There were many great vocalists "discovered" in
Graham Johnson's
Schubert edition, but one of the best of them was
Matthias Goerne, a powerful German baritone with a hooded but powerful voice and a supple legato tone even in the loudest climaxes and with a powerful sense of presence in even the quietest passages. It is a testimony to his abilities that he was hired to sing the edition's Winterreise and a testimony to his stature that Decca signed him to an exclusive contract. This 1997 recording of
Schubert's
Goethe songs is one of the first issues from Decca. And it is every bit as wonderful as
Goerne's earlier
Schubert recordings. The depth, the gravity, the intensity, the intimacy, and the absolute dedication to the music as the expression of the poem makes
Goerne's recital not only one of the best recent
Schubert baritone recitals, but one of the best baritone
Schubert recitals of all time, fit to stand with the best of
Hotter,
Prey, and even
Fischer-Dieskau. Listen to the bottomless despair of his Harper songs, to the bravura exhilaration of his An Schwager Kronos (D. 369) to the blissful sensuality of his Nahe des Geliebten (D. 162), listen, in other words, to the whole recital start to end. Is this not greatness?