Dear Isabelle and co vocalisters
First: thanks Isabelle, for the Schwarzkopf 'Voi che sapete', I really like it,
and what's worth more, it is very interesting. But it also makes me feel a
little uncertain: should we start singing all Mozart aria's like this? And if
somebody wrote this out, how sure can we be that it is really authentic?
Nevertheless, I've heard simular stories about Mozart ornamentations before,
but never an example.
As for the ritards issue:
I don't know what a ritard is, is it the American expression for a riterdando?
I only know the expressions riterdando and ritenuto. Janowitz said: 'no
riterdando', not 'no ritenuto'. She also said riterdandi did not exist in
Schubert's time.
Personally I doubt that: in a song like 'Gretchen am Spinrade' the pianist has
to change the tempo quite drastically within the phrase. And in some Schubert
songs, it even says: 'rit.', which must mean something. The Peters edition has
'riterdando', the Urtext edition just 'rit.'.
As for the question what to do at the end of a song: here Janowitz wanted the
pianist to wait before playing the very last note, which is a highly
concentrated riterdando i.m.o, but can you see it as an (unwritten!) fermate.
But to me, her words just mean: be careful and don't sing Schubert like
Schumann. But I must admit that I never take anyone's words for granted, I have
heard to much nonsense and rubbish in my life to do that. To be completely
honest: as much as I do like her 'Vier letzte Lieder', I don't like her
recordings of Schubert Lieder that much, they are a bit too sterile. And then,
like often when these songs are sung one octave too high, they get a little bit
restless, or nervous.
Best greetings,
Dré
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