Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Die schöne Müllerin D. 795
On poems by Wilhelm Müller (1794-1827)
Julian Prégardien (tenor)
Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano)
rec. 2023, SWR Funkstudio, Stuttgart (Germany)
Sung German texts with English and French translations enclosed
Reviewed as WAV download
Harmonia Mundi HMM902739 [66]

Less than a year ago I reviewed another Harmonia Mundi disc with Die schöne Müllerin, sung by the young baritone Samuel Hasselhorn. One would think that it is a kind of overkill to issue a competitor so soon, but even though there are many similarities, they differ in some respects, which means that this latest attempt is complementary to its predecessor. 

Parenthetically, I can mention that there are a few more competitors in the Harmonia Mundi catalogue: Mattias Goerne, Werner Güra, Mark Padmore and even Julian Prégardien’s father Christoph Prégardien, who in 1993 was awarded the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik for his recording with Andreas Staier on fortepiano – a direct competitor. 

Be that as it may, let us return to my prime mission: to evaluate this brand new recording by Prégardien Jr. My first impression was that this is a very young wanderer, who has decided to explore his surroundings on foot. He sees the world with innocent blue eyes, he is curious and eager, even impatient and aggressive, and wants to get forward, forward – and his heart is pounding, the systolic blood pressure is dangerously high. Not until the last stanza of Das Wandern does he relax. Wohin? Is soft and contemplative, but the eagerness is still there, and we recognize the forwardness and curiosity in Halt! From then on he settles in harmony and peace – and he certainly is masterly in nuances  and dynamic control. His pianissimos  are so ravishing and his breath control impressive – and there are myriad examples of this throughout the cycle. The encounter with the Müllerin is a marvellous sequence of various feelings: exhilaration, tenderness and enamoured happiness, leading to the apex at Mein!, where the feelings boil over, like a tempest. The intensity there is strong and powerful, glowing  but controlled. 

After the pensive Pause, where the young man asks himself, “What does this mean? Is it the echo of my love’s sorrow? Or will it be the prelude to new songs?” follows the peripeteia: the hunter appears! A rival? His world is smashed to pieces! The jealousy, the wrath is enormous, and here we meet the hot-head from earlier, but now the outbreak is followed by resignation, thoughts of death, sorrow, a last hope: “May has come, the winter is over!” But it isn’t. Only death remains. The last two songs breath resignation, and the singing is so sensitive, so deeply moving, at the end only whispered. The piano postlude gives an impression of soft, comforting church bells – as they did also in the Hasselhorn recording referred to above, and with which this reading has so much in common. Kristian Bezuidenhout plays a fortepiano – or Hammerklavier as it is commonly known in German – a copy of an instrument by Conrad Graf, Vienna 1825. It has an uncommonly warm tone, which concords with the singing of Julian Prégardien. In concordance with the period – Schubert certainly played Graf instruments, though he never owned one – both pianist and singer extemporise their parts discreetly and tastefully, which further lends authenticity to the reading. In the highly interesting liner notes, Bezuidenhout and Prégardien discuss many aspects on this recording, which was simultaneously recorded for a video issue. We also learn that Christoph Prégardien’s legendary recording from 1993 was an important source of inspiration, not least when it comes to the fascinating matter of extemporizing – even though that was part and parcel of the tradition, and was put in practice by Schubert himself and Johann Michael Vogl back in the 1820s.

This is another marvellous recording of Die schöne Müllerin, one to add to the ever-growing list of highly recommendable versions of this indestructible masterwork.

Göran Forsling

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