Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

Hopefully the first in a series of reviews of classic orchestral, choral and vocal albums.

When Universal Music announced in 2023 that it had acquired Hyperion Records and would make its catalogue available for streaming services, this was one of the first albums I was most gung-ho about listening to. Not only is the Hyperion Schubert Edition among the most comprehensive recording cycles ever completed, but it also gives many listeners a chance to hear great opera stars in their prime tackling the drama and intimacy of Franz Schubert’s solo songs. One of these great artists is the much-loved and dearly missed Slovak soprano Lucia Popp, who recorded this entry in the series only a year before her death from brain cancer in 1993.

All the songs on this disc were composed in 1816, among the most prolific years of Schubert’s tragically short life. Except for an extended setting of a German translation of lines from one of the eight Ossian epic poems by Scottish writer James Macpherson (D. 150), all the lieder featured are miniatures which have sadly sat unperformed by many song recitalists in recent decades, and which deserve to be fully heard again.

Highlights include the opening Lied (D. 373), Phidile (D. 500) and An mein Klavier (D. 342). All of these tracks perfectly capture the rare, crystalline and austere beauty that was Lucia Popp’s voice. Even if her higher range may have sounded somewhat restrained by her failing health, she nonetheless excels here in weaving musical tales of sorrow, joy and the beauty of nature and music, particularly in the album’s final track (guaranteed to put a lump in the listener’s throat by the final two verses). These are aided immeasurably by Graham Johnson’s insightful and winning accompaniment. For anyone looking to explore Franz Schubert’s songs more in-depth, this volume is a fantastic introduction and a sorrowful memorial to one of the most revered voices of the twentieth century who died far too young.