The eminent lyric tenor Christoph Prégardien is represented on disc with more than a hundred and twenty titles. His recordings of the German Romantic Lied repertoire have been highly acclaimed by public and press alike and have received many major international awards. He recently began a new long-term collaboration with Challenge Classics, the first fruit of which was a recording of Schubert’s “Schöne Müllerin” with pianist Michel Gees, (CC72292).
On this recording of another of Schubert’s great lieder cycles, “Schwanengesang”, he is joined by the highly-regarded pianist Andreas Staier.
Written in August 1828 shortly before his death, the 14 songs by Franz Schubert given the collective title of “Schwanengesang” by his publisher Tobias Haslinger are in reality made up of two sets. There are seven songs on texts by Ludwig Rellstab and six on texts by Heinrich Heine in a common manuscript along with a single Lied, Die Taubenpost, on a poem by his friend Gabriel Seidl (D 965 A). Die Taubenpost is perhaps Schubert’s last song, possibly even his last complete composition of all, although Der Hirt auf dem Felsen was apparently also written in October 1828. The Viennese poet Gabriel Seidl was the source of a whole series of poetic texts that Schubert set to music between 1826 and 1828. Some of these were solo lieder and some were polyphonic songs.
January 2009
*****
“…an outstanding performance. …deeply engaged robustly expressive singing whose rhythmic rigour and details of phrasing and articulation reveal an exciting commitment to this great cycle. …with Staier's fortepiano providing a wonderful mixing and misting of the tonal palette in songs like 'Die Stadt', the performances are also graced with an exceptionally lively and well-balanced recording.”
April 2009
“Prégardien's dulcet tenor, subtly and gracefully deployed, is heard to advantage both in these Seidl songs and in Schwanengesang. Where so many singers seem to "think" the whole collection in the minor key, as it were, Prégardien is eagerly expectant in "Liebesbotschaft" and sings a smiling, seductive "Fischermädchen". ..."Abschied" is blithely insouciant, the wistfulness of the final verse lightly touched - and how well the delicate, slightly veiled sonorities of Staier's fortepiano complement the voice, here and elsewhere. While it is absurd to speak of an outright "winner" in such a crowded field, Prégardien and the ever-illuminating Staier join Schreier, Hotter, (EMI, 10/94) Fischer-Dieskau, 1962 vintage (EMI) and Brigitte Fassbaender (DG) on my roster of indispensable Schwanengesang recordings.”
2010
“Planning a CD programme around Schwanengesang is always tricky. The vastly experienced duo of Christoph Prégardien and Andreas Staier here come up with a solution as satisfying as any. They preface the quasi-cycle with the bleak, windswept Rellstab setting Herbst, which Schubert unaccountably omitted from the Rellstab sequence that opens Schwanengesang. Then, at they end, they follow Die Taubenpost – always in danger of jarring after the Weltschmerz of the Heine group – with other, complementary, Seidl settings, ending with the blissful nocturnal homecoming of Im Freien. Prégardien's dulcet tenor, subtly and gracefully deployed, is heard to advantage both in these Seidl songs and in Schwanengesang. Where so many singers seem to 'think' the whole collection in the minor key, as it were, Prégardien is eagerly expectant in 'Liebesbotschaft' and sings a smiling, seductive 'Fischermädchen'. His 'Ständchen', taken at an easy, mobile tempo, is likewise all caressing charm, while 'Abschied' is blithely insouciant, the wistfulness of the final verse lightly touched – and how well the delicate, slightly veiled sonorities of Staier's fortepiano complement the voice, here and elsewhere. In the anguished Heine songs Prégardien's less extreme style than, say, Peter Schreier, is scarcely less moving, whether in the rhythmically incisive 'Der Atlas' (where the fortepiano's percussive resonance brings uncommon clarity to Schubert's quasi-orchestral textures), or an 'Am Meer' of aching tenderness, the final stab of pain all the more affecting for being understated. 'Die Stadt', taken at an unusually urgent tempo, emerges in a single grim sweep, with the fortepiano's sustaining pedal creating a mysterious haze impossible to replicate on a modern grand. Prégardien occasionally adds discreet, graceful embellishments to his lines, especially apt in 'Ständchen'. While it is absurd to speak of an outright 'winner' in such a crowded field, Prégardien and the ever-illuminating Staier join the roster of indispensable Schwanenengesang recordings.”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
