Schubert: Schwanengesang / Rutherford, Asti

$21.99

Details

Composer
SCHUBERT, FRANZ
Artist
Asti, Rutherford
Format
SACD
Label
BIS
Released
May 13, 2016
Catalog #
BIS-2180
UPC
7318599921808

About

Schubert’s Schwanengesang here contains an extra song, Herbst D945. That song was not published as part of the posthumous compilation that Haslinger brought out and called “Swan Song”, but is another Rellstab setting from Schubert’s last year, as are the first seven songs of the original publication. Herbst was lost at that stage, as the only copy was written into a friend’s autograph album, and not rediscovered until the end of the 19th century. It might even have been a try-out for Aufenthalt which sits fifth in the published sequence, and which it resembles. Herbst follows that song on this disc, since as the baritone claims in the booklet “it is sometimes included in performance.” I don’t think it matters very much, but I have a slight preference for the cycle as it was first published. As Martin Chusid observes in his fine book on the cycle, “Whereas Herbst is a very good song, Aufenthalt is superb.”

That is not the only point of textual interest in this Schwanengesang. In preparing the work baritone James Rutherford and pianist Eugene Asti had to decide what keys to put these (originally high voice) songs in, and decided to put every song down a minor third, preserving the key relations at least. They even claim this might be the first time on disc this has been done (but one would need to listen to an awful lot of recordings to be quite sure). Of course this deepens and darkens the songs, which suits some more than others, the heavier songs like Der Atlas and Die Stadt tending to sound very imposing in these keys. And although BIS describe Rutherford as a baritone, he sounds more of a bass-baritone here. But then he has sung Hans Sachs at Bayreuth and Vienna, and the cast list in my score of Die Meistersinger says simply “Hans Sachs – Bass”.

The opening song Liebesbotschaft lacks a certain tripping lightness, but the next one Kreigers Ahnung suits Rutherford’s very fine voice perfectly, and one notices his impeccable German diction from the start. The third song, Frühlingssehnsucht shows that his large voice can deploy a lighter manner, and he really relishes the text. Ständchen, is the best known of all these songs and benefits here from a restrained but still ardent treatment. Following Aufenthalt with Herbst feels slightly like viewing a sketch after the finished painting, but both songs are so well done it seems churlish to complain. With the long (six minutes), slow and anguished In der Ferne the low voice makes its mark, as does the pianist in Abschied, with just the right tempo - a canter, not a gallop, that allows the singer to articulate the text. The performance of the Heine songs in the second part are if anything even more successful than the Rellstab ones, reaching a powerful climax with the rising hysteria of Der Dopplegänger. A properly charming account of the last song Schubert ever wrote, Die Taubenpost, closes a very satisfying version of Schwanengesang.

The four extra songs filling the disc are all favourites, and all are well sung and played. The SACD sound is excellent, and the useful booklet notes are by the distinguished American Schubert scholar Susan Youens, no less. But of course Schwanengesang is the main thing, and there are many fine accounts to choose from. If you want Herbst embedded in the cycle, and in a really fine performance, then it is included by Goerne in both of his splendid versions (Decca and Harmonia Mundi), and by Schreier (Decca), but Fischer-Dieskau (DG), Bostridge (Warner), and Gerhaher (Arte Nova) omit it. Of the few women to record the cycle, Fassbaender (DG) has it in but Stutzman (Erato) does not. The best solution might be that of Holzmair (Decca) and Pregardien (Challenge) who add it to the CD as an extra, but not within the cycle, which also happens on the last volume (No.37) of the Hyperion/Graham Johnson version. That has the two parts of the cycle shared between two tenors, John Mark Ainsley and Anthony Rolfe Johnson. There are now so many good recordings of this cycle – all of those mentioned above are worth hearing, and several are worth owning. Goerne on Decca (live, with Brendel) is still my choice of the lower voice options, and Bostridge among the tenors. Fassbaender’s disc is a quite exceptional performance. But the long list of those worth really hearing now includes this fine version too.

– MusicWeb International (Roy Westbrook)

Tracklist 19 tracks

  1. 1 No. 1. Liebesbotschaft 02:40
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. Liebesbotschaft
    Duration
    02:40
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  2. 2 No. 2. Kriegers Ahnung 04:52
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. Kriegers Ahnung
    Duration
    04:52
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  3. 3 No. 3. Frühlingssehnsucht 03:26
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3. Frühlingssehnsucht
    Duration
    03:26
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  4. 4 No. 4. Ständchen 03:51
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 4. Ständchen
    Duration
    03:51
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  5. 5 No. 5. Aufenthalt 03:07
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 5. Aufenthalt
    Duration
    03:07
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  6. 6 Herbst, D. 945 03:19
    Track
    6
    Title
    Herbst, D. 945
    Duration
    03:19
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  7. 7 No. 6. In der Ferne 06:01
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 6. In der Ferne
    Duration
    06:01
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  8. 8 No. 7. Abschied 04:30
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 7. Abschied
    Duration
    04:30
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  9. 9 No. 8. Der Atlas 02:33
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 8. Der Atlas
    Duration
    02:33
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  10. 10 No. 9. Ihr Bild 02:33
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 9. Ihr Bild
    Duration
    02:33
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  11. 11 No. 10. Das Fischermädchen 02:07
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 10. Das Fischermädchen
    Duration
    02:07
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  12. 12 No. 11. Die Stadt 03:18
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 11. Die Stadt
    Duration
    03:18
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  13. 13 No. 12. Am Meer 04:38
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 12. Am Meer
    Duration
    04:38
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  14. 14 No. 13. Der Doppelgänger 04:41
    Track
    14
    Title
    No. 13. Der Doppelgänger
    Duration
    04:41
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  15. 15 No. 14. Die Taubenpost 03:56
    Track
    15
    Title
    No. 14. Die Taubenpost
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  16. 16 Die Forelle, D. 550 02:01
    Track
    16
    Title
    Die Forelle, D. 550
    Duration
    02:01
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  17. 17 Auf der Bruck, Op. 93, No. 2, D. 853a 03:34
    Track
    17
    Title
    Auf der Bruck, Op. 93, No. 2, D. 853a
    Duration
    03:34
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  18. 18 Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, Op. 24, No. 1, D. 583 03:07
    Track
    18
    Title
    Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, Op. 24, No. 1, D. 583
    Duration
    03:07
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti
  19. 19 An die Musik, Op. 88, No. 4, D. 547b 02:42
    Track
    19
    Title
    An die Musik, Op. 88, No. 4, D. 547b
    Duration
    02:42
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    James Rutherford, Eugene Asti