Franz Schubert: Winterreise, d.911
Mark Padmore, tenore
Paul Lewis, piano
Harmonia Mundi USA (HMU 907484)

Recordings (or interpretations in general) of Schubert's "Winterreise" seem to fall into two categories: One is in the "intellectualist" tradition that shows great command of (and insight into) the Wilhelm Müller lyrics Schubert wrote his music for, but can at times sound as if at were sung during a Hausmusik gathering: slightly detached, melancholically telling of a time long gone, the main point here seems to be a fixation on the texts as a represantation of the thoughts and feelings of early 19th century German romanticism. To me, Fischer-Dieskau, (to a lesser degree) Hotter, and Prégardien fall into this category - which isn't to say anything against their mastery, mind you!
On the other hand there appears to be something like an "expressionist" approach which first of all seems to try to capture the overall feeling of deep sadness, darkness, and loneliness of this song-cycle of all song-cycles. The exponents of this tradition might not always get to the very core of every single line of Müller's texts to the degree the above singers do, but they often enough completely immerse themselves into the Schubertian idiom. In their interpretations we are essentially left with a sense of the immediacy and intimacy of these songs and the result can at times be heartbreaking. Anders, Patzak, and particularly Pears would come to mind here.
And now there's this new recording by the very great early music / baroque tenore Mark Padmore that might in some aspects represent the tradition of British tenores singing "lieder" that many would mainly associate with Peter Pears. But there's more to it: As mentioned above, Padmore started as a specialist for early and baroque music. In fact, I heard him serval times in the role of the "Evangelist" in Bach's passions and would easily declare him the finest and most adequate singer I have ever heard for this part: He has a quite high but still miraculously bodied tenore voice, crystal clear diction, superb intonation, and excellent control of the German texts he sings. In short, his voice is gorgeous and when he sings "... und ging hinein und weinete bitterlich" as in the "Matthäuspassion" in one long, floating, silvery line, time stops. It's this wonderful combination of clearness and passion / immersion that also makes him a believable "storyteller" and therefore makes this "Winterreise" recording so special.
Padmore manages to use the early music attributes of his voice with great effect: Listen to the way he moves to almost "senza vibrato" during parts of the heartwrenching five final songs, turning the scene into a wasteland of ice and snow. The concluding "Willst zu meinen Liedern deine Leier dreh'n?" of "Der Leiermann" is a wonder to behold: It soars up to the skies one last time before freezing and fading away without the tiniest sign of sentimentality. The utter eeriness we have arrived at here had been building up throughout the entire cycle before: Padmore's wanderer is one who right after the first two songs begins to melt with the landscape around him. Actually, what Padmore manages to convey at least as well as anyone before him, is the fact that this cycle isn't so much about unrequited love than just about one young outsider's long journey into black despair. This is apparent right from the start: Even the opening "Gute Nacht" seems to be sung in a laconic, somewhat cynical manner when Padmore has the wanderer remember the better days of his amorous encounters. From here on, everything is going a way long planned.
The surroundings of this way are brilliantly depicted in the piano accompaniment of Paul Lewis, who offers playing of great warmth and tone. It's actually very fitting that Lewis' dark and gloomy piano timbre partners with Padmore's rather light voice for "Winterreise", giving the wanderer enough space to rise above it, only to - as in the concluding five songs - finally engulf him in an almost toneless bed of snow. A great recording!