The Hyperion Schubert Edition 8 / Sarah Walker, Graham Johnson

Over time, Schubert has become less important to me. Worse still, my future landlord - the Devil - made me sell off most of my Hyperion Schubert Cycle in my hour of penury and greed. And yes, I even parted company with my copy of  Schubert's Songs . These are mortal, not venial sins. Judgement will cometh and that right soon.Nevertheless, this is one recital that I have retained in good times and bad: it's the disc in question. Titled `Schubert and the Nocturne', it was recorded by mezzo soprano Sarah Walker and Graham Johnson in 1989. Needless to say, the documentation is a tour de force.Why has it survived this Cannae-like decimation? Easy - it contains four masterpieces (at least), the performances of which are superlative: I cannot find their like. The merits of Erlkönig (D 328) and Stänchen (D 920) need little discussion. I also heartily recommend An den Mond (D 259) which opens the recital so atmospherically. How it resonates thereafter!The real gem here is Die Sommernacht (D299). Even if, as Johnson notes, it failed to command a word in Capell, it's a fair dinkum masterpiece. It is three-quarters recitative before Schubert unleashes a tungsten-tipped, high impact lied at its close. With compulsion, I quote Johnson's notes:"The little arioso . . . . which finishes the piece is quite simply Schubert of the highest quality; gratitude for nature prompts the singer to launch, at last, into a legato outpouring of classically poised melody; the effect is like that of a soothing balm, healing the wounds of loss. Bereavement has the power to teach us how to value the beauties of the here and now with a heightened humility and intensity. Not only does Schubert, even at this tender age, understand this; he knows how to translate the feeling into music with uncanny accuracy."And indeed, here is a translation of the arioso:"Spirits of the dead, with you I once enjoyed it.How the fragrance and the cool breezes caressed us!Beautiful nature, how you were transfigured in the moonlight!"I know bugger all about Sarah Walker but her singing here is exquisite. Unlike the infamous triumvirate of gravel - DFD, Peter Pears and Ian Bostridge - her voice is exothermic, not endothermic; one can listen to it with pleasure. In keeping here with the theme, so much of the address here is near-pianissimo: Walker's breath-control is phenomenal. I cannot answer for the accuracy of her diction: it sounds fine to me. She sings with immense passion and lyricism. Johnson, as per usual, is a sympathetic and insightful accompanist. The recording is a touch reverberant; in being so, it resembles a recital in a hall and there's nothing wrong with that.Hear D 289 and marvel anew at the genius of Schwammerl' (the little mushroom)!

How did Schubert describe night? In this set, you could get much more faces of night.Sarah Walker gave me a abundant beautiful nights, you could see the happy song in *Hochzeitslied*,D463(Wedding song); lyric and peace night in*in der mitternacht, D464(at midnight) and *wiegenlied*, D 498; of course and horriable night in *erlkonig*, D328.I fully enjoy these beautiful songs and treat them as big treasure of Schubert, althought it's my first experience to listen them, so I hope you shouldn't miss them.

On achète ces CD Hyperion autant pour la musique que pour la qualité de la notice : ces textes témoignent d'une érudition époustouflante et restent cependant agréables à lire . Partant de là , ce CD fait partie d'un ensemble d'une quarantaine de CD , que l'on peut maintenant acquerir dans leur totalité . Tout en saluant avec gratitude l'effort qu'a fait Hyperion pour nous permettre de mieux connaitre ce corpus , qui devrait certainement être déclaré Patrimoine de l'Humanité .