From my recent experience
with several Peter Maag reissues I now
look forward with eager anticipation
to hearing archive releases from Arts
Music. I feel fortunate to have received
this remastered recording of Schumann’s
large-scale, secular oratorio that was
recorded live in Rome in 1974.
The largely unfamiliar
score is rarely performed and I cannot
recollect seeing it too many times in
concert programmes. My main contact
with the work was hearing several major
excerpts some years ago at a music class
on the ‘Life and Works of Robert Schumann’.
However, I was rather surprised when
a quick search in the catalogues revealed
a substantial number of recordings of
the score: John Eliot Gardiner on Archiv
Produktion; Gerd Albrecht on Supraphon,
Wolf-Dieter Hauschild on Berlin Classics;
Giuseppe Sinopoli on DG, Joshard Daus
on Arte Nova; Armin Jordan on Erato
and Henryk Czyz on EMI Classics.
Schumann the arch-Romantic
was greatly inspired by the writings
of the key Romantic authors of his day
such as Byron, Goethe, Burns, Rückert,
Heine et al. The basis for the
libretto of the Paradise and the
Peri is a segment of Lalla Rookh,
the acclaimed 1817 epic poem by Thomas
Moore. Known as ‘An Oriental Romance’
Lalla Rookh consists of four
narrative poems in rhymed couplets connected
by spoken narrative in Emil Flechsig’s
German translation. Flechsig’s text
had been adapted by Schumann in collaboration
with Adolf Böttger. Probably an
unfamiliar name to many readers the
Irish poet Thomas Moore was, in the
early 1800s, spoken of in the same breath
as Sir Walter Scott, John Keats and
Lord Byron.
Schumann’s score to
Paradise and the Peri is similar
in romantic spirit to its later companion
the similarly neglected oratorio Der
Rose Pilgerfahrt, Op. 112 (1851).
In this fertile period other scores
in a similar context from Schumann’s
pen followed closely, the choral ballads:
Der Königssohn, Op. 116
(1851); Des Sängers Fluch,
Op.139 (1852); Vom Pagen und der
Königstochter, Op. 140 (1852);
Das Glück von Edenhall,
Op. 143 (1853); the Dramatic Poem,
Manfred, Op. 115 (1852) and Scenes
From Goethe's Faust (1844-53).
Schumann developed
the text of the Paradise and the
Peri into a series of three cantatas
for soloists, choir and orchestra; dividing
the part for narrator between the various
voices. Schumann considered it his most
substantial composition up to that time
and also his best. In a letter to Eduard
Krüger he declared, "an
oratorio, but for cheerful people, not
for a place of prayer." Inspired
by the poem, Schumann found the concept,
poetic and pure and was stirred by the
Romantic themes of love, heroism and
redemption after death. The score became
highly popular in Germany receiving
many performances and undoubtedly helped
consolidate Schumann’s reputation as
a major composer.
According to biographer
Ronald Taylor Paradise and the Peri
is a "symbolic tale of salvation
through ceaseless striving."
The story is as follows: As the offspring
of a mixed birth the Peri is
a fallen angel from a race perpetually
banished from entering Paradise on pain
of death. The Peri embarks on
a mission of penitence to earn her passage
to Paradise. To achieve this she has
tasks to complete. First the Peri
obtains a suitable gift for the angels
which is a drop of blood from a dead
hero in India but this is not enough.
Secondly, in Egypt she brings back the
last breath of a dying woman but this
is still not enough. Thirdly in Syria
the Peri procures the tears of
a remorseful sinner and with this success
she finally gains her place in Paradise.
For a time in the 1840s
Schumann’s handling of the secular oratorio
had seemed innovative. Influential writer
Edward Dannreuther described the score
as, "Novel in style, romantic
and sentimental in spirit, it won the
sympathy of the upper bourgeoisie, and
pleased the members of the Singing Societies."
It was not long before the general regard
enjoyed by this type of work was eclipsed
by pioneering composers, such as Berlioz
and Wagner, who drove the genre up to
another level with the advent of the
heavyweight ‘music-drama’. The speed
of this sea-change in public taste is
demonstrated by the fact that in 1843,
the year that the Paradise and the
Peri received its first performance,
Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer
was also staged with Tannhäuser
premièred a few years later
in 1845. Furthermore, as a continuation
of this dramatic onslaught Berlioz’s
The Damnation of Faust had been
premièred in 1846 and Wagner’s
Lohengrin in 1850.
In Paradise and
the Peri one notices the lack of
weight and drama with a preponderance
of sentimentality and sweetness.
In the airs there is a profusion
of syrupy melody and quite a few of
the lighter choruses are a pleasure
to hear, such as: the appealing ‘Chor
der genien des Nils’ from the first
section; the graceful closing piece
of the second section ‘Schlaf nun
und ruhe in Traumen voll Duft’ and,
opening section three, the delightful
‘Cor der Houris’ a canon
for female voices. I can report a fine
standard of ensemble from the choir
under their chorus master Gianni Lazzari.
Leading the international
cast of soloists is Welsh soprano Margaret
Price as the Peri. Price displays
an expressive and durable voice with
admirable phrasing and technique. I
especially enjoyed her opening piece,
‘Wie glucklich sie wandeln’ and
her third section solos, ‘Verstoßen’
and ‘Hinab zu jenem Sonnentempel!’
The voice of tenor Werner Hollweg is
in superb condition with a particularly
impressive projection and enunciation.
Anne Howells, the contralto as The
Angel displays a luxuriant timbre.
Unfortunately I was less enamoured of
the soprano Oliviera Miljakovic as The
Maiden who seemed uncomfortable
with the role and suffered from a rather
shrill tone. It was a pleasure to hear
the rich bass and outstanding delivery
of Robert Amis el Hage and also the
secure and smooth baritone of Wolfgang
Brendel. The Orchestra Sinfonica RAI
di Roma under the eminent Carlo Maria
Giulini provide sympathetic support
although they are somewhat recessed
in the balance.
The sound quality is
acceptable for its thirty year age but
generally feels lacking in depth. There
is some slight background noise which
is not difficult to tolerate on this
live recording with great applause from
the audience at the conclusion of the
work. The annotation is often confusing
and at first it proves difficult to
work out who is actually singing and
what piece. It really detracts from
the desirability of the release that
Arts can market this valuable archive
recording of a work that relies so much
a narrative, without providing English
translations of the text for the listener
to follow. The label has, however, provided
a useful essay translated into English
from the German.
This recording of a
live performance is a valuable contribution
to Schumann’s recorded legacy.
Michael Cookson
see also review
by Christopher Howell
for details
Orchestra Sinfonica RAI di Rome/Carlo
Maria Giulini 
