"Another speaker asked [Thomas] Hampson's thoughts on performing this repertoire [Das Lied von der Erde--MF] in a language other than German. Hampson said he had recently received a proposal to do Winterreise in English. "It's a noble attempt," he said, " but I would say absolutely, unequivocally, unchangeably, No." I wrote the above in November 2003 after a post-concert discussion between Hampson, tenor Donald Litaker, Leonard Slatkin, and audience members. The thrust of Hampson's argument was that Schubert had composed the songs with the sound of German in his head; to do it in any other language would do violence to the music. I am currently listening to Schubert's "A Winter Journey," by Jeffrey Benton, baritone, and Rona Lowe, piano, Symposium Records 1118. Listening in sick fascination, that is. Winterreise is cruel. Not only does the traveler become more and more deranged, but the singer has nowhere to hide. I heard several intonation issues. Take the first song, "Good Night." It has been pointed out that the first note of the cycle doubly states the traveler's alienation: not only is his journey starting at night rather than in daylight, but that first note is in a baritone's highest range. Benton hits the first one okay, but the second one is flat. And so are many others, I find. Here's an idea of the translation (first stanza of Good Night; sing along to get the full effect; I know all readers here know the tune): I came here as a stranger A stranger I depart I came when May was blossoming And joy was in my heart. I met a girl who spoke of love Our wedding day was planned The mother gave her blessing I soon would take her hand. See what I mean by sick fascination? It rhymes, it adheres roughly to the original, yet the meter or syntax or something makes it too sing-songy. And a crucial thing is missed. While Benton sings of *the* mother, he talks only about *a* girl. In the original, it's Das Maedchen spracht von Liebe, die Mutter var von Eh': "The girl spoke of love, the mother even of marriage." Schubert/Mueller's jilted lover views them as objects, not as people. This does not happen in Winter Journey. Cut to "The Weather Vane": The wind is playing with the weather vane over the house where my sweetheart lives. And so it seems my confusion It hisses and mocks this fugitive. If I had noticed the warnings sooner and heeded the sign of the weather vane Then I would never have sown the love of the faithless woman who caused this pain. Now this was kind of clever, but look at what is lost. Where Schubert ends the first sentence above on the word "haus," Benton finishes on "lives:" you just can't open your mouth on "lives" and "fugitive," whereas Schubert's German singer has "haus" and "aus." The German to me sounds full-throated, the English constricted. High marks to Benton, though, for trying to do something with Fluechtling, "fugitive." Another example where not singing in German hurts comes in "By the Stream" ("Auf Dem Flusse"). To get the full impact of this, I recommend Fischer-Dieskau. When he sings, "Mit harter, starrer Rinde," the aural impact of all those R's is overwhelming. Benton, speaking to a river, is stuck with "You are no longer rushing." The difference is that instead of Germanic, guttural R's, the stress falls on the characterless "ru" in "rushing," and that the "ing" takes too long to resolve. Incidentally, Benton and Lowe take this song *much* slower than any version I have. Maybe that's on purpose, as he does sing "You are no longer rushing." Now "The Crow," a song that I thought worked really well. I was followed by a crow from the village trailing All day flying to and fro round my head still sailing. Crow, fascinating crow endlessly you tease me Thinking of the prey below Watching when to seize me. Now I have not far to go Carry me no more, my stave Crow, oh crow, then show to me Faith until the grave. Crow, oh crow, then show to me Faith until the grave. Benton is forced to carry "grave" too far in both cases. However, this is frightening imagery, carried off well. Because of the many repeated "o's," I would have been tempted to try "Crow, fascinating bird," just to change the vowel sounds. Another song I thought worked well, possibly the best, was the last one, "The Organ Grinder." Just behind the town an organ grinder stands and he turns the handle with his frozen hands. Barefoot in the snow he shuffles on his way Not a single penny in his empty tray. No one wants to hear him No one looks his way Doves are snarling round him No heed does he pay. But he lets it happen as he always will He just goes on turning, never is he still. Curious old fellow, shall I go along? Will you grind your organ only to my song? Well. Benton and Lowe win the Best Effort in a Losing Cause competition by a mile. As fascinated as I am by languages and Winterreise, I have to say that this performance, even though I will listen to it again, does not work for me. I get the feeling that this disc was made on a shoestring, one take for each song was all they could afford. What other explanation is there for the clanger of a wrong note at 0:13 of The Stormy Morning? This, in a song that lasts less than a minute. Other than that, Rona Lowe accompanied well. Running 79:31, this was a very long performance. Other times available are Goerne/Brendel, 75:32; Fassbaender/Reimann, 69:31; DFD/Demus, 71:22; Elsner/Henschel Quartett, 68:45 (the string quartet version is another one that didn't work well for me); Hotter/Moore, 75:04; Pregardien/Staier, 73:57; and Schreier/Schiff, 72:20. I know there are repeats in places, but Benton/Lowe were not only longer, they were noticeably slower in many of the songs. Weirdly enough for such a labor of love -- Benton did the translations himself -- there is no libretto. But as you can see from the several quotes above, his diction is very good. My next Winterreise will have to be Fassbaender or DFD, if only to get the language right. Mitch Friedfeld