Boris BLACHER (1903-1975)
Der Grossinquisitor, Op.21 [59.32]
Siegmund Nimsgern (baritone)
Leipzig Radio Choir, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra/Herbert Kegel
rec. Lukaskirche, Dresden, May 1986
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 9437 [59.32]
Let me begin by conveying heartfelt congratulations
to Brilliant Classics on the presentation of this release. In the past
the label has often shown admirable enterprise in rescuing and reissuing
recordings of rare material, only to spoil the package by a failure
to provide essential texts for vocal music. Their recent releases of
Borodin songs and Rimsky-Korsakov cantatas, both of which I have reviewed
for this site, suffered from this defect, which seriously damaged the
value of these reissues of unfamiliar works. Not here. We not only have
an informative note on the genesis of the music, but we are given the
complete text of Blacher’s oratorio Der Grossinquisitor,
extended over seven pages. No translation alas, but the German is not
hard to follow when you have the words in front of you. I do not know
whether the original issue on Berlin Classics in 1998 similarly lacked
translations, but although this remains available in the current catalogue
it is at full price, which may be a deterrent to potential listeners
who will be totally unfamiliar with the music.
Boris Blacher’s music has fallen on hard times since his death
in 1975, with only his Paganini Variations maintaining a very
precarious hold. However during his lifetime he had quite a formidable
reputation in Germany, and his pupils included such well-known figures
as Gottfried von Einem, Kalevi Aho and Aribert Reimann. He was included
by the Nazis in their prohibitions of ‘degenerate music’
and only emerged from obscurity after 1945; Der Grossinquisitor
was written in the dark days of the Second World War with no immediate
hope of performance, and at a time when understandable depression had
driven the composer close to suicide. The idiom of the music in the
first part is not that far from Hindemith’s Whitman setting When
lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d, bursting out into violence
only at the beginning of the third movement Aus der Menge. One
can imagine more full-blooded playing during this passage from the strings
in their heartfelt lament which underpins the more agitated music; otherwise
the performance is strong and gripping.
The baritone soloist does not enter until the ninth movement, and has
the lion’s share of the vocal writing thereafter. The music for
this section was written some years after the first part. By that date
Blacher’s music had moved from the realm of Hindemithian neo-classicism
into a more expressionist mode with elements of Berg in the vocal line
- although Blacher avoids the use of Sprechstimme even in the
most dramatic passages. Siegmund Nimsgern is firm of voice and hits
every note dead centre, even managing to inject some melodic impulse
into the wide-ranging and not always elegant vocal lines. He is placed
rather forward in the balance, which means that his full-throated delivery
is not wholly free of the suspicion of hectoring. One finds oneself
wishing that he would sing quietly once or twice, even if only to allow
some respite from the feeling that he is just too much in the listener’s
face and ear. A line like “Man does not live by bread alone”
goes for too little in this performance, especially at Kegel’s
rather hurried speed during this passage (from track 10, 2.05 onwards).
The publishers’ website indicates that the total duration of the
oratorio should be 65 minutes, and Kegel knocks over five minutes off
that estimate.
There is however no other recording of this work in the catalogue -
although as noted the original Berlin Classics issue remains available.
Those interested in the progress of German music in the period immediately
following the Second World War - before the influence of the Darmstadt
school began to make itself felt - should make every effort to hear
this work. It’s one of the most impressive of Blacher’s
serious pieces which deserves to be at least as well-known as his more
popular Paganini Variations. The composer himself assembled the
text, using not only Dostoyevsky but also passages from the Bible: the
temptation of Christ in the wilderness. He clearly felt every word.
In the crucial eleventh movement Drei Mächte sind es allein
Nimsgern at last allows himself to sing quietly, and the sinister motion
of the woodwind accompaniment is chilling. In the passages that follow
the chorus whip up a real storm, and Kegel’s headlong driving
of the music begins to pay real dividends. The baritone solo which begins
Du rühmst Dich Deiner Auserwählten sounds as beautiful
as similar passages in Busoni’s Doktor Faust. One finds
oneself wondering wistfully what a singer like Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
would have made of this section. The closing movement, on the other
hand, is rather unsatisfactory as a conclusion to the work - the final
message of hope “Der Gefangene geht” is not a positive affirmation,
but rather a wistful thought which tails away into nothingness. Obviously
this expresses what Blacher felt at the time, but one is left feeling
somewhat frustrated.
Never mind; this is generally a great and stirring work which commands
the attention of the listener throughout. Brilliant Classics are to
be congratulated in making it available at such a reasonable price -
and so well presented, too. One hopes that the reissue will tempt potential
audiences to investigate the work, and one might also hope that further
performances and recordings will follow in due course. As a response
to the despair engendered by the Second World War, Der Grossinquisitor
should stand in the repertoire alongside such works as Hindemith’s
Requiem and Tippett’s A child of our time.
Paul Corfield Godfrey
