I’ve heard Tenebrae
before, both live and on disc, and have
been very impressed with them. Their
CD, Mother
and Child was, in fact, my Recording
of the year in 2003. However, this CD
was my first opportunity to hear them
in "standard repertory" so
I approached it with no little interest
and anticipation.
Let me first deal with
the two "fillers". The Haydn
motet gets the programme off to a suitably
vigorous start. The dramatic singing
and playing (especially the exciting
timpanist) presages a lot of what’s
to come in the Mozart Requiem. However,
as is also the case in the main work
here the reflective music that comes
in the middle and is reprised at the
very end is most sensitively done. I’m
afraid I can’t be anywhere near as enthusiastic
about the Mozart Ave verum Corpus.
On the evidence of what I’ve heard
to date Nigel Short is an extremely
thoughtful musician. However, in my
humble opinion he gets this piece quite
wrong, choosing a somnolent tempo. Whether
this is done to emphasise the work’s
beauty or to impart a sense of reverence
I can’t say but the slow speed just
drains the life out of the music. By
coincidence the same piece cropped up
on another
disc to which I’ve been listening
recently. This is by Lichfield Cathedral
Chamber Choir. Their conductor chooses
a much more natural and flowing tempo
which I find wholly convincing. In Lichfield
the work plays for 2’59" against
the 4’19" required here.
However, people will
buy this CD for the Requiem and
this performance has much to commend
it. The opening Introit gives a good
indication of the style of the performance
as a whole. The choir’s attack has splendid
bite, articulation is superb (it needs
to be in view of the fleet tempi adopted
for certain movements!) and every strand
of the choral texture is crystal clear.
The same goes for the orchestra, which
plays with splendid definition.
Short quite clearly
(and rightly, in my view) conceives
the work as a "big" piece
and is not afraid to bring out the vivid
drama of Mozart’s writing. In this approach
he is close to John Eliot Gardiner’s
superb 1986 recording (though, unlike
Gardiner, Short’s orchestra plays on
modern instruments.) The Kyrie is splendidly
articulated by the choir, though I did
wonder if the chosen speed wasn’t a
little too brisk. Eliot Gardiner is
just a fraction steadier, requiring
16 seconds longer for the Kyrie. However
he seems to me to impart just a trifle
more weight to the music and, of course,
the same is true at the very end of
the work where Süssmayr reprises
the music of the first movement.
Short’s Dies Irae has
plenty of fire and punch. There are
also some imaginative and telling little
touches. When the choir first sings
the words "Quantus tremor est futurus"
(track 4, 0’50") he introduces
a touch of legato, as some other conductors
do. However, a little later there’s
an effect I’ve never heard before. When
the basses sing the same words, dramatically
in quavers, Short notices the sforzando
marking in the orchestra and gets his
basses to kick off that and make a quick
diminuendo and crescendo. I don’t know
if that’s marked in the full score;
it’s not in my Bärenreiter vocal
score but I think it’s a splendid idea.
I’m not quite so persuaded
by his approach to the Rex tremendae.
Once again Eliot Gardiner is fractionally
steadier. With him the descending dotted
semiquavers in the strings have real
drive and weight. Short makes them sound
clipped and much less significant. However,
his Confutatis is absolutely splendid.
The dramatic phrases for men’s voices
are enhanced by some really ringing
tenor tone. The contrasting phrases
for the high voices sound marvellously
ethereal.
Both the Lacrymosa
and the Offertorium are splendidly paced
and the excellent choir observe every
dynamic contrast with absolute fidelity.
I thought that the Hostias was perhaps
a touch too relaxed. John Eliot Gardiner
chooses an almost identical tempo but
seems to inject just a bit more urgency
and vigour into the way his choir point
the notes. Short is much more successful
in the Sanctus where he conveys the
grandeur of the music very well. The
opening phrases are underpinned by some
truly splendid thwacks from the timpani.
The Osanna is really vital and, of course,
Short has just the singers who not only
cope with a speed that would defeat
many choirs but who also make sense
of the music at this pace. Suffice to
say that the sweep and drama are maintained
in the Agnus Dei and the Communio.
So far I’ve not mentioned
the soloists. Although it’s not made
clear in the documentation I think I’m
right in saying that all four are members
of Tenebrae; certainly they’re listed
among the choir on the Mother and
Child CD. For the most part they
sing well, though to my ears the tenor
doesn’t quite sound sufficiently open
and free. However, one has only to listen
to Eliot Gardiner’s team to hear another
dimension. His soloists sing beyond
the notes and colour the words in a
way that Short’s team do not. Of course
Eliot Gardiner had a "big name"
quartet at his disposal: Barbara Bonney,
Anne Sophie Von Otter, Hans Peter Blochwitz
and Willard White. However, since this
Tenebrae disc is offered at full price
comparisons are in order. Short’s soloists
are thoroughly musical and do not let
the side down at all. I think it’s right
to point out to purchasers that there
may be better alternatives.
That said, there is
still a great deal going for this new
version of the Requiem even in
a fiercely competitive field. The choral
singing and orchestral playing is superbly
dramatic and serves Mozart very well.
Though I may take issue with a few points
of Nigel Short’s interpretation there
is a great deal else about it that I
admire very much indeed. I have some
reservations about the soloists but
other listeners may well not share these
and it’s probably the case that in these
cash-conscious days the recording probably
couldn’t have been made with a quartet
of "big names" – with fees
to match! Taken as a whole I’d describe
the performance as convinced and convincing.
There’s no indication in the documentation
and no extraneous noise to betray the
presence of an audience but since all
the recordings were made on a single
day I just wonder if these are live
performances – they certainly have the
electricity of performance conditions.
The recorded sound
is first rate as is the note by Richard
Wigmore. There’s a great deal to commend
this performance and if you’re happy
with the solo team (a quick sample of
the Tuba Mirum, track 5, will establish
that for you) then you can buy with
confidence. This is a dramatic and challenging
performance to which I shall certainly
return.
John Quinn
*Carys Lane (soprano); Frances Bourne (alto);
Paul Badley (tenor); Matthew Brook (bass) 