Schubert: Die Schöne Mullerin Thomas Guthrie, Barokksolistene & Bjarte Eike

• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie):
• 1Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 1, Das Wandern02:34
• 2Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 2, Wohin?02:12
• 3Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 3, Halt!01:27
• 4Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 4, Danksagung an den Bach02:22
• 5Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 5, Am Feierabend02:24
• 6Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 6, Der Neugierige03:59
• 7Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 7, Ungeduld02:21
• 8Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 8, Morgengruss04:23
• 9Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 9, Des Müllers Blumen02:49
• 10Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 10, Tränenregen03:40
• 11Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 11, Mein!02:14
• 12Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 12, Pause05:01
• 13Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 13, Mit dem grünen Lautenbande01:57
• 14Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 14, Der Jäger01:04
• 15Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 15, Eifersucht und Stolz01:32
• 16Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 16, Die liebe Farbe04:21
• 17Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 17, Die böse Farbe01:52
• 18Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 18, Trockne Blumen03:42
• 19Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 19, Der Müller und der Bach04:15
• 20Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (Arr. Thomas Guthrie): No. 20, Des Baches Wiegenlied06:01
• Total Runtime01:00:10

Info for Schubert: Die Schöne Mullerin

Thomas Guthrie writes: “In 2001, I had studied for a PhD at York University under the guidance of the inspirational conductor, musicologist and all-round Lieder lover, Peter Seymour. Our subject was ornamentation in Schubert Lieder. I was a poor student, and never finished it, but my eyes and ears were opened to the idea that Schubert expected his singers to ornament - and adapt in other ways - his music.  “I also learnt some of the wider ideas inherent to Rhetoric, an obsession of the literati of the Renaissance (and later). At the heart of this antique science, based on the art of both speech writing and speech giving, is the idea that genuine engagement with an audience demands spontaneity and invention.

“Composers created their music under the influence of this Europe-wide cornerstone of the commonly adopted education system, called the Trivium, which persisted well into the 19th century (Schubert himself was taught entirely in ancient Greek until the age of 15). They were therefore reliant on performers (when they were not the performers of their own music) understanding and embracing one tacitly agreed and fundamental starting point: that music is nothing without the performer and the audience. Storytelling demands us to engage with our whole presence and being.

“The late 19th and 20th century obsession with serving the composer above all else is now seen, in many ways, if not as misguided, then certainly inadequate. Composers writing under the influence of Rhetoric understood that it is impossible to predict the circumstances of every performance, and therefore expected the performer to take their share of the responsibility of making it work. According to the rules of Rhetoric, this should be exactly half of it, right down to questions of tempo, instrumentation, expression and even the notes themselves. In this context, performing Schubert songs in white tie and tails, standing in the crook of a large grand piano in a refined, often large-capacity cultural venue, began to seem to me to be inauthentic, and even contrary to the spirit in which Schubert had composed them. To do so is certainly to offer something quite different to what he would have expected. His songs were written for intimate social occasions, celebrating friendship and storytelling in the most relaxed, offhand and (often) alcohol-fuelled way, with participants bringing instruments and dressing up. In other words, they are not so different to any other examples of music, theatre and storytelling intended to bring people together in real life situations to feel connected, imbued with a sense of belonging and shared moments, and embraced by love and human warmth.

“As we nervously approach the Age of AI, I suspect evenings like these will become even more important, and more desirable. I hope so. My thoughts wander again to the wide-eyed 5-year-old, toasting by the fire, as the story came alive around him. After many years of touring, theatre and song making later, I feel that a lot of what I do is an attempt to recapture the excitement I felt that night. I hope you can feel even a tiny whiff of it as you listen to these songs, which are humbly brought to you with my great friends in the Alehouse Boys, to whom I will always be grateful. Above all, I hope they conjure some sense of the Schubert that perhaps we have come to miss - a lover of relaxed storytelling through friendship, humanity, and intimacy.”

Guthrie Thomas, baritone
Barokksolistene
Bjarte Eike, direction

Guthrie Thomas
is an innovative and award-winning British director and musician working in theatre and music to tell stories in vivid, new and direct ways.

A former Jette Parker Young Artist Stage Director at the Royal Opera House in London, his revival of David McVicar’s production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte there won What’s On Stage Best Revival 2018. His own critically acclaimed productions of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte at Longborough Festival Opera led to an invitation to direct Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer there in 2018 (subsequently called ‘one of the best productions at this venue I have seen’, Rupert Christiansen, Telegraph). He directed Verdi’s Aida at the Liceu in 2020, Handel’s Semele in Paris, Rome, London and Barcelona in 2019 and his 2020 production of Gagliano’s rare 1608 opera La Dafne – created in a week with young singers at the Brighton Early Music Festival – was nominated for a 2020 RPS Award.

Projects since lockdown have included Our Street, an opera written by and for the borough of Lewisham, Stories We Tell Ourselves, a new devised opera Constanze, Offenbach’s Robinson Crusoé, and a staging of Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine at the Royal Albert Hall (‘One of the most staggering things I’ve ever seen … Mesmerising’, X).

With a reputation for stylish, unfussy, energetic, physical, and theatrical work, the clarity of the storytelling, the commitment of the performers and a pre-eminence of musical values are at the heart of his productions.

Tom also works with non-professionals of all ages and backgrounds. Some of his most thrilling projects have been in this field, including work with his own charity Music and Theatre for All, Streetwise Opera, the Prison Choir Project, the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, and the Royal Opera House, through whom he has inspired hundreds to connect with their inner Caruso and raise the roof. His production of Ludd and Isis, a new opera commissioned to launch the ROH’s new Production Park in Thurrock, involving a cast of hundreds, including professionals and amateurs of all ages, was acclaimed as ‘one of the Royal Opera House’s grandest achievements’ (Opera).

As a singer he has performed at venues worldwide with conductors such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Sir Richard Hickox. His production of Winterreise with puppet has been running for almost 20 years (‘Brilliant. Stunning. Not only is the voice production, vocal tone and phrasing the most sensitive and expressive I have heard since Fischer-Dieskau’s earlier recordings, but the German pronunciation is the best I have heard from a non-native’ (Youtube comment).’It was absolutely a life-changing experience seeing Thomas Guthrie’s production of Winterreise in Kent.’ (Youtube comment). ‘audaciously expressive, chilling and thrilling’ (Sunday Times), ’an extraordinary experience’ (Opera Now).

Thomas is the founder and artistic director of the charity Music and Theatre for All, former Guest Artistic Advisor to the York Early Music Festival, was Belknap Fellow at Princeton University, New Jersey in 2017, and is proud to sing and play with Bjarte Eike’s Alehouse Boys.

Booklet for Schubert: Die Schöne Mullerin