Classical Opera have already recorded Mozart’s
Apollo et
Hyacinthus on Linn (see review) as what was announced as the start of a
complete cycle of the composer’s operas. They now present his next
work chronologically on Signum, and on the basis of the exceptional quality
of these two recordings I very much hope that the series will continue under
one or other of these or with another label.
It would be easy to get bogged down in a discussion as to whether
Die Schuldigkeit des Ersten Gebots (The obligation of the first
commandment) should be included at all in a complete cycle of Mozart’s
operas. Bärenreiter’s edition of the composer’s complete
works puts it in the category of sacred vocal works rather than as a stage
work. It is however correctly described in the Signum booklet as being the
first part of a sacred Singspiel. It was in fact intended for performance
during Lent when secular dramas or operas were not permitted in Salzburg
although to what extent its performance involved staged action seems
unclear. The libretto was by Ignaz Weisser and is an allegorical
representation of the temptations of the Christian Soul. Mozart was
commissioned to write the music for the first section, with that for the
other two sections given to Michael Haydn and Anton Adlgasser although their
contributions have not survived.
The main character of the section that Mozart wrote is what Ian Page
translates as “a half-hearted Christian”. He is tempted by
“the Spirit of Worldliness” but is kept on the right path by
“the Spirit of Christianity”, assisted by, and with comments
from, Divine Mercy and Divine Justice. You may be forgiven for expecting
this to be somewhat dry and predictable. It is not. Worldliness is given
many good lines, and her characterisation of Christianity (in Ian
Page’s translation) as “a whimsical crank who allows other, or
himself, almost no pleasure … who seeks to force on everyone his own
moral philosophy, which is full of naïve simple-mindedness but very
annoying and inflexible … his words, thoughts and deeds are nothing
but priests’ mumbo-jumbo, in a word he’s a completely peculiar
sort” sounds remarkably similar to the kind of comments made by some
of Professor Dawkins’ followers. No wonder with such eloquent
arguments that the Christian is tempted and that this section of the drama
ends with Christianity, Divine Mercy and Divine Justice debating how best to
bring the Christian back to his initial beliefs. The surprising thing is
that, with the aid of the text and translation and the whole cast’s
admirable delivery of it, even the sometimes lengthy recitatives are
dramatic and engrossing for the listener.
Previous recordings of the work that I have heard have been clearly
sung, but were orchestrally too heavy and wholly unconvincing in dramatic
terms. Here the relatively small orchestra, clear textures and buoyant
pacing convinces the listener that this is no dull oratorio but a genuinely
dramatic work. This impression derives largely from approaching the work
from the point of view of the earlier baroque rather than from that of the
composer’s later works. Admittedly many of the young Mozart’s
dramatic gestures are somewhat obvious, but as performed here they are
always effective. None is more so than Mozart’s illustration of the
Christian’s recollection of the inevitability of the Last Trumpet -
last trombone in German - where he interrupts a recitative with a phrase on
the alto trombone, and later uses the instrument as the obbligato in one of
the Christian’s arias. The work is full of surprises and real dramatic
punch. The whole cast are admirable even if without the libretto you might
have some difficulty at times in distinguishing between the two tenors and
the two sopranos. All sing with clarity and freshness, similar virtues to
those displayed by the orchestra, and Ian Page’s pacing is unerringly
convincing. The booklet with the set contains a useful introduction to the
opera as well as a refreshingly unstilted translation of the libretto.
Although it refers to a film on “The making of the Recording” as
being available on CD2 as a bonus feature I was unable to access it on my
computer, although it can be seen on
Classical Opera’s website.
I referred to Classical Opera’s first venture into recording
Mozart as being a splendid version of an unfairly neglected work. I can only
repeat and emphasise these words, and once again hope that Classical Opera
will be able to continue their remarkable demonstration of the very
considerable virtues of the composer’s earliest works.
John Sheppard
