Search - Robert Schumann, Bernarda Fink, Roger Vignoles :: Bernarda Fink - Schumann (Frauenliebe und -leben / Lenau-Lieder)

A Welcome Entrée into Lieder from a True Artist

Terry Serres | Minneapolis, MN United States | 07/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a surprise this disk came as! Yes, I awaited it anxiously, but from Bernarda Fink's gripping portrayal of Penelope (in the ravishing René Jacobs recording of Monteverdi's _Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria_) I was expecting lieder singing of relentless intensity à la Fassbaender! Not that it would have been unwelcome, but we are treated to a performance of shimmering beauty.One of the most arresting qualities of the disk is how closely the mezzo-soprano's voice matches the piano. The best Lieder performances are partnerships, and Schumann's emphasis of the piano part is especially rewarding, but here there is something more with a kinship of tone that really makes you feel that it is a single voice presenting the text, with the piano expressing the thoughts not verbalized! Fink is also blessed with a tight vibrato that she commands with precise nuance ("nur betrachten deinen Schein" in the second song of _Frauenliebe_; "fest und fester" in the sixth song; "Warte nur" in "Nachtlied"). The oft-trodden _Frauenliebe und -leben_ does not leave the listener hankering for any of Fink's illustrious predecessors. It is a committed, whole-hearted, and ravishing telling of the cycle. I might have wished for a slightly hushed tone in the sixth song where she hints at her expectant state ("Süsser Freund") but it expands meltingly at "Weisst du nun die Tränen". The hardest song for any singer to gage is the seventh one, to her newborn, "An meinem Herzen." Fink and Vignoles take it at the right pace, although I might have wanted a little pause, right before the third stanza, dividing the two halves of the song, for the new mother to catch her breath and renew her delight. The final song in the cycle, on the death of her husband, is ever the heartbreaker, but I missed the crushing quality most accompanists give the opening chord. Fink's coloring of the word "Schleier" ("veil") is haunting.The rest of the disk is mostly made up of less familiar songs, with the exception of "Nussbaum," "Aufträge," and "Lotosblume." But what wonders she reveals in the familiar and neglected alike. The Schumann version of "Kennst du das Land" ("Mignon") is not quite as well-known as either Schubert or Wolff but it definitely adds to our understanding of the homesick waif portrayed. The impact of this song rests less in tonal and melodic drama, like the other versions mentioned, but with the phrasing and rhythmic shifts and minute chromatic differences between stanzas. "Der Nussbaum" can often be cloying with its incessant inner rhymes, but Fink has a directness, a bond with the meaning as well as the words, and vocal substance that get us past anything saccharine in the music. "Lotosblume" avoids the same pitfall by emphasizing the mysterious over the pathetic. These two and "Aufträge" also benefit from the more full-bodied but still sunny mezzo voice as opposed to the chirping soprano more often encountered in these songs. "Ständchen" has the direct, innocuous appeal of a Mendelssohn setting. "Nachtlied" ("Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh'") lacks the instant indelibility of Schubert's setting, but it has a neat resolution from gloomy minor chords to a major-key resignation in the final reiterations of "Balde ruhest du auch" ("Soon too will you rest"). She taps into a more soprano-like voice for "Der Sandmann". "Das verlassne Mägdlein" is not far from Wolff's more famous setting in its pace and melodic/harmonic direction although again there is a little hopefulness in the final chord. The character piece "Kartenlegerin" is winningly portrayed ... almost an mini-epic ballad for a curious and mischievous girl.The late Lenau set, opus 90, is completely new to me. It leans toward the instrumental quality of Brahms lieder and the harmonic opulence of Strauss. There is an undercurrent of gentle heartache but Schumann does not surrender himself or his audience to it wholesale. ("Einsamkeit" sounds on and off like the desolate song about Ophelia, "Herzeleid" from later still, but doesn't sink to her depths; and the following song "Der schwere Abend" has echos of "Ich hab' im Traum geweinet" from _Dichterliebe".) Heartfulness is the prevalent sentiment here, with splendid opportunity for Fink to unfurl her refulgent tone to the fullest. In short, these songs couldn't hope for a more convincing exponent! Brava!The acoustic has a little church-like resonance. It's good to absorb Fink's rich voice, but in the staccato of "Ich kann's nicht fassen" (_Frauenliebe_'s third song) you lose a marginal amount of the intimacy that this cycle calls for even in excitement.Finally, I will mention that the liner note serves up the standard modern apologia for the texts of _Frauenliebe_. I personally have never understood the aversion to these songs, just because they embody a woman's traditional experience in that era. For all her adulation and devotion, I find this woman a lot les subservient than either of the protagonists of the two great Schubert cycles -- a man who trudges through the snow for 24 songs because his girlfriend dumps him, winds up insane or drowned ... I also think that the use of the word "Herr" ("I bow to my lord") in the fifth song, in the context of marriage, is at least meant to suggest the religious and spiritual context of the vows she is about to take.I hope this CD and these songs find an enthusiastic audience. Many thanks to the artists, and to Bernarda Fink especially, for a brilliant début in Lieder."

True greatness!

Kicek&Brys | USA/UK | 07/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bernarda Fink is a rare phenomenon on the current musical scene. Nobody ever called her "a hot property of classical music", she was never "the real thing", "singing sensation" or "the new darling of the industry" - and thank God for that. She maintained a low profile through many years of a very distinguished career and became a real favorite with connoisseurs. I wouldn't hesitate to call her a golden age singer and there are only very, very few who deserve this title today. In a way, it is refreshing to see that the classical music industry didn't get hold of her and of a few other magnificent singers (Isokoski, Podles, Karneus to give examples of female singers only, for here the industry is at its most damaging); on the other hand it inspires a bitter reflection: where is the industry going? what is wrong with these exquisite artists that it takes so long for big record companies to record them, but it is enough for pretty but inexperienced young singers just to turn up and get exclusive contracts with the giants? It is just beyond my comprehension why we are to get excited about singers in the making, about whom most of what can be said now is the promise of "great things to come" (as critics and record companies' PRs stubbornly try to convince us) while so much is going on right now and from singers who are in their prime. And in Fink's case what a prime it is! It's true that she certainly hasn't been neglected by record companies (she has an impressive collection of recordings to her name, most of which can be called events, often thanks to her contribution alone) but it is surprising that she has had to wait so many years to produce her first solo recital. Happily things are changing now and her collaboration with Hyperion brings another solo disc, an album of Argentinian songs, which should be an event too.As for the present disc, it contains the most wonderful Lieder recital I've heard in years. It comes from a mature and experienced singer, which is a blessing after a series of recent recitals recorded by singers much too young (Lieder singing became a kind of fashion, a noble fashion to be sure, but often leaving me in doubt as to the sincerity of the involvement of some performers). Fink's artistry is stupendous! She approaches these songs humbly, with an almost self-effacing modesty and yet with extraordinary individuality. This is true greatness! The timbre of Fink's unique voice, with its noble ring, gives this recital a very special flavor. It is the same quality that makes her singing in oratorio so deeply touching and her operatic creations truly aristocratic. Yet this voice can also sound playful - as Fink proved in Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte" under Rene Jacobs - and it is rewarding to find this playful side of her singing so well represented on this disc ("Der Sandmann", for example).
There is little sense in comparing this recital with other recent or older recordings of Schumann Lieder or even analyzing it song by song (though I can't help not mentioning the marvellous, breathtakingly 'breathless' "Nachtlied", just to give one example of Fink's artistry). Fink gives us something unique and very much her own while still obeying all the rules of Lieder singing. Thanks should go to Harmonia Mundi, one of the very few record companies who haven't stopped producing little wonders without much regard for current marketing trends. My only complaint concerns the packaging, the now almost ubiquitous digipak. I can't hide my impatience with this new packaging practice though I have to admit that the quality of HM's digipaks is far superior to other record companies'. Still, why is the booklet permanently glued inside the cardboard case, making it difficult to follow the texts? There is an even more serious problem with the booklet that makes it quite useless for following the texts: it contains misprints, inexcusable errors and omissions, so those who don't know the poems by heart or don't read German should use some other printed source. Happily Fink's crystalline diction makes the texts beautifully clear for those who choose just to listen to her. Still, it's a shame that this wonderful disc is accompanied by such a messy booklet, but this is not the first nor the last victim of sloppy editing. And all this in the age of computers that were supposed to make our lives easier and better... If anything makes our lives better, if not necessarily easier, it is a recital like this one. In a flood of mediocrity, miracles still happen... (Kicek)"

Fine Schumann recital

jt52 | New Jersey | 09/15/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mezzo Barbara Fink provides a very attractive Schumann recital here, including the famous Frauenliebe und -Leben and the obscure Op. 90 Lenau cycle as well as some individual song selections. I recommend this recording but gave it 4 stars because I don't consider it as good as several other Schumann lieder sets I have been listening to recently. But it only trails by a little bit and is often very beautiful. If you like this repertory, you'll definitely want to hear this disc.



About the Op. 90 cycle setting lyrics by the famous German poet Lenau, this is the only recording I know of this neglected late song cycle. I'll say that, like quite a few of Schumann's later works, it is underwhelming although it has its moments. I'll take an example: the 5th song, "Loneliness" (Einsamkeit) begins with a complicated piano figuration which recollects the best of Schumann's earlier work in its inventiveness, creatively matched with an attractive melody. So far so good. But the song doesn't sustain the initial inspiration and rambles, failing to sustain my interest, at least. The final song, a valedictory "Requiem", falls flat.



Two more comments:



1) I did a direct comparison of the well-known "Auftrage" (op 77-5, track 11) with Elly Ameling's version and prefer Ameling. Fink is fine (she's always good) but it's as if Ameling had understood the structure of the song and what sets it apart from its companions in a better and clearer way. This comment also applies to the famous Frauenlieben cycle - Ameling just presents the music in a clearer way.



2) Roger Vignoles, who is the accompanist on this disc, is superb. One couldn't ask for a better accompanist.



Good CD. If you're a lieder enthusiast, you'll want to hear it. If not, I would look at that von Otter CD with the Frauenliebe cycle on it."