James Rutherford, Eugene Asti - Schubert: Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano) (2021)

When Franz Schubert in 1827 invited a friend to the first performance of his Winterreise, he called it "a cycle of horrifying songs". The texts that he had chosen to set were by the poet Wilhelm Müller, whose 24 poems form a psychodrama which starts with regret over a lost love but develops into an inner voyage in which a nameless Wanderer probes for answers to existential questions. There is no plot, no events in the external world: instead, we spy on fleeting emotions and thoughts. In setting these poems to music Schubert was confronting his own probable fate: Winterreise was completed the year before his death in 1828, at the age of 31, and he will have known that the syphilis he had contracted in late 1822 often led to insanity and paralysis before release in death. With this in mind, one understands why Schubert himself said that the cycle had cost him "more effort than any of my other songs".
Originally written for tenor voice, the songs are often heard transposed to other vocal ranges. Here the whole cycle is transposed a minor third down, to suit the baritone of James Rutherford. Primarily active as an opera singer – he is a Wagner specialist – Rutherford also enjoys a long-lasting partnership with pianist Eugene Asti. On BIS the two have previously released a recording of Schubert’s Schwanengesang – a very praised version.
Tracklist
01. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 1, Gute Nacht
02. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 2, Die Wetterfahne
03. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 3, Gefrorne Tränen
04. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 4, Erstarrung
05. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 5, Der Lindenbaum
06. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 6, Wasserflut
07. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 7, Auf dem Flusse
08. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 8, Rückblick
09. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 9, Irrlicht
10. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 10, Rast
11. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 11, Frühlingstraum
12. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 12, Einsamkeit
13. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 13, Die Post
14. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 14, Der greise Kopf
15. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 15, Die Krähe
16. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 16, Letzte Hoffnung
17. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 17, Im Dorfe
18. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 18, Der stürmische Morgen
19. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 19, Täuschung
20. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 20, Der Wegweiser
21. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 21, Das Wirtshaus
22. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 22, Mut!
23. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 23, Die Nebensonnen
24. Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 (Arr. for Baritone & Piano): No. 24, Der Leiermann