Schubert: Will-o'-the-wisps

Austrian mezzo-soprano Sophie Rennert, accompanied by experienced pianist Joseph Middleton, presents a selection of Schubert Lieder, blending beloved masterpieces with lesser-known gems. Sophie Rennert’s extensive operatic repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary works, from Henry Purcell, Jean-Philippe Rameau, George Frideric Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and operetta. Numerous recordings with leading figures in the early music scene further attest to the quality of her voice. Praised by critic David Nice as "a mezzo with many colors, subtlety, dramatic intelligence, and an extremely brilliant top," it was only a matter of time before she would lend her voice to the highly dramatic Lieder of Franz Schubert. The title of this concert, "Irrlichter" (Will-o'-the-wisps), is derived from Rennert’s favorite song, "Des Fischers Liebesglück." And much like a will-o'-the-wisp, the composer leaves us in a state of uncertainty. Is the song a memory or merely a deep, unfulfilled longing? This feeling, which permeates all of Schubert's music, is in a sense the red thread that runs through this collection of songs with their twilight mood. Each of these individual Schubert settings portrays a different dream, a different longing, waiting to be discovered.