Schubert: Die Taubenpost, D965A (D957 No. 14)

“The main purpose of this frustratingly fragmentary and unevenly mastered compilation of Lieder treasure seems to be to give a sampler tasting of the young Fischer-Dieskau in the 1950s, with a varied palette of accompanists.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 ****

“The voice is again in finest condition, the art wonderfully flexible in its transitions from light-heartedness to the intensity of despair. The Liederkreis songs include a magical "Mondnacht" and a vividly "faced" "Im Walde". The Brahms group opens with Feldeinsamkeit, masterly in control, technical and expressive. The remastered sound is very immediate, sometimes almost uncomfortably so, but the impression is strong, probably ineffaceable.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2009

“ Schwanengesang is really no such thing, and there is nothing to prevent a singer omitting the song or changing the order. Bostridge follows the publisher's order and does not flinch before 'Aufenthalt'; and if momentarily he goes under, perhaps it is part of the musical-verbal picture that he should. In any case, all of this is a diversion, almost a frivolity. At the heart of the matter are 'Der Doppelgänger', 'Die Stadt', 'Ihr Bild', 'Am Meer' and, from the Rellstab settings, 'In der Ferne'. Bostridge has, in the pallor of voice and expression, the haunting that pervades these songs. In the first mentioned (the last sung) he is one of the few who can create unease without anticipating the horror, still making those openmouthed vowels ('starret', 'Schmerzensgewalt', 'so manche Nacht') call out into the night like a wounded animal.
Such rare moments are the singer's own; elsewhere the performance is equally the pianist's.
Pappano plays with imagination as verbally attuned as Bostridge's. The rightness of touch is evident in the first additional song, 'Geheimnis', and in the last, the very simple and aptly chosen 'Abschied'. He is also graceful and interesting in the happier songs. There's one misgiving – Bostridge makes so much of the German words, rather as though anxious to communicate with the back rows of a concert-hall full of non-German speakers. Whatever the justification in situ, it nags a little on records.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“At the heart of the matter are "Der Doppelgänger", "Die Stadt", "Ihr Bild", "Am Meer" and, from the Rellstab settings, "In der Ferne". Bostridge has, in the pallor of voice and expression, the haunting that pervades these songs. In the first mentioned (the last sung) he is one of the few who can create unease without anticipating the horror.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2009

“[Bostridge's] somewhat detached, hard vocal quality suits the introspective longing of many of these settings.” The Times, 21st February 2009 ***

“Britten who is, as we know, a wonderful accompanist, excels himself in this cycle and his artistic partnership with Pears gives us a most imaginative and moving interpretation of the wonderful work.” Gramophone Magazine

“This little 58-minute Schubertiad a la francaise makes a very good case for the viola as a Schubertian soulmate par excellence...Piau's irresistably radiant soprano, together with the viola...transforms the music's pastoral into a haunting evocation of the poignant exhilaration of mortality.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2010 ****

“The Trockne Blumen Variations sound particularly effective on period instruments” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 ***

“…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.” BBC Music Magazine, January 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.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2009

“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.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Terfel's gift […] is a generous, individual voice, a natural feeling for German and an inborn ability to go to the heart.” Gramophone Magazine

“one of his first recordings to confirm his exceptional gift of projecting his magnetic personality with keen intensity...[he] is daring in confronting you face to face, very much as the young Fischer-Dieskau did, using the widest range of dynamics and tone.” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition ***