Schubert – Erlkönig
Matthias Goerne; Andreas Haefliger
Harmonia Mundi HMC 902141
Six hundred and thirty-four is the total number of solo lieder written by Franz Schubert, and Matthias Goerne has the ambition to record them all! This is the seventh disc in the series (each with a different piano accompanist) and Goerne is into some wonderful territory. Erlkönig is of course the setting of a poem by Goethe and Schubert’s first song masterpiece. The composer himself designated it as his Opus No.1. What remains a mystery is the studious indifference that Goethe seems to have shown to this brilliant song. When initially sent the setting by one of the young Schubert’s patrons, he returned it some months later — without a word of a comment. Later on, Schubert himself sent to the author beautifully bound scores for this and other Goethe poems, but never received a reply. Finally, after Schubert’s death, Erlkönig was performed for Goethe publically — and the only comment from the venerated poet was: “It reminds me of something I have heard before.”
No matter what Goethe thought, the song is a masterpiece — on this recording accompanied by other works, such as Die Forelle and Im Abendrot. Goerne has a beautiful baritone, perfectly suited to the lieder repertoire and of course a perfect command of the language. Many international singers, despite language coaching, get tripped up by the dense texture of Schubert’s settings. The thoughtful interpretation, combined with some truly inspired accompaniment, in this instance by Andreas Haefliger, make this Schubert edition an exciting endeavour. At least this reviewer will be looking up volumes one through six in record stores.
