Thomas Quasthoff - A Romantic Songbook (2004)

With A Romantic Songbook, Thomas Quasthoff attempts to re-create the spirit of a live recital in a studio recording. It certainly looks like a recital program: an assortment of lieder composers, each represented by a handful of favorite songs, with a few unfamiliar numbers thrown in to keep things interesting. There's even an encore -- the traditional "Danny Boy." With the exception of Schumann's Belsatzar, the bass-baritone hasn't recorded any of these songs before, and, in fact, this is his first recording to include any songs by Mendelssohn, Carl Loewe, or Richard Strauss. This stylistic variety gives the album a breezy, cheerful disposition that matches Quasthoff's personality. The performances themselves are somewhat uneven. Some, like Schumann's Widmung and Hugo Wolf's Auf einer Wanderung, have a taut lyricism and joyful expression; others, like most of the opening Schubert group, sound vocally and interpretively unfocused. But on balance the album is very enjoyable. The Mendelssohn and Wolf songs are particularly good -- shapely, expressive, and well-played by Justus Zeyen at the piano. Loewe's Herr Oluf -- the story of an ill-fated bridegroom's encounter with the daughter of the mythical Erlking -- shows Quasthoff to be an excellent storyteller, and gives him the chance to show off his low notes. The concluding "Danny Boy," perhaps too croony by half, is still a touching attempt at colloquial style, sung in respectable English.