Schubertreise XXXII

Conor Biggs, bass
Michel Stas, piano

Vier Canzonen, D 688    Jacopo Andrea Vittorelli (Nr. I-II), Pietro Metastasio (Nr. III-IV)
Abendröte, D 690     Friedrich von Schlegel
Die Vögel, D 691    Friedrich von Schlegel
Der Knabe, D 692     Friedrich von Schlegel
Der Fluẞ, D 693     Friedrich von Schlegel
Der Schiffer, D 694     Friedrich von Schlegel
Namentagslied, D 695     Albert Stadler
Des Fräuleins Liebeslauschen, D 698     Franz von Schlechta
Der entsühnte Orest, D 699     Johann Mayrhofer
Freiwilliges Versinken, D 700     Johann Mayrhofer
Im Walde, D708     Friedrich von Schlegel

With the Vier Canzonen we bid farewell to Schubert’s not insignificant tally of twelve songs in Italian. A canzonet is a light song in the bel canto style, and how well Schubert imitates that style, to the point of pushing the accompaniment back to a strictly support role in order to let the voice reign supreme. A listener taken unawares by these songs might find herself guessing: Donizetti? Clementi?

Next comes a mini-cycle of settings of Friedrich von Schlegel. Of the 57 bars in the remarkable Abendröte, the humble trill features in 41. The trill is used either to embellish, occasionally to threaten, and shows Schubert experimenting with new styles of expression. Die Vögel demonstrates an irresistible charm, making it an ideal encore choice. The same irresistible quality is also found in Der Knabe, a charming depiction of childhood, and too long dismissed as trivial by curmudgeonly critics. Our next song, Der Fluss, illustrates perfectly Schubert’s success in conveying just one idea, supported by the perfect marriage of voice and piano. The same quest for expressive evolution is heard in the remarkable Der Schiffer, with its slithering semiquavers and ‘if only’ syncopations.

Schubert’s schoolboy friend Albert Stadler penned the rather pedestrian verse for Namentagslied, which, as its name suggests, was intended as a birthday present from Fräulein Josefine von Koller to her father. Schubert’s setting is charming in a competent sort of way. The delightful Des Fräuleins Liebeslauschen has a sting in its tail: the knight’s dreamy serenade is actually answered by the young lady. Der entsühnte Orest – the purification of Orestes -- is a tale of high drama in the Greek mythological canon, which Schubert sets to music of great nobility. Greece features in the next song, Freiwilliges Versinken, an astonishingly forward-thinking utterance, prescient of Der Doppelgänger. For sheer subtlety of expression, it has few equals in the Schubertian canon. Our programme returns to Schlegel for the last song, the colossal Im Walde, in which Schubert draws on his experience as composer of symphonies, piano sonatas, string quartets and of course the theatre to present a kind of breathless whirlwind compendium of styles.

Presented by NCH