Winterreise

It is February 2021 and Berlin is unreally quiet. Snow covers the streets and muffles the sound of the few cars braving the streets of a metropolis in lockdown. Our recording location, the Staatsoper Unter der Linden, is in an equally unreal state: the hectic daily rhythm of the opera house is on hiatus, with only one opera in rehearsal, and for only one performance. And this single performance will be for an empty hall, with only cameras for audience. In the midst of this unusually quiet setting are a singer, a pianist, and a special work, Schubert’s Winterreise.The dreamy atmosphere of the city and the theatre feels extraordinarily apt, and helps us focus and tune in to the liminal world of the song cycle, a world that has fascinated us both since beginning of our studies. Winterreise brings both the performer and the listener to the fundamental questions of humanity and existence. The human and social levels of the work remain pertinent and current. Schubert’s marvellous music absorbs and intoxicates, while at the same time, demands of its performers reflection on their own limits as a musician.

Xavier Sabata has long since established himself as an exponent of the great roles for countertenor and he is a welcome guest on the stages of opera houses worldwide. His discography to date illustrates his voice-motivated focus on music from 1600 to 1800 while also presenting the portrait of an artist who engages with intellectual concepts across the world and throughout the ages. His debut album on Berlin Classics marks his departure from Baroque terrain and makes him a wanderer, in more senses than one, facing the emotional and vocal challenges of Schubert’s “Winter Journey”. His approach to the work is prompted by the same challenge that confronts every singer who tackles Winterreise.

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Is this an hommage to Schubert? Or just to a leading Lieder tenor of our time? Probably this box is both and it represents a clear reference for anyone who is a seasoned Lieder lover or a neophyte wanting to approach this genre.

Is this an hommage to Schubert? Or just to a leading Lieder tenor of our time? Probably this box is both and it represents a clear reference for anyone who is a seasoned Lieder lover or a neophyte wanting to approach this genre.
I don’t say anything new when I state that the three Schubert’s Lieder cycles are the the pinnacle in the history of the art song. Not by chance any serious male singer wants to record at least one of these masterpieces.

Franz Schubert‘s two major song cycles based on texts by Wilhelm Müller (1794–1830) were milestones in music history. Whoever dares to “reproduce them in performance” is treading in the footsteps of giants. As Markus Schäfer puts it: “through previous interpretations by distinguished artists, these cycles have not only become extremely popular; they have acquired an almost untouchable aura”.In conversation, Markus Schäfer and Tobias Koch remind us that these songs’ status was not as monolithic as it has become. “Due to their audacity and sheer energy, the effect was initially almost frightening in Schubert’s closest circle of friends”, Schäfer explains. “It comes as no surprise that Franz von Schober, for one, did not like any of them except Der Lindenbaum.”

The Ragazze Quartet contributes not only the sonority of four string instruments, but also the energy of four musicians who at the same time connect with the music and the singer. The challenge, was to remain faithful to Schubert while exploiting to the full the extra possibilities offered by this instrumentation.The four members of the quartet have immersed themselves in the texts, and, in collaboration with the arranger Wim ten Have, have taken care to create a score perfectly suited to the baritone Martijn Cornet and themselves.

La période qui occupe SCHUBERT à la composition des mélodies du Voyage d’hiver s’étend de février à octobre 1827. Le musicien sort d’une courte période peu propice à la création. Il lui manque la matière littéraire pour stimuler son écriture. La découverte de douze premiers poèmes de MÜLLER l’enthousiasme. La découverte de la fin du cycle intervient quelques mois plus tard, achevant ainsi le parcours.

La période qui occupe SCHUBERT à la composition des mélodies du Voyage d’hiver s’étend de février à octobre 1827. Le musicien sort d’une courte période peu propice à la création. Il lui manque la matière littéraire pour stimuler son écriture. La découverte de douze premiers poèmes de MÜLLER l’enthousiasme. La découverte de la fin du cycle intervient quelques mois plus tard, achevant ainsi le parcours.

Wieder einmal verlässt der Wanderer die Stadt, um in die Ungewissheit der winterlichen Landschaft aufzubrechen. Mal mäßig, mal geschwind, führt ihn sein Weg durch Wälder und Fluren, an Bächen entlang. Er hält inne, rastet, blickt zurück auf sein »fein Liebchen«. Und fühlt sich vom Tode bedrängt. In dieser neuen Fassung der »Winterreise« wird Franz Schubert zum Zeitgenossen, denn Clara Frühstück und Oliver Welter gelingt es aufzuzeigen, wie eng das romantische Lied und der moderne Popsong verflochten sind.