Schubert - Complete Lieder - Fischer-Dieskau - Box Set 21CDs

Label : DG
Format : Ape
Cover : No

"Deutsche Grammophon have been issuing many tributes to Fischer-Dieskau this year of his 80th birthday, but this is one of the finest. All the Schubert songs suitable for baritone are here, including the three great cycles. This means literally, several hundred songs, including rarities. Moreover Fischer-Dieskau and Moore were a dream partnership, both at the height of their powers when these recordings were made. Without exaggeration, this is an indispensable work of reference.

It seems almost superfluous to review the immortal song cycles, so well are these known, and in this version. There are other, earlier recordings where Fischer-Dieskau and Moore perform the same cycles. Nonetheless, these 1972 recordings are classics, which continue to represent a high watermark. By this stage singer and pianist had been friends for twenty years, and their rapport was intuitive. Both had lived with the cycles long enough to give definitive accounts. Music-making as good as this never stops giving immense pleasure.

The main set of Lieder are arranged in more or less chronological order. This makes it easy to quickly check a particular song. Alternatively, you can listen purely to hear how Fischer-Dieskau and Moore follow Schubert’s development from the angry adolescent Leichenfantasie to the pensive Widerschien from 1828. Obviously, it’s not a linear progression, but you get a feel for what occupied the composer at a particular phase of his work. Among the many masterpieces lie less than stellar items, but part of the benefit of this approach is that you can hear things in context. It has helped revive interest in some of the long ballads, for example. Taking Viola, despite its saccharine imagery, this song has become quite a showpiece on the recital circuit, since it challenges a singer to make it interesting enough to involve an audience for nearly 13 minutes. One of the most brilliant strengths of the Hyperion series is Graham Johnson’s commentary, which lends itself to grouping songs around themes. Fischer-Dieskau and Moore are less analytical and take the songs more or less as they come - though they cannot resist concluding their series with Abschied von der Erde, from 1825/6, which is clumsily mawkish, considering we all know Schubert died young and perhaps not with resignation. Still, the approach follows Schubert’s increasing sophistication, leaving behind elaborate ballads like strophic settings of Ossian, and venturing into a more modern sensibility, such as in the Heine settings.

All other considerations pale compared to the performances here, which are superb. Fischer-Dieskau is still fresh and spontaneous, confidently revelling in the pleasure he gets from the sheer physical experience of singing music. It’s infectious. Indeed, he’s remarkably uninhibited, his characterisations more adventurous and unmannered than they would become later. Moore, too, is wonderfully agile, working with the singer’s voice, each note confident and deft. There’s really little need for a booklet – Fischer-Dieskau’s enunciation is so clear, and his emotional expression so direct. At times, the voice is so mellifluous, that even after all these years of listening, I could barely suppress tears of joy."

Complete tracklist : Schubert - Complete Lieder - Fischer-Dieskau