This collection of songs published in the year following Schubert’s death in 1828 is not a true cycle, nor were these pieces intended as a set by the composer. Even the title, which refers to the Romantic notion of a swan’s ability to sing one enchanting song only at its death, was assigned posthumously by the collection’s publisher. Nevertheless, all but one of these 14 deeply emotional songs (in the best Romantic tradition of desperation, lost love, longing, and wistful, painful remembrance) are set to the poems of two writers, Ludwig Rellstab and Heinrich Heine. The other song, Johann Seidl’s “Die Taubenpost” (The Carrier Pigeon), which fits the rest in theme if not quite in the mood of its musical setting, was thrown in by the publisher to round out the set. This recording–part of Naxos’ ambitious and thoughtfully planned Schubert-Lied-Edition, a series that ultimately will present all of Schubert’s songs “grouped according to the poets who inspired him”–also includes three more Rellstab songs that could have or should have been grouped with the others. One of these, “Auf dem Strom” (Upon the River), is scored with an artfully written part for horn that places this among Schubert’s most beautiful and effective songs. The horn player, Sjön Scott, is outstanding and deserves special mention for a performance of remarkable sensitivity and consummate musicality, and some of the best legato phrasing you’ll ever hear.
As for baritone Michael Volle, you’d be hard pressed to find a more suitable singer for this repertoire. His rich, dark-toned voice seems perfect for these similarly dark-toned songs, and he delivers each one with unfaltering grace and knowing expression. Although best-known in Germany for his opera performances, Volle also has a solid reputation as a recitalist, and his performance here is proof of technical skills that allow him to cover a wide range that incorporates impressive subtlety and focused intensity–just listen, for example, to his masterful renditions of “In der Ferne” (In Distant Lands), “Am Meer” (By the Sea), and “Der Doppelgänger” (The Double). Volle’s piano partner, Ulrich Eisenlohr, who is one of the initiators of this Schubert project and who delivered an exemplary performance in Volume 1 of the series (Winterreise), does it again here. [12/23/1999]
