This special release is not only for avid Schubert song-cycle collectors but also for the rest of us, music lovers who appreciate exploring the back roads of well-trodden tracks. And, in case you wonder, yes, Schubert played the guitar ever since his adolescence. A romantic, six-gut-stringed instrument popular in people's homes. He owned several. How good he was at it, we don’t know, but we do know that he composed at least one song cycle – this one – for this instrument and that other song cycles have been arranged for guitar as well, if not by him, then surely by others, for clients with a guitar and, like the master himself, no piano at home.

It is this version that the Austrian lyric tenor Markus Miesenberger and his fellow countryman Christian Haymel bring back to the catalogue in an intimate rendition reminiscent of the Viennese Salons and Tavernas of the 19th century, and above all, recalling the “Schubertiades”, the informal gatherings of Schubert and his friends. In his liner notes, Markus Miesenberger reckons there must be around 230 recorded complete versions, raising the question of what another one could really add to that list. The answer is simple: there are only a few, or rather, very few recordings with the guitar.

Indeed, it took me a while to find only two other sets: Philippe Sly, baritone, and John Britton, guitar, though not entirely complete and no longer available (Analekta Records); and another one: Matthias Helm, baritone, accompanied by two guitars, Duo Hasard, Stephan Buchegger and Guntram Zauner, on a 2016 Gramola release, regrettably in RBCD format. For that reason alone, this new Challenge Classics recording merits all our attention. And to underscore the importance of this rare jewel, CC engaged Bert van der Wolf’s engineering services and NorthStar Recording's facility. Classical music fans know what it means: The top tier of Hi-Res engineering

Regular visitors know Markus from another CC beauty: Cupido: Love Songs by Haydm, Giuliani and the Wiener Lied Collection - Miesenberger, Traxler, Haimel, as someone equally at home on the lyric stage or as a Viennese Lied singer. His honest tone lends credibility to this song cycle, lifting out the longing and deception of a young, inexperienced miller's apprentice, opposed to a keen hunter, both seeking the favours of the beautiful miller's daughter: die Schöne Müllerin. The way Markus Miesenberger sings, and the way Christian Haimel plays, is not the same as traditionally concocted by The Matchmaker under The Fiddler’s Roof: The pure intimacy this set invokes, the nearness of the two musicians in your listening room, the warmth enhanced by the gut-strung guitar (and Bert van der Wolf), is indeed the result of an equal and perfect match. What more can I say than: “do listen for yourself”, discovering an original version with as much pleasure as it brought to me.

The German texts are available in the booklet, but without English translation. However, if you are lucky enough to own the other Challenge Classics beauty Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin - Prégardien / Gees, you will find an English translation there.

Blangy-le-Château, Normandy, France.

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