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Wolfgang Amadeus
MOZART (1756–1791) Le nozze di Figaro(1786) (arr.
for string quartet, 1799)
Marcolini
Quartett (on period instruments)
rec. May 2006, Kolomanisaal, Cloister Melk, Austria AVI-MUSIC
8553046 [64:29]
Le nozze di Figaro for string quartet – a
joke? No, far from it. Only three days after the premiere
of the opera a music shop in Vienna advertised arrangements
of it for string quartet. There was also a reduction of the
score for keyboard to be played separately or with the quartet.
To understand this one has to know something about how different
the musical world was more than 200 years ago compared to
today. First of all the concept of copyright didn’t exist.
In other words, there could be no legal claims on someone
who utilized another composer’s works. It was rather the
opposite case: a composer whose music became known through
arrangements could take advantage of this when his music
was spread. It was an honour and his works would be sought
after. Relatively few people could afford to go regularly
to the opera house but they could buy arrangements and play
the music at home. This was the only possible way of hearing
music outside the opera and concert halls; mechanical reproduction
of music would take more than a century to be realized. Mozart
himself once found an arrangement of Die Entführung aus
dem Serail that he didn’t like and so provided his own
reduction of the score to present his music in the best possible
light.
Whether today’s opera-lovers will regard this arrangement as a must
is uncertain, now that there are umpteen complete recordings
with the world’s best opera singers to choose from. But it
makes an interesting alternative and for those who still
have difficulties stomaching classically-schooled voices
it might be attractive for the sake of the music. Many years
ago a record company – I think it was RCA Victor – launched
a series with titles like “Classical Music for People who
Hate Classical Music” and “Opera for People who Hate Opera”.
There famous melodies were presented in posh arrangements;
I think they sold well. My wife is a great opera lover but
still thinks that the plot in some of these “run-in-run-out” operas
where normally clever people don’t recognize their own wife
or husband in disguise is a bit over the top. When listening
to these arrangements she said: “Now I can enjoy this marvellous
music without having to bother with the action.” Without
agreeing with her on the matter of silly plots, I do share
her enthusiasm for the arrangements and their execution.
They were recorded from printed parts published by Simrock
in Bonn. Simrock had good connections in Vienna, not least
with his friend and one-time colleague in the Bonn orchestra,
Beethoven. It seems likely that he had acquired the arrangements
from there. Whether they are the ones mentioned earlier is
unclear. The material was however recently found in the Benedictine
Cloister Melk in Austria. There the monks had gathered one
of the richest music collections in Europe, presumably out
of pure musical interest and a wish to play good music in
their spare time. The recordings were also made in the cloister
on period instruments, so this might be a reconstruction
of what could be heard in the same place two hundred years
ago – provided the Benedictine brothers were as skilled players
as the members of the Marcolini Quartett.
Comprising the overture and twenty musical numbers this hour+-long
suite presents all the well-known arias and duets and also
some numbers that are rarely heard outside complete performances:
the Marcellina-Susanna duet in act 1 Che cara sposa!,
the terzetto in act 2 with Count Almaviva, The Countess and
Susanna and also the mercurial little duet for Susanna and
Cherubino in the same act. From act 3 we hear, besides the
expected numbers, the sestetto Riconosci in questo amplesso, where
it is revealed that Figaro actually is the kidnapped son
of Bartolo and Marcellina and from the last act both Barbarina’s
and Marcellina’s arias are included. The playing is vivid,
inspired and poised and it is definitely not just a gimmick.
Lovers of string quartet music and opera should find
a lot to enjoy and admire. Those who want to give a present
to an opera-lover who already has “everything” have a golden
opportunity here. I can even imagine that a group of aspiring
singers, wanting an orchestra, could use the disc for karaoke Figaro.
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