James Rutherford & Eugene Asti - Schubert: Schwanengesang (2016) [Hi-Res]

When Tobias Haslinger published Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang, D 957 in 1829, he combined two sets of Lieder on texts by Ludwig Rellstab and Heinrich Heine, with Schubert's final song, Die Taubenpost, a setting of a poem by Johann Gabriel Seidl. This established the standard order for most performances of Schwanengesang, though for this 2015 BIS release, baritone James Rutherford and pianist Eugene Asti have included Herbst, D 945, a song composed in 1828 that is sometimes inserted in recitals. Additionally, Rutherford and Asti have transposed Schwanengesang down a minor third, thus creating a version that sits comfortably in the singer's range and is darker in tone than the customary tenor version. With these changes taken into consideration, this performance of Schwanengesang is richly expressive and compelling, due to Rutherford's complete immersion in the meaning of the words, and Asti's sympathetic and understated accompaniment. To round out the program of this hybrid SACD, Rutherford and Asti have included four more Lieder, Die Forelle, D 550, Auf der Bruck, D 853, Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, D 583, and An die Musik, D 547, giving the program a necessary feeling of release after the predominantly brooding atmosphere of Schwanengesang. -- Blair Sanderson