This is one of two recent recordings of Szymanowski’s Stabat
Mater; the other, which I have not heard, is by Valery Gergiev
on LSO Live (review).
For years I’ve had in my own collection the recording which
Sir Simon Rattle made with the CBSO and Chorus in Symphony Hall, Birmingham,
back in 1993 (review).
The Stabat Mater is a wonderful work and unlike settings such
as those by Rossini and Verdi it’s primarily introspective.
Szymanowski set a Polish translation of the Latin poem. Edward Gardner
leads a fine performance. He benefits from having three excellent
soloists. Lucy Crowe offers heartfelt and beautifully poised, clear
singing; her timbre is just right for Szymanowski’s haunting
and lamenting music. Pamela Helen Stephen is also very affecting in
the mezzo solos. The music for the bass soloist is more forthright
and declamatory in nature and the Hungarian bass, Gábor Bretz
has the right East European timbre and the necessary vocal presence
to justice to the music. The BBC Symphony Chorus does a fine job throughout,
not least in the unaccompanied fourth section of the work. The BBC
Symphony Orchestra is on similarly fine form.
Comparison with the Rattle recording is interesting. Chandos recordings
are consistently excellent and pack a punch when needed. This one
is no exception but the EMI engineers, working in the famously clear
acoustic of Symphony Hall, produce sound that is a bit more ‘present’
and the work’s biggest climax, in section five, which has impressive
depth of tone on the Chandos disc has even more impact on the EMI
recording. Incidentally, I listened to Gardner’s hybrid SACD
as a conventional CD. Rattle’s choir and orchestra are superb
- I think that around this time he was programming quite a bit of
this composer’s music with them - and his trio of soloists are
all excellent. If pressed at gunpoint to choose between Gardner’s
Lucy Crowe or the excellent Elzbieta Szmykta, who sings for Rattle,
Miss Crowe’s gently radiant singing would get my vote by a narrow
margin while, equally narrowly I prefer Pamela Helen Stephen to the
rather fuller-toned Florence Quivar (Rattle).
With Harnasie Gardner also finds himself in competition with
Sir Simon, who recorded the work in 2002, again in Birmingham. This
is a score which took a long time to complete (1923-31) and during
that time the composer immersed himself in the lifestyle, geography
and folklore of the Tatra mountain region of Poland, living there
for part of that time. The ballet is heavily influenced by the folk
music of the region and it’s consistently vivid in both its
scoring and in its rhythmic drive.
As with Stabat Mater Gardner secures an impressive performance;
once again he demonstrates great empathy with the music. The BBC Symphony
plays very well indeed for him and as well as corporate excellence
there’s a great deal of fine solo work to admire, not least
from the leader, Stephen Bryant, and, especially early on in the work,
from the principal trumpeter. The chorus has less to do in this work
but in Harnasie the style of singing that’s required
is much more extrovert and earthy. The BBC Symphony Chorus sings extremely
well, not least in the exciting penultimate section where the Harnasie
robbers raid the village and abduct a bride whose wedding has been
in progress. There’s also a part for a solo tenor. In his first
short solo he is Harnaś, the robbers’ leader. In the Gardner
recording Robert Murray is heard as if from off stage. Rattle’s
tenor, Timothy Robinson, is less obviously distanced. Curiously, however,
when the tenor makes his final appearance, in the Epilogue, although
the Chandos notes say that the singer is ‘in the distance’
it sounds to me as if Robert Murray is very much on stage.
Robinson (for Rattle) is more obviously distanced. Both singers do
well in this final solo but on balance I prefer the sweeter, gentler
singing of Murray. Rattle’s chorus and orchestra are superb,
not least in the penultimate section. In quieter stretches, such as
the opening, Rattle’s famed delicacy and attention to detail
are in evidence though Gardner is also very impressive in such passages.
Both performances are presented in excellent sound with the EMI recording
being a bit more ‘present’.
I don’t think Gardner’s performances better the Rattle
recordings but in their own right they are extremely impressive. I
suppose the bottom line is that if you have Rattle’s performances
you don’t need to ‘trade up’ to Gardner - though
I’m jolly glad to have both. On the other hand, if you don’t
have recordings of either of these fine and fascinating scores in
your collection Gardner is an excellent advocate for them and it’s
extremely convenient to have them coupled together on a single disc
whereas I think Rattle’s recordings of both works may only be
available currently in a 4-disc box, albeit at an advantageous price
(review).
John Quinn
Previous reviews: Dave
Billinge and Dan
Morgan
