I'm devoting the month of February to art songs and starting with the undisputed master of the genre, Franz Schubert. I've chosen two songs that illustrate the Diva / Mensch duality, performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore:
Diva: "Die Allmacht"
Mensch: "Sei mir gegrüsst"
"Die Allmacht" is a real roof-raiser, a show-off piece if ever there was one. Fischer-Dieskau's singing is marvelously indulgent, full of thrust and diva attitude in the stentorian sections and overly limpid in the lyrical sections.
"Sei mir gegrüsst" is so tender and restrained in comparison. Fischer-Dieskau still spreads it pretty thick, but he stays true to the spirit of the song.
Gerald Moore's playing is supremely elegant in both songs.
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