Karol SZYMANOWSKI (1882-1937)
Stabat Mater Op.53 (1925-6) [23:25]
Harnasie Op.55 (1923-31)* [34:59]
Lucy Crowe (soprano), Pamela Helen Stephen (mezzo), *Robert Murray (tenor),
Gábor Bretz (baritone)
BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus/Edward Gardner
rec. 5-6 January 2013, Fairfield Halls, Croydon, England. DSD
Polish texts and English translations included
CHANDOS CHSA5123 [58:36]
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
Support us financially by purchasing this disc from |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |