Such a monumental piece is the Berlioz Te Deum
that one listens to a CD of it almost believing that it is impossible
for any recording to do justice to a work that is so inimically
linked to space and setting. Berlioz himself imagined this work
to be the very sound of heaven; the sound of the Angelic Host
forever proclaiming ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts’.
He could well be right, and this performance certainly aims for
something of that sense of the truly awesome. This was very much
an ‘occasional’ performance, the occasion in question being the
centennial celebrations of the American Guild of Organists. As
such, there is a risk that the recording could have real appeal
only to a listener with some connection to that body. To some
extent this is true, and to some extent there are factors in the
performance that mitigate against such an argument. The ‘awesome’
effect mentioned above comes not only from the size of the forces.
The principal chorus of 140 singers is impressive enough as it
is, but even more so in that this is a completely professional
chorus – presumably making use of just about every professional
singer that New York had to offer. The result is undeniably stunning
singing (Sample 1). The playing of the equally vast orchestra
is excellent, but somewhat colourless in comparison to the chorus.
This writer must admit to a certain ignorance as to the nature
or permanence of the Voices of Ascension Orchestra. They are undeniably
fine, but that extra magic that could have been possible with
one of the great American orchestras, especially as regards American
brass playing, is something that is tangibly lacking.
The same must not be said of the organ. Mark
Kruczek has at his command one of the truly magnificent American
organs. This writer is not generally a fan of American organ sound,
finding it tends to the brash rather than the grand. However,
the instrument in St John The Divine is modelled much more on
French classical organs of the 19th century and the
thick reeds and wonderfully colourful chorus stops have the sort
of pungency that Berlioz requires. The first mighty chords are
a clear demonstration that the orchestra, for all its numbers,
has to work to hold its own in sheer grandeur of sound (Sample
2). The organ, of course, is also an integral part of the soundscape
within the building. It is not often in a CD booklet that one
finds a plan of the concert venue, but so it is here. The Cathedral
of St John The Divine is, of course, the largest Gothic structure
in the world – or it certainly will be if it ever gets finished.
The disc makes quite a lot of the fact that this was a concert
in this most stupendous of American churches, and indeed, it is
on a scale fitting for Berlioz’s huge music. The thing that comes
across as odd is that the mighty acoustic is not better captured
on the recording. Clearly, recording in such a vast space is difficult,
and the producers have aimed for clarity with fairly close mic
placing. The result however, is that the venue that is being pushed
as important, does not come across in the recorded sound. The
feeling of awesome space around the sound is lacking and this
is a pity, especially as pats of the orchestra (especially the
winds) and the tenor soloist still sound rather distant (Sample
3).
Overall, this is an enjoyable performance, but
at 49 minutes the disc is definitely on the short side of good
value. The remainder is taken up by a spoken commentary on the
Te Deum, delivered by the conductor, Dennis Keene. The potential
purchaser would need to think very carefully about whether this
represents a worthwhile coupling that would bear repeated listening.
This writer does not think that it does. Mr Keene has researched
the background of the work thoroughly, and some of his comments
are interesting, but it all smacks of Open University stage one
lectures on the radio. Once you have heard what Mr Keene has to
say, you’ve heard it. Furthermore, if we are to consider in any
detail what he actually does say, he has some very peculiar views
on what the Te Deum as a text is all about. Much of his understanding
of the text, which presumably colours his interpretation of the
music, sees the Te Deum as a plea for deliverance from eternal
damnation. It seems a very Bible-Belt-American-Evangelical interpretation.
In discussing the final movement, he makes great play of his view
of it as a titanic battle between forces of damnation and redemption,
quoting "Non confundar – salvum fac" which he translates
in rather ugly manner as "Don’t let us be confounded – save
us!" The actual text places these two phrases in completely
different contexts, not juxtaposed in this manner at all. The
last line of the Te Deum is "In te, Domine, speravi; non
confundar in aeternum"[my italics] (In thee, O Lord,
have I trusted; let me never be confounded.) "Salvum fac"
comes several verses earlier as "Salvum fac populum tuum
Domine; et benedic hereditati tuae" (O Lord, save Thy people;
and bless Thine inheritance.") There is, in fact, nothing
about salvation from damnation in the text, and although Berlioz
does change the order of some of the text, having both these phrases
in the last movement, they remain in their separate verse. The
Te Deum is entirely a hymn of praise, as seen by Berlioz’s addition
to the last movement of "Per singulos dies benedicimus…"
(Day by day we magnify Thee; and we worship Thy name, ever world
without end). That does not strike this listener as very damnatory
and it seems far more logical to view Berlioz’s mighty ending
as ecstatic praise rather than some depiction of Old Testament
heavenly warfare.
One would naturally enough seek enlightenment
in the booklet essay, but the disc comes with only a slim insert
with text, recording details, ground plan of the cathedral and
an invitation to the purchaser to send a further US$3.00 to an
address in Hollywood if they want the 20-page booklet. A good
performance notwithstanding, overall it becomes hard to recommend
this as a worthwhile package for purchase.
Peter Wells
John Aler - Tenor