The coupling of Janáček’s two late orchestral masterpieces
Taras Bulba and the Sinfonietta has long been
a favourite programme on disc; Naxos themselves issued a CD
of this pairing conducted by old Naxos stalwart Ondrej Lenard
with the Slovak Philharmonic (which also included the Lachian
Dances). Here Antoni Wit discards the Sinfonietta
and instead gives us two much earlier Janáček scores
in the shape of the Lachian Dances (again) and the
Moravian Dances, of which the latter is a real rarity.
The performance here of Taras Bulba comes into competition
not only with Naxos’s old Lenard performance but many others,
some of which are among the jewels of the CD catalogue. Among
those are an early recording by Simon Rattle with the Philharmonia
Orchestra. Currently and disgracefully this is only available
as a fill-up for his Covent Garden recording in English of The
cunning little vixen; surely a prime candidate for re-release.
A comparison with that reading makes it all too apparent what
is missing here. The story behind Taras Bulba is a
thoroughly unpleasant one of heroic resistance by the Cossacks
to the Poles. It centres around three scenes of unnatural death
– one in battle, one by torture and one by immolation. Wit and
his Polish orchestra sound positively apologetic about this,
choosing instead to emphasise the lyric and contemplative episodes
in the score. Without the violence being graphically portrayed
a whole dimension is missing, and the organ in the last movement
sounds positively churchy. The string playing sounds somewhat
recessed and lacking in definition in the admittedly fiendishly
difficult virtuoso writing. This imbalance is a serious
defect in the recording. Although the violins are precise, they
do not dominate as they should in the final pages and their
trills - which depict the fire in which the hero is burning
- sound rather anaemic.
Even better than the Rattle performance is that by Mackerras
with the Vienna Philharmonic. This is something else again.
Not only do you hear the full viciousness of the orchestral
writing given its due by a world-class orchestra but also there’s
superlatively great recording quality which comprehensively
outclasses Rattle. This recording is variously available at
mid-price either coupled with a white-hot reading of the Sinfonietta
or as part of a Double Decca release which also includes not
only the Sinfonietta but also Huybrecht’s reading of
the Lachian Dances and a number of other smaller works.
Listen to the stinging violin tone which Mackerras obtains in
the opening of The death of Ostap, and the overly precise
tone of the Warsaw strings becomes only too apparent; there
is no sense of violence here.
Wit’s couplings of the Lachian and Moravian Dances
are likewise somewhat polite. The very opening of the Lachian
Dances lacks the spring that Huybrechts brings to the score.
The rhythmic elements – although crisply delivered – lack the
ideal element of bite that the scoring invites.
The Moravian Dances, on the other hand, come up against
much less demanding competition. The only other recording in
the current catalogue is again from Naxos in a performance by
Libor Pešek coupled with the reconstructed Danube Symphony
or as part of a general collection of Slavonic music. That recording
dates from 1986 - originally issued on Marco Polo. Here comparisons
are much more favourable to Wit on this issue. The orchestral
playing by the Warsaw Philharmonic is much better than with
the Slovak Philharmonic for Pešek. The recording is much rounder
and more atmospheric; the 1986 sound is rather astringent. It
is surprising that this work is so neglected, for it is far
from negligible even if not representative of Janáček
at his greatest. It is extremely pleasing to make its acquaintance
again. It is emphatically not noticeably inferior to the Lachian
Dances from a year or so earlier, and that work has never
lacked for performances or recordings.
Those who love the music of Janáček will therefore
definitely want this recording for the sake of the best performance
currently available of the Moravian Dances, although
this only constitutes nine minutes’ worth of music.
Paul Corfield Godfrey
see also review by Brian
Reinhart (June 2012 Recording of the Month)
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra/Antoni Wit