Image by myself (copyright Hennie Schaper)
From time to time I will make a post under Classical Music specifically about one of my favourite works. The first one was Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (link), here is the second one. Winterreise (Winter Journey) is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert (D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller's poems, the earlier being Die schöne Müllerin (D. 795, Op. 25, 1823). Both were originally written for tenor voice but are frequently transposed to other vocal ranges, a precedent set by Schubert himself (from Wikipedia).
Postcard Vienna around 1910, public domain
1. What is it about?
In the words of Schubert himself: "Come over to Schober’s today, and I will sing you a cycle of terrifying songs,” Franz Schubert said to his friend Joseph von Spaun in late 1827. Schubert, suffering from a fatal illness, was aware that his time was short. “I am anxious to know what you will say about them. They have affected me more than any of my other songs.”
Winterreise is a gloomy depiction of a wanderers struggles through the winter landscape, full of symbolisms. It has been described as having a dramatic effect not unlike that of a full-scale tragic opera. Particularly poignant is the final song Der Leiermann ("The Hurdy-Gurdy Man"): In the back of the village stands a hurdy-gurdy man, cranking his instrument with frozen fingers. His begging bowl is always empty; no one listens. The parallel with Schubert himself, dying of syphillis, is obvious.
Image based on a Friedrich painting, in public domain
2. Is there a website that can be recommended for more info?
Oh yes. Winterreise Online (link) is an absolutely brilliant effort by Iain C. Phillips. The site contains an extensive discography, lyrics (optionally translated into many languages), art work inspired by this composition, and much, much more.
3. Four recommended versions?
Difficult to pick just four, but here we go. In chronological order: [1] Hans Hotter and Michael Raucheisen on Deutsche Grammophon, recorded in 1943. Normally I am not interested in such historic recordings, but the sound belies its age, and the performance is awesome; [2] Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerard Moore on Deutsche Grammophon, recorded in 1971. DFD owns this cycle, no-one does it better. He recorded the cycle many times, woith a number of different pianists; this is probably the best one. However.... [3] Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Alfred Brendel on Philips, recorded in 1985. DFD's voice is less pure, but age had further increased his ability to get to the soul of these songs. This was my first CD of the cycle, and will always be special to me; [4] Matthias Goerne and Graham Johnson on Hyperion, recorded in 1996. Goerne is amazing in this cycle (his live recording with Brendel is also excellent), and this Hyperion series in which all Schubert's songs were recorded can not be praised enough.
4. Any unusual variations?
Picked four of these as well, all from my own collection. In random order: [1] Although Winterreise is generally thought of as a man's cycle, several female singers of name have recorded it. I have three in my collection: Christa Ludwig with James Levine, Nathalie Stutzmann with Inger Södergren, and the one I selected, Brigitte Fassbaender and Aribert Reimann on EMI; [2] The piano playing is such an integral part of the cycle that it seems weird to tinker with that, and yet.... I have an intriguing version for bass-baritone and string quartet by Alain Buet and the Quatuor Les Heures du jour on Muso. And then there is also... [3] a version for voice and organ by Taro Kato and Azumin Okamura on Doron Music. It seems a bit superfluous for practical reasons, but it works surprisingly well; [4] Dutch poet and song writer Jan Rot prepared a translation of the verses into Dutch. It is an amazing tour de force, which was recorded by Maarten Koningsberger and Roger Braun on Brilliant Classics - even that version can be found on the Winterreise Online website!
Image made with Photofunia
5. Favourite album cover art?
Many album covers for this work are not very imaginative - the usual romantic paintings or images of winter landscapes, or just a picture of the artists. There are a few I would like to highlight as being far better than most.
Edwin Crossley-Mercer and Yoan Héreau on Mirare. The choice of a more surreal painting (by Claudine Franck) works very well here as it suggests the turmoil in the protagonist's mind.
Ernst Haefliger and Tomoko Okada on Camarata. The image is less artistic, but it zooms in on my favourite part where the wanderer depicted as Schubert himself) encounters the Leiermann.
Peter Harvey and Gary Cooper on Linn Records. A perfect example of effective minimalism with large amounts of white and an image of a crow, one of the symbols used in the text.
Copyright statement: posting lower quality album covers is deemed fair use.For other images, see statement under the pictures.
