SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Stravinsky: Pulcinella

Marita Solberg (soprano)

Nathalie Stutzmann (contralto)

Julien Behr (tenor)

Matthew Rose (bass)

After a not so pleasant journey to London’s Barbican Centre, involving not “Trains, Planes and Automobiles” but trains, tube (or lack of it), taxi queues and people attempting to jump the queue in front of me, I was not in a particularly good mood when I arrived for the evening performance of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella. My irritation increased, as I was greeted by a larger than usual crowd of mums, kids, dads and possibly other relatives, generally running around and making a nuisance of themselves, amidst the louder than necessary DJ in the foyer, the stalls of the little but attractive design fair and a strangely sculptured landscape, made of polystyrene cups and other not immediately identifiable materials! So, as I got to the entrance to the hall and a solicitous employee informed me that I must pay for the programme, I was extremely annoyed. The situation was resolved with a short trip to the press desk but upon my return, the same employee came towards me with an embarrassed smile and I snapped: “Now what?” I asked him. Apparently, the pieces were going to be played in the inverted order but he did not know why; however, had been requested to inform everybody as they walked in. This little mystery was soon clarified once Marc Minkowski joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra on stage. With a disarming smile, Mr Minkowski faced the audience, took his right hand to his chest and then said in his charming French accent: “We’re starting with Pulcinella because it’s better for the heart than the Church!” A ripple of good humoured, warm laughter moved through the hall and my irritation dissipated as if by magic.

Pulcinella was Sergey Diaghilev’s original idea for his post World War One ballets russes. It is a delightful, cheerful piece based on what Diaghilev and Stravinsky then believed to be unpublished music by eighteenth century Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. It has since emerged that the music was not by Pergolesi at all but by some of his less known contemporaries. Nevertheless, it makes a lot of sense to include Pulcinella in the same programme as Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater: one can easily recognise the similarities to Baroque period music as well as the differences and that is what makes the piece so special.

Pulcinella is a character from the commedia dell’arte; the libretto and the choreography to the ballet were created by the great dancer Léonide Massine and the original costumes and sets by no less than Pablo Picasso. With such a combination of talent, the result would have to be an enduringly appealing work, which has successfully enchanted many different audiences over the years, particularly after George Balanchine’s and Jerome Robbins’s revival with the New York City Ballet in 1972 when Robbins danced the title role.

I often find difficult to enjoy ballet music without the dancers but Pulcinella is one of the exceptions, alongside one or two selected others like Stravinsky’s masterpiece, The Rite of Spring, or Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Minkowski chose to perform Stravinsky’s complete score, including the voice parts, instead of the orchestral suite that the composer wrote later, which is derived from the ballet music but without the singers, and which is more often performed in the concert hall. His decision was proved right because the voices give the piece a very special character. Minkowski is an innovative conductor and possesses a special talent to make often played pieces, which can become tiresome, sound different and new. His beautiful recording for Naïve of Bizet’s L’arlésienne, with the orchestra he founded as a young man, Les musiciens du Louvre, demonstrates just that. I am also impressed by the clarity of sound that he manages to extract from his musicians. This amazing quality was present throughout the renditions of both Pulcinella and the Stabat Mater. The BBC Symphony Orchestra responded brilliantly, offering a delightful performance of Pulcinella, precise but never dry, with crystalline transparency of each instrument; and effectively preserving the dancing quality of the piece, an aspect enhanced by Minkowski’s lively style of conducting. Without the dancers on stage, the story is really told by the music while the voices are more like an accompaniment. Dramatically what they sing bears no direct relationship to the characters or the action of the ballet. Minkowski’s deep knowledge of the score was obvious and he led the orchestra and the soloists into a refreshing, invigorating performance, resulting in a warm, cheerful feeling, which was definitely “better for the heart”, as the conductor intended!

The voice roles in Pulcinella although not part of the dramatic action, are not easy to sing. The parts were written for soprano, tenor and bass. Norwegian soprano Marita Solberg has an engagingly warm voice even in its highest register, with a tender legato and a solid technique. Her diction is clear and her use of the Italian language excellent. Her performance in Pulcinella was very attractive and her high notes carried superbly over the orchestra to the far end of the hall, however her pianissimo was occasionally weak and disappeared amidst the other instruments.

French tenor Julien Behr is undoubtedly talented and possibly a young star in the making but he is not quite there yet! He has an elegant presence that makes his appearance on stage rather pleasing; his voice has colour and flexibility, is expressive and warm but, on occasions, it faded a little; to my mind, it has not yet fully matured. His technique is subtle to a degree but still needs developing, particularly the legato, where I thought that there was room for improvement. However, one must say that some of his slightly mishaps might have been caused by nerves. He appeared a little uneasy at the start and very nearly missed his entrance for Mentre l’erbetta. Sometimes his top notes came out clear, ringing through the hall but other times he did not seem capable of sustaining them. However, I could not be sure if he lacked the power or if he was just a little anxious. He demonstrated great voice dexterity and superbly negotiated the difficulty of the very fast tongue-twister solo Una te falan zemprece, which wickedly Stranvinsky makes the soloist sing twice; however, Behr’s strain was visible as was his relief once it was successfully over. Nevertheless, his performance was very pleasing and he is still quite young (born in 1982); therefore, with plenty of time to fulfil his potential.

Brighton born Matthew Rose sang the bass part beautifully with great dramatic expression. His voice has a resonant quality that supremely carries his notes across the hall and above the orchestra. His tone is varied and accomplished, supported by a solid technique and he possesses an impressive coloratura. His performance was excellent both in the terzetti and the solo. He delivered a glowing Con queste paroline, demonstrating his flexibility, perfectly singing the very high and the very low notes with elegance and easiness. Rose was to my mind the best of the three singers. He seems to have that rare quality of giving authenticity to whatever he sings. His performance in Pulcinella was as convincing as his brilliant Polyphemus, in Handel’s Acis and Galatea at the Royal Opera House last year.

After the interval, Minkowski and the BBC Symphony Orchestra made a welcoming return to give us “the Church” part, which according to Minkowski’s introductory words at the start of the concert, may not be so good for the heart! It was certainly an excellent performance that, though sombre by its nature, still managed to make one feel warm inside. To be honest, I fail to understand why composers have used the text of the Stabat Mater so often. It is gloomy, deeply religious, reverentially catholic and, like most sacred texts, it is written in Latin. However, these features, which make me dislike it, are possibly the reasons why it has been set to music so many times! Besides Pergolesi, other great composers, such as Palestrina, Haydn, Rossini and Dvořák, also set the text to music.

Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater is arguably his masterpiece and his best known work. He died tragically young (only 26 years old) and unfortunately, the world will never know what this immensely talented composer would have been able to achieve, had he lived longer. His Stabat Mater is a subtle, beautiful composition that demonstrates a delicate sensibility and understanding of music in general and human emotions in particular. It was written for only two voices a female alto or contralto and a soprano. Norway’s Marit Solberg returned and was joined by French contralto Nathalie Stutzmann. Solberg’s voice was again slightly weak during some of the pianissimo passages, however, she delivered a lovely, sustained crescendo during her aria Vidit suum dulcem natum and sang her part very convincingly, accomplishing some poignant high notes that pierced through the heart. Stutzmann is a distinguished singer who possesses an exquisite voice, with an expressive lower register that is both dark and beautiful, and flexible, rich, very warm high notes. Her performance was excellent and especially moving in the aria Fac ut portem Christi mortem. However, both women were at their best during the duets where their voices harmonised perfectly and they delivered a sensitive performance of rare beauty.

Minkowski’s conducting style was less “bubbly” and more subdued but no less eloquent during Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. Again, he managed to extract that wonderfully clear, crystalline sound from the orchestra, leading the excellent musicians of the BBC SO in a touching and technically flawless performance.

In all, it was a very enjoyable evening; and a refreshingly transparent, unpretentious, extremely pleasing concert by the soloists and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, led by a conductor who knows his craft and is always very gracious towards musicians and audience.

Margarida Mota-Bull