Near the Brook
by Susanne Krekel
Hohenems, may the first 2024 - One usually calls the lied collections cycles, but at least Die schöne Müllerin is nothing less than circular, on the contrary, it’s a voyage with a well-defined beginning and end. It tells the unhappy love-story of a young miller, accompanied by a brook, from the discovery of a mill and the miller’s daughter, until the tragic end.
On this sunny May afternoon, in the context of the Hohenems Schubertiade - this almost mythical festival where the very best lied and chamber musicians come together - young baritone Andrè Schuen and Daniel Heide at the piano interpreted it in a marvelous location, the Markus Sittikus concert hall.
Andrè Schuen has a magnificent instrument and he knows how to use it. Although an excellent actor and much appreciated by the opera publics, his lied interpretation is devoid of acting tricks. He simply sings and tells his story, perfectly grasping and conveying the sense of each word.
The first four Lieder were delivered at the speed of the brook, and we were instantly following the young miller who himself followed the flowing brook. Daniel Heide played the first bars of the rolling accompaniment, and the deep strong voice of Andrè Schuen filled the hall, with a bit of brass in the forte, dark blue, almost black velvet when he sang more piano, and pianissimi that were just a breath — breath-taking indeed. His legato was a marvel, his diction perfect ; from lace to rock, every material crystallised in this singing. There really is no need for acting skills: Daniel Heide and Andrè Schuen didn’t pretend to be the protagonists of the piece, they were the very medium to give life to the art of Schubert and Müller.
The lieder expressing the love of the young girl went straight to the heart, and at least the female part of the public must have wondered about the lady’s eye-sight, and how she could possibly opt for the man in green. The texts, indeed, are somewhat ambiguous, nothing indicates clearly that the miller’s love has been rewarded, all of his jubilation might be based on pure imagination. Anyway, finally he has to accept that the lady isn’t really interested, and he moves from anger to resignation - interpreted with energy and finesse. We remembered the singer as Guglielmo in 2020 in Munich, and his impressive thundering rage and purring amorous accents. Often the miller addresses the brook, and the latter sings his last lullaby. ‟Schlaf aus deine Freude, schlaf aus dein Leid… und der Himmel da oben, wie ist er so weit.” (Rest from your joy, rest from your pain … and the sky up there, how vast is it.) With the last line, Daniel Heide and Andrè Schuen expanded the vastness of the sky above us, the last notes resounded from the piano, and everything was there, consolation, pause, and the final peace.
A long silence, applause, bravos, five curtains, but there was no encore - stands to reason. Reality had us back, and the moment, as magic as it might be, cannot be retained.