Matthias Goerne ~ Schubert: Lieder (from) Goethe (poems) [Import]

Matthias Görne (Artist), Franz Schubert (Composer), Andreas Haefliger (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Andreas Haefliger
• Composer: Franz Schubert
• Audio CD (August 12, 1997)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Decca Import
• ASIN: B0000041LC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,484 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Matthias Goerne - Schubert, September 2, 2000

By 

Melanie Eskenazi (Cheam UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Matthias Goerne ~ Schubert: Lieder (from) Goethe (poems) (Audio CD)

Schubert Goethe - Lieder Matthias Goerne, Andreas Haefliger

This disc was my first introduction to the voice of Matthias Goerne, and I have to say that initial impressions were not as ecstatic as later ones - for what reason, on that one occasion, I do not know. I listened to "Schäfers Klagelied" and thought that his singing here was no match for that of John Mark Ainsley on Hyperion - a lovely legato line was evident but Goerne seemed to me to give insufficient attention to individual words, and to miss something of the heartbreak of this song. However, with the promise of his "Schöne Müllerin" which I shall be hearing next week at Wigmore Hall, I thought I'd go back and listen to some more, this time giving him the attention he deserves. It is no exaggeration to say that I was overwhelmed by his singing this time around; from the first few bars of "An den Mond" I was completely captivated.

What makes this baritone so special, amongst the vast number of singers recorded in this repertoire? A voice so beautiful that it comes as a shock to hear it - noble, wonderfully warm, sensitive in phrasing, possessing a rare sense of rhythm, extremely rich in the lower registers yet with an almost tenor-like top, and beguilingly sensual - yes, girls, this really is one seriously sexy voice. Quite apart from the startling sensuality of the voice, Goerne's appeal also rests in the high seriousness with which he approaches the music. His dedication to the ideals of lovely tone, a firm, flowing legato and imperceptible breath control are never allowed to compromise his idiomatic feeling for the poems, and he does not over-stresses individual words - never plucks out an adjective and waves it around - all is expressed within the line of the music.

Two examples must suffice here - Goerne sings "Wandrers Nachtlied" eloquently, with that sense of powerful ease which typifies his art; the aching yet understated passion which is graphically shown in "Ach, Ich bin des Treibens müde..." is another of his individual characteristics. "Erster Verlust," one of my favourite Schubert songs, shows Goerne at his best; this is deeply fervent, intensely beautiful singing, the tenderness of the poem and the musical line conveyed in melting tones and with that warmth and intimacy which are evident throughout this wonderful recording.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fantastic version of Schubert's Goethe lieder., July 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Matthias Goerne ~ Schubert: Lieder (from) Goethe (poems) (Audio CD)

This version is one of the most beautiful. Goerne is such a good singer. But Andreas Haefliger also is an excellent pianist. I hope this duo brings out other songs.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Masters, March 6, 2001

By 

Bruno Manz (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Matthias Goerne ~ Schubert: Lieder (from) Goethe (poems) (Audio CD)

This is a masterful rendition of some twenty poems by Goethe (1749-1832), which Schubert (1797-1828) set to music. It was a blessed event of world literature and music when two geniuses, who never met in person but met in spirit, produced some eighty Lieder of incomparable poetic beauty. If now, some two hundred years later, a few of these jewels are presented by a master like Matthias Goerne, it is a high point of the art form of the Lied. Goerne has the voice and the sensitivity, to do justice to this art form, where word and melody potentiate each other in producing something that is more than poetry and more than music. He has an unerring feeling for both and brings them to life. He knows when the singing has to be soft and simple, as life sometimes is. Goethe knew it, too, when he wrote "Wanderer's Nachtlied," and Schubert understood it like no other composer, when he set this pearl of simple beauty to music. Goerne also knows, when he has to thunder, and he has the voice, to do it. The little quarrel I have with this album concerns the selection of the Lieder, or, if you will, the order in which they are presented. The album begins with the Lied "An den Mond," (To the moon), which every lover of the Lieder by Goethe and Schubert cherishes as one of the most beautiful fruits of their spiritual unit. Thus, the listener is all expectation. Alas, he will be grevously disappointed! The setting is an older version of Schubert's settings of Goethe's poem, which he later replaced by the newer version we love so much. Fortunately, the newer version is also presented. So the listener has both: "Schubert inferior" and "Schubert superior." A cruel joke or a lesson in music history? I leave that judgement to you. But I must tell you that, after the initial shock, I fell in love with this album and now recommend it without reservation.