DIE SCHÖNE MÜLLERIN | SOUNDBOARD - REVIEW

Michael Kelly & David Leisner: Franz Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin


SOUNDBOARD - SepTember 2023

Al Kunze

Soundboard is a guitar-oriented publication. I assume this is not a surprise. However, the performance of a major song cycle such as Die schöne Müllerin succeeds or fails on the quality of the singer's performance. But to address the guitar portion of the experience first, David Leisner's performance of his own arrangements of the Schubert piano parts is extremely successful. Leisner very sensibly does not attempt a literal transcription of the piano parts but rather provides the essence of the original accompaniment as needed to support the voice. Now to the vocal aspects.

My "go to" performance of this work is aversion done by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau with Gerald Moore. Now, at the risk of being accused of hyperbole, I wil assert that this performance by Michael Kelly rises to that level. In other words, this performance can stand with the finest earlier recordings. I do not have space to take the reader through all twenty of the songs, but some general observations will substantiate my case. Kelly has a fairly light voice, and might even be mistaken for a tenor. But it is a voice of exceptional beauty with a very even scale, seamless legato, and admirably steady vibrato. Additionally, since there are so many strophic songs in the cycle, his ability to inflect his basic sound to characterize the drama of a song is essential. His dynamic range goes from strong fortes to melting mezza voce. The progression of the cycle is from sunny optimism to depths of despair. Kelly and Leisner provide an exemplary journey through that dramatic arc

Recorded sound is good, although I often wished for a bigger and warmer sound from the guitar. The excellent notes to the album, including texts and translations, are only available online, though conveniently accessed by a QR code.