Bryn Terfel - Schumann: Liederkreis Op. 39, Romanzen & Balladen

This generous selection of songs offers an overview of the wide variety of form, character, and atmosphere of Schumann's lieder, from darkly menacing, dramatic ballads to rapturous expressions of love, magical evocations of nature, and mysterious night pieces. The program includes both familiar favorites such as "Die beiden Grenadiere" and the cycle Liederkreis, and rarities hardly ever performed, such as the Husarenlieder and the three songs of Tragödie, the last a duet. The performances are beyond praise. Bryn Terfel's voice is of incomparable beauty, sonorous as an organ, powerful as an orchestra, yet capable of infinite tenderness, warmth, and delicacy; his technique and breath control are infallible. In "Der Contrabandiste," a bravura piece in a lighter vein, his virtuosity is stunning. It almost seems ungrateful to mention that some of his tempos are extremely slow, that his care for the text sometimes leads to excessive word painting, his operatic background to overdramatization. Fortunately, many songs justify this approach. Malcolm Martineau, a splendid pianist and ideal partner, balances sensitive support with leadership; his preludes and postludes are perfectly paced, organic parts of a whole. --Edith Eisler