One of the greatest song cycles ever written, while almost 200 years old, has never felt more relevant than today.
Franz Schubert’s “Winterreise” (meaning “winter journey”) will be performed Friday at 7:30 p.m. at St. Ambrose University’s Allaert Auditorium, by baritone Nathan Windt and pianist Marian Lee. They are both on the music faculty of the school, and the free 75-minute presentation will be accompanied by 178 photographs from Randy Richmond, an adjunct art professor at SAU.
Windt — who sang selections from the 1827 song cycle last March at SAU’s Madsen Hall, as part of the “Casual Classics” series — asks, “As members of a community, how do we reach out to those who are lonely and isolated? Individually, when we are feeling isolated, how can we connect with community in a way that will allow us to feel included and needed?
“Winterreise” (comprised of 24 songs) follows an individual setting out for an unknown future, compelling us to reflect on ourselves and our relationship with others.
“I don’t think there’s been a more relevant time for anyone outside of classical music to understand and appreciate this particular song cycle,” Windt said this week. “This idea that a person tries internally and externally to relate himself or herself to society.”
The 11th song, “Spring Dream,” imagines the blooming of springtime and warmth (in weather and affection), and anyone can relate to that now — toward the end of another bitterly cold winter, Windt said.
“I see that and I see it in a pandemic window of like, when will we return to normal, right?” he said. “Even though things for some seem to be normal now, for many others, it’s not and it’s just a still a very interesting time and how we interact with each other.”
“It’s metaphorical. It’s his relationship to people. It’s a yearning for winter to be over,” Windt said of “Winterreise.”
“That’s what makes it so great. I know people may think of 75 minutes of German as intimidating, and I totally respect that and understand that, but even if they don’t understand a word of what I sing, I think through Schubert’s music; through Randy’s pictures; through Marian’s playing — that they’re going to be able to experience these feelings and come to their own decisions about how do I interact with other people? How do I treat the stranger next to me as we learn to deal with one another?”
This cycle is considered the mountaintop of German art song for many reasons, including the fact it was penned just a year before Schubert’s early death at 31 from syphilis.
“For four or five years before he died, he’d been diagnosed with syphilis and back then, that’s a death sentence. So he knew he was probably going to die young,” Windt said. “It’s really easy to look at this text and see someone who’s really grappling with life-or-death issues, and feeling lonely, and loss and despairing without hope.”
It’s also considered an “Everest” of classical music “because the music is so powerful and the text is so approachable and relatable that it combines to give it its legendary status,” he said.
At 42, Windt said this is a pinnacle achievement for him to be able sing “Winterreise,” finally.
“It’s amazing. It’s very intimidating,” he said. “About five years ago, I just felt like I needed to learn the cycle because I didn’t know it. I didn’t know the whole cycle. As an enthusiast of German art song, I was kind of embarrassed. How do I not know this whole cycle?
“I think I’ve got some experience in my personal life and work life, that I can relate in the song cycle and I hope if I can perform this another three or four or five times, that I’ll have new perspectives to add that new interpretation,” Windt said. “It’s definitely a pinnacle. It’s like humbling and intimidating all at once to be able to perform.”
A lonely traveler seeking answers
“Winterreise” is set to poems by Wilhelm Müller and tells the story of a lonely traveler who ventures out into the snow on a journey to rid himself of his lost love. Along the way, he experiences a turmoil of different emotions, mostly ranging from despair to greater despair, according to Theconversation.com.
During his short life, Schubert wrote over 600 art songs, 20 sonatas for piano, six major works for violin and piano, nine symphonies for orchestra and an impressive amount of chamber music.
The L.A. Philharmonic wrote that the “Winterreise” cycle — 16 of whose songs are in minor keys – “depicts the emotions of a lovelorn wanderer against a bleak, wintry landscape. The cycle is, in the words of Schubert authority Richard Capell, “70 pages of lamentation on lamentation… whose interest lies in depth of feeling rather than psychological refinement.”
With COVID-19, it’s so appropriate to reflect the cycle’s themes of loneliness and isolation, Windt (SAU’s director of choral activities) said. In many ways, “Winterreise” is even more meaningful now two years into the pandemic, versus one year last March.
“In some ways, we’ve made some steps forward and kind of embraced reintegrating ourselves into what we used to do and how we used to interact with others,” he said. “But there’s still this element of Isolation, when you walk into a store, into a classroom wondering — do I need to have a mask on? How close can I get to this person? Should I shake their hand?”
“I think there are issues that this story tells that people will be able to relate pre-and-post pandemic,” he said.
Last March, Lee and Windt performed about a half-dozen of the songs from the small Madsen Hall, streamed on Facebook Live, and they discussed the connection between the wanderer’s pain and our own today, and how we try make sense of our place in this world.
Last year at Madsen, there were just about 15 people in person, with social distancing, he noted. “Now, there’s going to be plenty of seating. I think we’re going to have a good audience,” Windt said. “I’m a little alarmed at how many people say they’re going to come.” Friday’s event will not be livestreamed.
“The multimedia aspect is pretty cool because my colleague Randy Richmond, he’s done some still life photography. That collaboration with each slide is really interesting, because it allows the viewer to kind of come to their own perception and interpretation.”
“You allow the viewer to just kind of let their mind wander, as they’re listening to the music and experiencing the photography,” Windt said. He wanted to combine photos with the concert, even though the classic music stands on its own.
“I just like the idea of collaborating with them,” he said. “Anytime you can get multiple groups involved on a project, it’s an advantage for me.” Richmond’s photos also help bring the story to life and make it more accessible for patrons, Windt said.
The auditorium is in Galvin Fine Arts Center on the Ambrose campus, at Locust and Gaines streets, Davenport.
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