Jean-Philippe RAMEAU (1683-1764)
Anacréon (1754)
Anacréon – Matthew Brook (bass)
Chloé – Anna Dennis (soprano)
Batile – Agustin Prunell-Friend (tenor)
The Choir of the Enlightenment
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Jonathan Williams
rec. All Saints Church, East Finchley, London, 14-15 February 2014
World premiere recording
SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD402 [50:19]
Anacreon was a Greek lyric poet who died around 485BC and
is regarded as one of the Nine Lyric or Melic Poets of Greek antiquity. He
was also one of the most popular of all the ancient poets in eighteenth century
France, with Madame de Pompadour owning four different translations of his
works. It is understandable therefore, that Rameau composed not one, but two
works, or ‘actes de ballet’, entitled Anacréon. This one dates
from 1754 and receives its premiere recording here, whilst the more famous
version comes from 1757. In preparation for reviewing this disc I returned
firstly to Mary Térey-Smith’s recording of the orchestral suite (8.553746),
and then to Marc Minkowski’s excellent recording of the complete 1757
version (Archiv
449 211-2 also Brilliant
Classics 93930). It was only after listening to these a couple of times
that I turned my attention to this new recording. After repeated listening
I can say that there are no real similarities between the two versions of
the opera. Not only did Rameau employ a different librettist for the two versions,
but the stories are different and he also composed completely different music.
The second version was not so much a re-working but a completely new and different
opera. The Naxos recording of the suite is something different however, as
the music presented here seems to be taken from the 1754 version, so the claim
that this new recording is a “World Premier Recording” should
perhaps be tempered with the phrase ‘of the complete opera’.
This is not Rameau’s finest work, the plot is at times quite ponderous
and predictable. However, after reading the excellent booklet notes by Jonathan
Williams, in which he explains how he reconstructed this version of the opera
from fragments you come to realize just what a labour of love this task was
for him. This production was the fulfilment of all his hard work. Williams
shows great control of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, giving them
what we understand to be the sound of a French period performance orchestra.
It is a shame therefore, that his singers, especially Matthew Brook and Agustin
Prunell-Friend show occasional lapses in diction; good rather than exceptional
therefore. Anna Dennis on the other hand, in such as her Arietta “Quand
l’Amour enflame nos cœurs” is excellent as Chloé, with the
chorus also in fine form. If anything the 1757 version works better, and in
that case Minkowski was also blessed with native French singers. Even so,
you can understand why Rameau composed a new opera rather than revising his
original thoughts. That being said, all the performers give of their best,
and this work is more than an interesting rarity. Rather it is a valuable
addition to the catalogue and Signum Records and especially Jonathan Williams,
should be praised and thanked for bringing it to the attention of the listening
public.
As mentioned above, the booklet notes are excellent, adding a lot to the listener's
understanding and enjoyment of the work. I also relished the recorded sound
which helped to bring out every nuance of Rameau’s compositional style.
Stuart Sillitoe
Previous review: Simon
Thompson
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