Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Lied Edition
Peter Schreier (tenor)
Norman Shetler (piano)
rec. 1972-74, Lukaskirche, Dresden, Germany
Berlin Classics 0302928BC [5 CDs: 259]

The German tenor Peter Schreier (1935-2019) and American pianist Norman Shetler (1931-2024) were perhaps an unlikely duo. According to the booklet notes by Karsten Blüthgen, Scheier was looking for a pianist with whom he could record Schumann. Shetler, a native of Iowa (home of corn fields and first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses), came highly recommended by none other than Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who advised the tenor that Shetler would be a good choice for a Schumann project. Like many American expatriate pianists of his vintage, Shetler came with an excellent pedigree; he was a former student of Wiktor Labunski at the Kansas City Conservatory of Music who had gone on to work with Isabelle Vengerova and Rudolf Firkusny in New York, and then with Grete Hinterhofer in Vienna (also the teacher of Malcolm Bilson) and Wilhelm Kempff in Positano. These recordings are the product of Fischer-Dieskau’s recommendation. The duo would ultimately concertize together from 1971 until 1997. 

Although the recordings here come from early in their partnership, one would never know that this was a new duo given the comfortable sense of ensemble tenor and pianist display.

The best word to describe the performances on these discs is “easy.” None of the recordings could ever be considered the most “dramatic” on record; in general, everything feels middle-of-the-road. The pair do not torture the songs with exaggerated rubato or dynamic range. Tempi throughout the five CDs are moderate to slow, giving Schreier ample space to enunciate the text impeccably, as he does throughout. The tenor seems to savor every word he sings, the effect of which can be both lovely and annoying at the same time. 

Take the opening song of Dichterliebe, which opens the entire box set; although his phrasing could not be described as choppy, it sounds as if Schreier is stairstepping each word up and down, with a slight emphasis on every note. He does not achieve anything close to the intense legato of Fischer-Dieskau, whose diction is just as clear as his tenor colleague’s even as he creates more of a sense of a long line. When Schreier is forced to move along by more urgent tempi, as in “Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden” from the op. 24 Liederkreis, he suddenly creates beautiful lengthy phrases without giving a sense of constant word stress. The effect is much more natural than the halting delivery often found in slower songs. The Liederkreis op. 39 and the random chunks of Myrthen op. 25 sprinkled throughout the CDs are quite good. Schreier finds many special color effects in op. 39, though the final “Frühlingsnacht” lacks magic both from singer and pianist. The famous “Widmung” from op. 25 is heartfelt and passionate, with plenty of schwung courtesy of Shetler. 

Probably of most value to the serious Schumann listener are the recordings of more unusual songs. The “Six Poems and Requiem” of Lenau, op. 90 (from 1850), are, frankly, weird. Schumann is at his most fragmentary here; snatches of lovely melodies come to a sudden stop, interrupted by rests or unusual chords, and songs end in unexpected keys. The composer gives much less guidance in terms of articulations, dynamics, and tempi than one finds in many of his earlier songs, so performers are left to their own devices to make the songs work. Interestingly, Schreier and Shetler are inspired to their best efforts by op. 90. The tenor finds a sweet tone that is confessional in its confiding nature. Schumann does not overdramatize text such as “Not lost here in the moss / Heart, is your secret weeping / God understands your love / Your deep hopelessness,” and neither do Schreier and Shetler, letting the music speak for itself. 

Another effective “unusual” set is the op. 30, “Three Poems of Emanuele Geibel.” These songs are from 1840, the so-called “Year of Song,” in which Schumann churned out more than 100 songs for his bride-to-be, Clara Wieck. The opening song, “The Boy with the Magic Horn” is nothing special, but Schreier and Shetler turn the second song, “The Page,” into a very effective little scena. The text is the song of a page who zealously guards his mistress as she carries on an affair with another man. All the page wants is one glance from afar! Schreier’s coloration of the text here is fantastic; for example, the difference in tonal quality on the word “kiss” in the two phrases “Let me kiss this spot / where your foot has walked” and “I will keep guard / while you kiss another” is a masterclass in poetic delivery. Something about the tenor’s performance of “The Hidalgo,” a swaggering Spanish-flavored song, made me wish that Schreier had recorded the title role of Lohengrin; the tone takes on a heroic sheen in the high notes. It likely would not have been a role appropriate for his voice, but if Teresa Stratas could record Salome in the studio…

Ultimately, the set serves as a decent introduction to Schumann’s vocal repertoire, but most will come to it already having favorite versions of the three major song cycles and many of the individual songs. It will keep a place on my shelf for the recordings of the lesser-known songs. 

Richard Masters 

Previous review: Göran Forsling (June 2023)

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Contents
CD 1
Dichterliebe, Op 48
Liederkreis, Op 24

CD 2
Liederkreis, Op 39
Myrthen, Op 25
No 7, Die Lotosblume
No 21, Was will die einsame Träne?
No 24, Du bist wie eine Blume
5 Lieder und Gesänge, Op 127
No 2, Dein Angesicht, so lieb und schön
4 Gesänge, Op 142
No 2, Lehn deine Wang’ an meine Wang
No 4, Mein Wagen rollet langsam
6 Gedichte, Op 36
No 4, An den Sonnenschein
Lieder und Gesänge, Op 51
No 3, Ich wandre nicht
Lieder und Gesänge, Book 3, Op 77
No 1, Der frohe Wandersmann
3 Gesänge, Op 83
No 3, Der Einsiedler
Myrthen, Op 25
No 3, Der Nussbaum

CD 3
Myrthen, Op 25
No 1, Widmung
No 25, Aus den östlichen Rosen
Lieder und Gesange, Book 1, Op 27
No 4, Jasminenstrauch
3 Gedichte, Op 30
No 1, Der Knabe mit dem Wunderhorn
No 2, Der Page
No 3, Der Hidalgo
Lieder und Gesänge, Book 2, Op 51
No 1, Sehnsucht
5 Lieder, Op 40
No 1, Märzveilchen
No 2, Muttertraum
No 3, Der Soldat
No 4, Der Spielmann
No 5, Verratene Liebe
Myrthen, Op 25
No 2, Freisinn
No 5, Sitz’ ich allein
No 6, Setze mir nicht, du Grobian
No 8, Talismane
6 Gedichte und Requiem, Op 90
No 1, Lied eines Schmiedes
No 2, Meine Rose
No 3, Kommen und Scheiden
No 4, Die Sennin
No 5, Einsamkeit
No 6, Der schwere Abend
No 7, Requiem

CD 4
12 Gedichte, Op 35
5 Lieder und Gesänge, Op 127
No 1, Sängers Trost
No 2, Schneeglöckchen
No 3, Ihre Stimme
12 Gedichte aus Liebesfrühling, Op 37
No 1, Der Himmel hat eine Träne geweint
No 5, Ich hab’ in mich gesogen
No 8, Flügel! Flügel! Um zu fliegen

CD 5
Romanzen und Balladen I, Op 45
No 2. Frühlingsfahrt
Lieder und Gesänge I, Op 27
No 5. Nur ein lächelnder Blick
6 Gedichte, Op 36
No 2. Ständchen
Spanisches Liederspiel, Op 74
No 7. Geständnis
3 Gesänge, Op 95
No 2. An den Mond
Lieder und Gesänge III, Op 77
No 3. Geisternähe
Romanzen und Balladen III, Op 53
No 3. Der arme Peter wankt vorbei
Liederalbum für die Jugend, Op 79
No 7. Zigeunerliedchen
No 8. Jeden Morgen, in der Frühe
4 Gesänge, Op 142
No 3. Mädchen-Schwermut
Lieder und Gesänge IV, Op 96
No 1. Nachtlied
Liederalbum für die Jugend, Op 79
No 4. Frühlingsgruß
Spanische Liebeslieder, Op 138
No 3. O wie lieblich ist das Mädchen
No 7. Weh, wie zornig ist das Mädchen
Liederalbum für die Jugend, Op 79
No 14. Marienwürmchen
Minnespiel, Op 101
No 1. Meine Töne still und heiter
Romanzen und Balladen III, Op 53
No 2. Lorelei
Minnespiel, Op 101
No 4. Mein schöner Stern!
Spanische Liebeslieder, Op 138
No 5. Flutenreicher Ebro
Lieder und Gesänge III, Op 77
No 5. Aufträge
Myrthen, Op 25 “Venezianische Lieder”
No 17. Leis’ rudern hier
No 18. Wenn durch die Piazetta die Abendluft weht
Myrthen, Op 25
No 26. Hier in diesen erdbeklommnen Lüften