If you prefer your German lieder without singers, consider this disc. Oboist Andrew Parker takes favorite songs by Beethoven and Schubert along with the entire Schumann Dichterliebe cycle and essentially appropriates the vocal lines for his instrument, and the concept really works. Not only does Parker command a pleasant, singing sonority, but he also gauges his vibrato with expressive discretion. In strophic songs where the text ordinarily informs one’s interpretive game plan, Parker compensates by adjusting his phrasing and articulation, as you immediately hear in Schubert’s Die Forelle. Alan Huckleberry is far more than a mere accompanist; he imbues the piano parts with pinpointed articulation and multi-dimensional character. His ripplingly clear treatment of Gretchen am Spinnrade’s gentle arpeggiated figurations are right up there with Edwin Fischer and Gerald Moore, and that’s the ultimate compliment!
Listening to Dichterliebe all the way through, the absence of words somewhat dissipates the cycle’s intrinsic dramatic arc. And when climaxes are both textually and musically driven, as in Ich grolle nicht, Parker can only push his instrument so far. In this sense the songs prove more individually appealing via Parker’s oboe arrangements than when heard as a group. That said, Parker and Huckleberry collaborate splendidly, and the excellent engineering does full justice to their sensitive musicianship. This is also the perfect disc for music coordinators at classical radio stations when they need to fill out a time slot with a short and unassuming instrumental selection.
