A RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Joaquín TURINA (1882-1949)
Danzas fantásticas Op.22 (1919) [15:45]
Poema en forma de canciones Op.19* (1917) [10:58]
Saeta en forma de salve a la Virgen de la Esperanza Op.60* (1931)
[3:34]
Farruca from Triptico Op.45* (1928) [3:01]
Ritmos Op.43 (1927-8) [15:04]
Sinfonía sevillana Op.23 (1920) [22:26]
Clara Mouriz* (mezzo)
BBC Philharmonic/Juanjo Mena
rec. MediaCity UK, Salford, England, 9 December 2011 (Danzas); 27 January
2012 (Sinfonia); 21 June 2012 (all other works)
CHANDOS CHAN 10753 [71:27]
This is one of the most sheerly beautiful Chandos recordings that I have heard
in a long time. It is the first disc I have encountered recorded in the BBC
Philharmonic's new home at MediaCity UK in Manchester. It strikes me
that this venue seems to have an ideal amount of 'bloom' to
the sound without being overly resonant. Chandos' tried and tested
team of Brian Pidgeon and Mike George producing with Stephen Rinker engineering
have created a disc of extraordinary sonic beauty. They are helped in this
no end by the orchestra's virtuosic and sympathetic interpretation
of Turina's beautiful scores. I am struggling to avoid hackneyed descriptions
of this kind of music as atmospheric or sensuous or colourful because, well
..... they are just that! The triumph of this disc is the subtlety of the
detail that is achieved and credit for that must go to conductor Juanjo Mena.
A curiosity checking Turina's output - reaching Op.104 according to
the official website
- is given how masterly is his handling of a large orchestra how little he
chose to write with orchestra. Even less exists for orchestra alone. That
being the case it is no surprise that the music presented here is mainly available
in other versions on Naxos, RCA, Telarc and Regis to name but four. I know
the Regis disc - conducted by Enrique Bátiz and engineered by Brian Culverhouse.
The Danzas and the Sinfoniá overlap programmes but that
is enough to crystallise the differences. To maintain the painting analogy
Bátiz/Culverhouse use primary colours emphasising dramatic contrast and maximum
impact. Mena/Chandos use a more graded palette with a wider variety of subtle
shadings and nuance. It has to be said that music of this type responds to
both approaches and pleasures are to be found in each. However, this new disc
seems to be such an ideal meeting of technical, artistic and musical minds
that any comparison seems foolish – on its own terms this disc is an outstanding
success.
Listening to the opening Danzas fantásticas it seems all but impossible
that Turina ever harboured a wish to be like César Franck rather than the
great Spanish Nationalist composer he patently is. The three dances were written
in 1919 to celebrate Turina’s native city of Seville. The extraordinary atmosphere
achieved on this disc is apparent in the first minute – it’s a triumph of
presence and perspective. The subtlest brush on a suspended cymbal or gentlest
triangle register as does the brilliantly effective harp writing. When the
music does need power, all swaggering brass and arrogant dance figurations
the soundstage accommodates it comfortably. None of which would count for
much if Mena and the magnificent BBC Philharmonic were not as one in being
so alert to the ever-shifting soundscape. They sound like they are loving
every minute. The closing orgia is another orchestral showpiece –
but as much as the sheer energy of the performance impresses it is the languorous
sensuality that lingers in the memory.
For the collector concerned that too much duplication might not be an option
the inclusion of the vocal works including the delightful cycle Poema
en forma de canciones Op.19 is a major inducement. The young Spanish
mezzo Clara Mouriz is the highly impressive singer. She does not have the
earthy guttural quality that one associates with some Spanish singers but
instead she brings a wonderfully wide-ranging voice fully able to convey the
passion that burns in these songs. The texts (all included in Spanish with
English, German and French translations) for this four song cycle – plus an
orchestral prelude – are by Ramón Maria de las Mercedes de Campoamor y Campoosorio
(1817-1901). Although both music and text contain elements of the folk tradition
they are wholly original. Passion is the central emotion: “With all my soul
I forgive those whom I have always hated. You, whom, I have deeply loved,
I will never forgive!” goes part of the text for the opening song. There is
something of the colour and spirit of the Canteloube Songs of the Auvergne
but Turina is the more consistently impressive orchestrator and he
wrote his cycle in 1917 some six years before Canteloube published the first
set of his. Again it is the range of musical colour and emotion that resonates
in the memory. The closing the extremes of love is a tour de force
extolling love and lust.
Juxtaposed against that is the Fervent Prayer. The orchestral version
dates from 1930 and is scored – according to the Turina website mentioned
before – for just 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 trumpets and 12 strings. It sounds
as though Mena uses full strings here but whatever the truth of that Turina’s
effective orchestral economy is beyond doubt as is Mouriz’s impassioned plea
to the Virgin of Hope. What an absolutely gorgeous miniature. The last of
the vocal items is an excerpt from the cycle Triptico Op.45. This
group of songs was written for Conchita Supervia in 1927 for piano and voice.
Sadly, Turina orchestrated the opening song only. The text is by the same
poet as the earlier cycle and again explores love and longing. Turina chooses
a more overtly Spanish character here right down to castanets and the swaying
rhythms of the Farruca flamenco dance from which it takes its title.
Mentioning dance links neatly to the next piece in this well-planned programme:
the Fantasia coreográfica – Ritmos Op.43. This was a score for an
abortive ballet which the composer described as “a gradual journey from darkness
into light”. Turina wrote a continuous sequence of six dances from the gloom
of the opening Preludio through to the explosively exciting Danza
exotica. At just fifteen minutes I cannot understand how this has not
entered the repertoire as a Latin La Valse. Although not dominated
by waltz rhythms as the Ravel understandably is, they share a similar sense
of gradual awakening and gathering energy and abandonment. In no way is Turina’s
work overshadowed by the Ravel – which also was conceived as a ballet albeit
nearly a decade earlier. This is an orchestral showpiece in the best sense
of the phrase and also one of the works that displays the range and quality
of this recording – demonstration if not award-winning class, I would say.
If all of this were not enough the disc closes with the work often cited as
Turina’s orchestral masterpiece; the Sinfonía sevillana Op.23 of
1920. Concision of duration again applies – not a wasted gesture or extraneous
musical phrase in its sub twenty-three minute duration. Gerald Larner rightly
points out the Debussyian influence in the opening Panorama – it
would be impossible to do otherwise, but the melodic shapes and emotional
landscape is something quite different. Mena’s particular skill here is to
bond this kaleidoscopic landscape of shifting moods so effectively together
– the listener is wholly unaware of any ‘gear-changes’ in the music so seamlessly
do the sections flow together. Again credit to the BBC Philharmonic for being
so sensitively attuned to every twist and turn – again harp and percussion
are caught by the Chandos engineers with tangibly thrilling dynamism. The
central panel is a musical picture of the river Guadalquivir – lovely solos
from leader Yuri Torchinsky and the unnamed cor anglais player in particular.
The closing movement opens with a near-cinematic riot of Spanish-inflected
orchestral colour. Again, why this is not regularly featured in concert programmes
around the world is a mystery – exciting, appealing and accessible. The massed
strings of the BBC Philharmonic are by turns rich and full or dynamic and
virtuosic; clearly they were having the proverbial ball. The closing minute
of the work with resplendent brass crowned by spectacular percussion and soaring
string lines bring both this work and the disc as a whole to a triumphant
close.
My only sorrow is that there is not much much more Turina for this team to
record. There are three concertante works; for piano, violin and harp, quite
a number of orchestral songs, some film scores and perhaps another half dozen
orchestral works. Volumes two and three are a necessity surely! An early contender
for one of my discs of the year and if this does not feature in other similar
lists and awards I will be surprised. Simply magnificent and a must-hear for
all those with a penchant for all things Spanish and ripely orchestrated.
Nick Barnard
Simply magnificent and a must-hear for all those with a penchant for all things
Spanish and ripely orchestrated.
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