Tenor
Julian Prégardien
certainly has plenty of competition with this recording of
Schubert
's song cycle
Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795
. However, his entry into the field is distinctive in several ways and can stand with any of the other recent ones. Lieder buffs will remember that the singer's father,
Christoph Prégardien
, not only recorded this cycle but did so with a historically oriented pianist,
Andreas Staier
, at a time (
1992
) when historical performances of
were not so common.
Julian
's second-generation recording certainly has a "family resemblance," but it is no knockoff, and it has several key attractions. One is accompanist
Kristian Bezuidenhout
's fortepiano, a copy of an 1825
Graf
instrument from Vienna that is a clear, precise improvement on
Staier
's fortepiano and a good candidate for what
might have imagined as an ideal piano sound. Another draw is the engineering from
Harmonia Mundi
at the SWR Funkstudio in Stuttgart, which fits beautifully with
Prégardien
's overall concept of the cycle. It is worth remembering that
never hit the big time, and most of his works were written for small audiences of friends and connoisseurs.
reproduces that intimate atmosphere, getting quieter as the courtship of the beautiful miller's daughter goes seriously south, and the last few songs have a really touching and intense atmosphere. There is much more to hear in what is definitely one of the major lieder releases of 2024. ~ James Manheim