MAHLER: Symphony No. 7,
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9.
BBC Northern Symphony
Orchestra/Hallé Orchestra Sir John Barbirolli.
BBC Legends BBCL4034-2
138m ADD.
Most of England could have been forgiven for having more on its mind on the
night of July 29th 1966 than a performance of Bruckner's Ninth at the Royal
Albert Hall. The following day the England football team would play in and
win the World Cup Final at Wembley. This Proms performance the night before
deserves a commercial outing because it reminds us what a superb Brucknerian
Sir John Barbirolli was. Something we knew from a 1970 Eighth Symphony released
on the old BBC Radio Classics label some years ago. This Ninth is certainly
in the same class in performance terms but it cannot compare in recorded
sound. The BBC have sourced an "off-air" tape and the engineers have done
what they can with it, but the fact remains it alternates between
"wrong-end-of-telescope" distance and monochrome glare with little of the
hall atmosphere that aids this composer. Don't let this put you off, however,
because here is a great performance of real power that is more remarkable
for a tough, classical strength running through that aids concentration
wonderfully. The basic sound just needs a little tolerance by the listener
to enter into its spirit.
Barbirolli's Bruckner was quite free-spirited - more Furtwangler than Klemperer
- but on no occasion does he allow his love for the music to get in the way
of classical strength, as some colleagues can. He moulds the reaching string
passages strongly, but these fit with the overall structure, which is to
press on. So Barbirolli's view of the first movement is dark, haunted, dramatic
and with only the merest quarter given to brief glimpses of "upper Austrian
Anton" that poke out and are treated by Barbirolli as ripples on the surface
where the undertow remains downward. That he grasps emotionally and
intellectually the bleak vision this movement offers there's no doubt. Perhaps
he sensed a kindred character. This movement can also sprawl unless a conductor
takes a firm hand and Sir John certainly does that. The second movement has
the ideal balance of weight and movement Bruckner's scherzos demand and the
Trio is contrastingly fleet and creepy. But it's in the performance of the
last movement Barbirolli's "tough but tender" approach pays greatest dividends.
It comes over stoic in the face of restlessness. Like all depressives, Barbirolli
would have known how much energy the "black dog" uses before he's done with
you. So in that context his suggestion of constant activity rather than inertia,
which can sometimes creep in here, is so appropriate. So, a fascinating
performance, very complete and, like Sir John's febrile Eighth, not
the kind of view you might expect. Also a tantalising view of what we were
deprived of by EMI never allowing Barbirolli to record this composer
commercially.
They certainly allowed him to record Mahler, of course, even though I have
the impression he was only allowed to record those works Klemperer wasn't
interested in. I had reservations about the decision to release this "live"
Seventh given in Manchester on October 20th 1960. (Though, of course, I'd
rather have it available than not.) In an interview in 1970 Sir John announced
it was only by that time did he feel he had "got" Mahler's Seventh
and the fact that he was scheduled to perform and record it in 1971 with
the Berlin Philharmonic proved that. Alas, he died soon after that interview
and we were robbed of his final thoughts on the work in the best sound and
playing, leaving only privately-owned "off-air" tapes of this performance
as all the evidence we have of him in this most problematic Mahler work.
"Work in progress", but even that showing what a distinctive Mahlerian Sir
John was. The BBC seems to have sourced a reasonable tape superior in sound
to the Bruckner. It's in mono again but with more atmosphere, less distortion,
an evenness of range throughout and more detail. For this performance the
Halle teamed up with the BBC Northern Symphony and they all play well. Sticklers
for precision will mutter about the playing in terms of ensemble and security,
but only when compared with more recent versions. Mahler's Seventh was still
quite unfamiliar in England in 1960 and there's much to be gained from this
release.
Barbirolli's pulse for the first movement is measured and at the all-important
slight tempo change at bar 19 he doesn't seem to react. In fact it's only
at bar 45, with the transition material, does he do so and this means the
sense of moving forward at that point is a little greater. Sir John then
gives the second subject starting at bar 118 proper "schwung". It's moulded,
held back, then projected forwards: a real JB moment. In the Development
Sir John paints the wonderful details with relish and, with his measured
underlying pace, gives himself all the time he needs. Some fine playing from
the woodwinds also helps him. In the Recapitulation a very idiomatic trombone
is well caught and searchingly played and notice too how Sir John seems to
emphatically mark the recall of the second subject "schwung" theme showing
that, even in 1960, he had mapped this movement well. The first Nachtmusik
is hypnotic with no apparent tensions, which is a pity. But hear especially
how well the cellos wrap themselves around the second theme, and have you
ever heard the col legno snaps of the bows so emphatic in any
other recording? There are some rather odd cowbells, it must be said. They
sound like two suspended milk bottles jangled by a pencil. The Scherzo needs
to be taken a little quicker, but Sir John doesn't cheat on detail or try
to soften things. In fact he manages a kind of truculence. The second Nachtmusik
is played as a true serenade, a full two minutes slower than most recorded
performances, and Sir John makes no apologies for injecting Mediterranean
atmosphere here. Then, in the last movement, the approach is to "carnival"
and very bucolic at that. No injection of any elan or sophistication
as in some performances but there's real charm to make up for a slight lack
in energy. The honesty of the movement is certainly compelling, even if you
have the impression the orchestras are "running on empty" by the end. In
the first half of this concert they had already played Nielsen's Fifth.
This is a most welcome release because it means we now have recordings of
Barbirolli in the three central Mahler symphonies. I still regret the loss
of the version that was to be in Berlin, of course. This is also another
splendid release in the continuing series from the archives by BBC Legends
which are more than living up to their early promise. Collectors are fortunate
the BBC keeps them coming and are also prepared to take chances, as they
have with the accompanying Bruckner Ninth which a less enterprising label
might have left unpublished.
Reviewer
Tony Duggan
Bruckner: Performance
Sound
Mahler: Performance
Sound
Another view from Gerald Fenech
Barbirolli's Mahler discography now embraces the seventh, a mostly peculiar
work but no less a masterpiece than its more illustrious companions. Sir
John finds much mysterious beauty throughout the score especially in the
Night Music episodes which ring out with pathos and elegance. His is a relaxed
view of the Langsam movement and one can also sense a firm command of a wayward
structure precariously balanced, like all the long Mahler movements. This
approach pays dividends with greater emphasis on the nobility and depth of
emotion behind this tortuous composition. The raspingly deviant Scherzo is
also brilliantly done with the BBC players going out of their way to play
as menacingly as possible. Here I could almost imagine Sir John's facial
expressions whilst trying to convey the slithering effect of this music.
The Rondo Finale allows relaxation but the level of playing is no less masterly
especially in the lilting ritornellos and the grandioso statements - vintage
Mahler. I still retain affection for the tortoise-like Klemperer version
but now must safely say that Sir John is my favourite as he strikes a compromise
between that version and the frenzied Solti and Kubelik not to forget Bernstein's
still authoritative NYPO account.
This Ninth is my first encounter with Barbirolli's Bruckner: a classic encounter
of the highest order. Mysticism and power are matched in the awesome climaxes
whilst the menacing brilliance of the Scherzo is quite amazingly played by
the faithful Hallé. The strings are also exceptionally prominent in
the heart-on-sleeve Adagio that concludes the work in trenchant passion,
one is almost made to recall Sir John's justly legendary 1964 Mahler Ninth
with the BPO. Recordings have come up quite clean, especially the Bruckner.
The Mahler suffers from some fuzziness at higher levels. The combination
of rare Barbirolli photographs and Michael Kennedy's perceptive notes makes
this offering quite unmissable. Nice to see Deryck Cooke's approval of
Barbirolli's interpretation of the Seventh. Another jewel in the constantly
shining crown of the BBC archives has seen the light of day!
Reviewer
Gerald Fenech
Perfomance
Sound:
But Marc Bridle did not like these perfomances at all
Barbirolli could be a mercurial musician, but as these performances show
- not always. If the problem with Mahler's Seventh is the lumbering gait,
the Bruckner Nine is disadvantaged by extremely swift speeds. What the
performances do have in common is poor orchestral playing, with the brass
in particular often out of tune and too closely balanced. The woodwind in
the Bruckner symphony range from pure-toned to sharp and unfocused.
The Bruckner Ninth is the third fastest ever to have appeared on record.
Only Horenstein in his 1953 Vox recording and Georg Jochum in a Berlin recording
from 1951 are faster. Neither of those recordings is ideal (and Horenstein's
later recording with the BBC SO is vastly superior any way), but at least
Horenstein and Jochum retain a modicum of continuity in their performances.
Barbirolli's is the most fragmented interpretation of a Bruckner symphony
I have ever heard. The sense of pedantry about this performance is unsettling
(and where you would expect it to occur - in the Scherzo - it doesn't). Both
the first movement and the last lack a sense of unity and flow, without which
this music cannot generate the tensions which are embalmed within it. If
this performance sounds more dissonant than is normally the case it is simply
because Barbirolli allows his brass players to inject their notes with dynamics
that are not in the score. At 18'13 onwards (1st movement) you will hear
precisely the type of nakedly aggressive brass playing that allows this
performance to degenerate into ugliness. Barbirolli takes the coda (20'01
onwards) surprisingly grandly, but the tonic and flattened supertonic in
trumpets and horns are too stridently drawn. The triplets for violins (with
first and second violins transposing the notes) sound clotted, and although
Bruckner has preceded this passage with a marking of moderato, the
tempo is anything but suggestive of this.
Barbirolli's Scherzo matches Horenstein's Vienna account to the second. It
is, however, a very different interpretation. Whereas Horenstein lets the
opening harmony float imperceptibly into the ether, Barbirolli's somehow
remains firmly planted to the ground. As it develops towards the Trio,
Barbirolli's comparative spaciousness (contrasted with the fleetness of the
outer movements) fails to highlight the barbarity and demonic resilience
of this movement. There is, again, an underlying dogmatism which robs this
movement of its darkness (an error he made in Bruckner's Seventh as well).
The Adagio is one of Bruckner's grandest statements. It is ruined in Barbirolli's
performance before we have even reached bar 5 by the early entry of the horn
(played flat). Beyond this, the phrasing remains disjointed, with the rich
string sonorities buried beneath gravelly brass and colourless woodwind.
The performance remains shrouded in a dull, grey mistiness almost to the
final bars. Where Celibidache, in his DG recording, reaches the moment of
apotheosis at bar 173 in just over 17 minutes, Barbirolli races to it in
under 15 minutes. Bruckner marked this passage sehr langsam, a marking
Barbirolli seems unable to apply here. Whilst the woodwind, particularly
oboes, are archingly expansive, the triplets on second violins are poorly
articulated. dims and pp merge (or rather clash) obstructively
so by the time we actually reach the great climax at Fig Q (bar 199) this
shattering moment is all but underplayed. The triplets are now replaced by
quadruplets playing ff toning up to fff at bar 203, but you
would hardly notice this from the dynamics Barbirolli and his Hallé
players employ.
I haven't left much space to discuss the performance of Mahler's Seventh.
This is a rather odd affair, quite some way short of the inspiration Barbirolli
brought to his studio performances of the Fifth and Ninth. Their success
was partly due to the characterful playing of both the New Philharmonia and
the Berlin Philharmonic. The Hallé is not in the same league, which
is unfortunate because this symphony requires top-notch playing to help it
work through the mysteries of this work. The final movement Rondo is too
slow to generate the excitement needed, although the Night Music movements
are infectiously drawn. The brass have some dreadful difficulties, particularly
in the final movement.
Both recordings (the Bruckner from 1966 and the Mahler from 1960) are mono,
and are satisfactory, but no more. Both of these works need stereo amplification
for their treasures to be fully opened. I assume the Bruckner is from a Prom
performance, in which case I am surprised it is in mono given that Guilini's
Verdi Requiem, dating from a 1963 Prom (and also on BBC Legends),
appears in very good stereo. Not recommended.
Reviewer
Marc Bridle
Performance
Sound
