Schubert: Goethe Lieder

Thomas Quasthoff (Artist), Franz [Vienna] Schubert (Composer), Charles Spencer (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Charles Spencer
• Composer: Franz [Vienna] Schubert
• Audio CD (March 31, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000025A9N
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,171 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Schubert wrote most of these songs in his teens, but all display extraordinary compositional skill and emotional maturity, even those still influenced by the ballad style popular at the time. Unquestionably, his encounter with Goethe's poetry provided a powerful creative catalyst and inspired some of his greatest songs. The earliest here was written in 1814: the unfamiliar "Scene from "Faust," in which Gretchen, trying to pray in church, is tormented by an Evil Spirit while the congregation intones the Dies Irae. In this ghostly, harrowing piece, the singer, alternating recitative and song, impersonates all the characters, including the chorus. Of three rarely heard ballads, cast in the same form, only "The Singer"--a sunny, spirited song distinguished by long piano interludes--is by Goethe (despite the title, three of the poems for these songs are not by Goethe). The other two are gloomy and dramatic: "The Dwarf," whose rocking accompaniment seems to depict the ocean's waves, and "End of a Song," a lovely operatic cantilena.

Thomas Quasthoff's singing is superb. In "Erlkönig," the three voices are differentiated with vocal color and pronunciation; the ending sends shivers down the spine. The three "Songs of the Harp-Player" are heartbreaking; "Ganymed" builds from caressing lyricism to radiant ecstasy. It is interesting to compare this 1993 recording with Quasthoff's more recent ones. The unique vocal beauty and flawless technique are already fully in evidence, as is the depth of feeling and expression, from tender inwardness to high drama. The main difference is a greater simplicity with less reliance on inflection and nuance. Perhaps Quasthoff feels this is more appropriate for Schubert's early songs than for the late cycles; certainly it allows the music to speak from heart to heart with aching immediacy. Pianist Charles Spencer is simply wonderful. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great lieder singer in an early phase, September 23, 2005

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Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Schubert: Goethe Lieder (Audio CD)

This recital from 1995 includes a few Schubert chestnuts, but the remainder is little-sung material--all but a few songs are very worth hearing. Compared to Quasthoff's latest CDs on DG, however, his earlier phase on RCA shows a great artist still finding his way. The voice is full, rich, and expressive, but it doesn't yet have all the colors that Quaasthoff has learned to bring out. There are occasional flashes of brilliance, moments when Quasthoff opens up and lets his voice fly.

The texts by Goethe will be half the reason to buy this CD for German speakers. But even we non-speakers can be thrilled by Quasthoff's rendition of an early melodrama (D. 126) that sets Mephistopheles' temptation of Gretchen in the cathedral -- it's as gripping as anything the mature Quasthoff has done. Finally, I wouldn't say that the accompanist, Charles Spencer, is top drawer, his style being too direct and blunt. So mark this one down as a very good but not exceptional recital.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the Goethe-lieder I expected, September 29, 2003

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Karen Kumley "kkumley" (Salem, Or. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Schubert: Goethe Lieder (Audio CD)

I have the greatest possible respect for Thomas Quasthoff. He is probably my current favorite baritone; definitely among my top ten singers of any kind. I confess, though, that I was not pleased with this CD. The songs he chose, he did well, but most of them are not favorites of mine. Of the pieces I expected, seeing the title "Goethe-lieder", I got only Der Erkönig, Ganymed, and Auf dem Wasser zu Singen (which he did a bit fast for my taste).

I do not say that this is in any way a bad CD, just suggest that you check the list of songs before purchasing it. There is, alas, no An den Mond, no Wanderers Nachtlied and no Der Fischer.

4.0 out of 5 stars Quasthoff in glorious, youthful voice singing some lesser-known Lieder, January 6, 2011

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Ralph Moore "Ralph operaphile" (Bishop's Stortford, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Schubert: Goethe Lieder (Audio CD)

This was Quasthoff's debut Schubert album, recorded as ago as 1993 while he was still in his early thirties, and finds him in smoothest, richest and most flexible voice. This youthful plenitude of voice is all the more to be savoured now that some rockiness and signs of wear are beginning to creep into his burnished bass-baritone. He is capable of the most delicate, light falsetto and mezza voce yet the voice remains even all the way down to a secure low D at the end of "Liedesend". As ever, there is much pleasure to be had in hearing a native German speaker enunciate so clearly and expressively. I suspect that what might for some be the attraction of this selection could for others constitute a disappointment, in that not that many established favourites are included. This makes the discovery of the more recherché items interesting but occasionally hints at why they remain second-rank if they do not evince the dramatic mastery and melodic memorability of established classics such as "Der Zwerg" or "Erlkönig". I confess to finding songs such as "Prometheus" a bit diffuse and shapeless, well though Quasthoff enlivens it.

Charles Spencer's accompaniment is somewhat plonky and foursquare; I have certainly heard "Auf dem Wasser zu singen" played with greater lilt, charm and insouciance even if Spencer's manner reminds us that the subtext concerns eternal rest rather than just a jolly boat-ride. Of greatest interest, perhaps, is the extended "Szene aus Faust" which allows Quasthoff to exploit his gift for word-painting as he assumes the characters of the Evil Spirit, Gretchen and the choir in the cathedral setting - although it is hardly the most tuneful of Schubert's creations, being more an accompanied recitative.

Ultimately, while recognising Quasthoff's stellar gifts, I was very slightly disappointed by this disc - but perhaps my expectations were too high and I still endorse it as a fine survey of Goethe Lieder. (Three of the thirteen songs here are not in fact set to texts by Goethe but they are clearly thematically related.)