The collection published posthumously as Schwanengesang, D957 was never arranged as an integrated song cycle by Schubert himself, but was assembled by publisher Tobias Haslinger from settings of Ludwig Rellstab, Heinrich Heine, and Johann Gabriel Seidl. Completing their survey of Schubert’s major Lieder collections for ABC Classic, baritone David Greco and keyboardist Erin Helyard maintain Haslinger’s traditional sequence for this landmark Australian period-instrument release. 

Recorded on a replica of an early 19th-century Graf fortepiano, the album joins a small discography of historical-keyboard accounts. While pioneering period recordings by Michael Schopper with Jos van Immerseel and Dominik Wörner with Christoph Hammer established the sonic possibilities of original Graf instruments, and Christoph Prégardien with Andreas Staier remains a benchmark for tenor readings, Greco and Helyard offer a distinctive baritone perspective. 

The fortepiano’s light wooden construction and swift acoustic decay alter the balance between singer and accompaniment. Unlike the modern grand tradition – where singers must contend with broad acoustic power, as heard in Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s authoritative readings with Gerald Moore, Matthias Goerne’s dark inwardness with Christoph Eschenbach, or Gerald Finley’s smooth lyricism with Julius Drake...