Kara Abdul'Faz-Oglī KARAYEV (1918-1982)
The Seven Beauties
– Suite for Orchestra (1949) [32:53]
Don Quixote
– Symphonic Engravings (1960) [20:32]
Leyla and Mejnun
– Symphonic Poem (1947) [15:17]
Lullaby from The Path of Thunder (Suite No. 2) (1958) [4:02]
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Kirill Karabits
rec. 2017, The Lighthouse, Poole, Dorset
Reviewed as a stereo 24/96 download from
Chandos.net
Pdf booklet included
CHANDOS CHSA5203 SACD
[73:10]
The music of this Baku-born composer is entirely new to me, but with such
an exotic, eye-catching name who could resist giving it a try? So, who is this fellow? Well, he was just eight when he enrolled, as a
junior, at the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire. His maiden work, a cantata,
was composed in 1938. During the 1940s, when his friend Dmitri Shostakovich
was in artistic exile, Karayev did well; indeed, he was awarded the Stalin
Prize twice, for a co-authored opera and his symphonic poem, Leyla and Mejnun. In the 1950a his two ballets, The Seven Beauties and The Path of Thunder, were very
well received.
Chandos claim these are premiere recordings. That may be true of the ‘suite
for orchestra’, The Seven Beauties, composed in 1949; this provided
the basis for the ballet, premiered in 1952. However, Don Quixote
and Leyla and Mejnun were recorded by Dmitry Yablonsky and the
Russian PO in 2008 (review). Ditto the Suite No. 2 from The Path of Thunder; Rauf
Abdullayev and the Moscow Radio & TV SO recorded it for Russian Disc/Delos
in the early 1990s (review). That same suite – there are three in all – can also be found
on another Yablonsky album, made with the Royal Philharmonic in 2012 (review). Included in both that and the Delos release is The Seven Beauties
ballet suite, assembled in 1953.
I first encountered the Ukrainian Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth
Symphony, of which he has been principal conductor since their 2009-2010
season, in excerpts from Khachaturian’s two best-known ballets, Spartacus and Gayane. In my
review
I predicted great things for this fledgling partnership; that said, I found
their Prokofiev symphony cycle – generally welcomed by my colleagues – to
be from the middle drawer rather than the top. All those recordings were
made for Onyx, but this Karayev collection appears to be their first for
Chandos.
The Seven Beauties
has its origins in the Panj Ganj (Five Treasures), by the Persian
poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209). It’s a classic tale of love between a
lowly girl, Aysha, and her people’s despotic ruler, Bachram Shah. While
sheltering from a storm, the latter is shown a cloth bearing the images of
seven beauties, who then come to life. This fantastic pageant is bracketed
by a dramatic preamble – from the ballet’s final Act – in which Bachram
Shah despairs at Aysha’s rejection and imagines a waltz with his beauties,
and a rousing ‘Procession’ in which Bachram Shah and his soldiers subjugate
the people.
Back to front it may be, but Karayev’s ‘suite for orchestra’ makes a fairly
convincing whole. If I seem a bit lukewarm it’s because on first hearing I
found the score wasn’t quite as inspired as Karabits makes out in
his conductor’s note. My next session, a few days later, was very
different. Suddenly, the opening seemed more dramatic than before, the
ensuing Adagio even lovelier than I’d first thought. To be fair
though, Ben Connellan’s warm, detailed and very atmospheric recording needs
a bit of extra volume; only then did I begin to enjoy both the piece and
the performance.
At this point I surrendered, without protest, to the manifold charms of
this music. What gorgeous harp and horn playing in that Adagio, and
how witty – but without a hint of slapstick – the clowns’ antics. As for
the seven beauties, their portraits are imbued with a gentle lift and
radiance that shows the Bournemouth players at their very best. Those soft,
shivery tam-tams and discreet bass-drum thuds are especially well caught,
as are the nicely blended woodwinds and silky strings. Goodness, I haven’t
heard the BSO play this well in ages.
Indeed, the word discreet could apply to the performances as a whole, for
Karabits emphasises the charm and elegance of Karayev’s writing. Really,
this is music of great subtlety and skill, far removed from the garish
colours and driving rhythms one associates with second-rate Soviet pieces,
some of which, it must be said, were penned by Prokofiev and Shostakovich.
For proof of class and quality, look no further than the controlled
splendor of the closing ‘Procession’, conductor, players and the recording
team clearly unanimous about how this should go.
Cervantes’ Don Quixote has inspired a number of composers, not least
Richard Strauss, but Karayev’s take on this touching tale – originally
composed for Grigor Kozintsev’s 1957 film and then recast as a series of
‘symphonic engravings’ – has its own, very special appeal. As Andrew Burn
points out in his liner-notes, Karayev eschews a straight retelling of the
story; instead, he focuses on ‘the psychological heart of the hero’. As
with The Seven Beauties, this score is both subtle and striking;
it’s played here with undiluted affection and pleasure, and that’s a
welcome bonus.
As for the second part, ‘Sancho, the Governor’, it’s a thrilling take on
that famous tune from Bizet’s Carmen. The enjoyment in both the
music and the music-making is palpable, and, thanks to Karabits’s judicious
approach, it’s all so tastefully done. There’s delicacy and introspection
too – what gorgeous flute playing in ‘Aldonse’, what softly weeping strings
in ‘Don Quixote's Death’. In between there’s a lovely ‘Pavan’ and a
pulse-quickening Rossinian galop at the start of ‘Cavalcade’,
every nuance and change of pace adroitly managed.
The symphonic poem Leyla and Mejnun, sourced from another Nizami
Ganjavi poem, is a robust, no-nonsense piece with all the dash and drama
one could wish for. There’s ardour too – cue aching, unrequited violin
melodies – and the red-blooded tuttis are just terrific. Once again, I was
struck by the width and depth of the audio image, with individual
instruments, and groups thereof, precisely where they should be. The album
ends with a gossamer-light lullaby from Karayev’s ballet The Path of Thunder, based on Peter Abrahams’s tale of life, love and violent
death in early apartheid South Africa. It’s a fascinating score, worth
hearing in its entirety.
Which is certainly my impression after listened to eClassical downloads of
that and the Seven Beauties ballet suite. Abdullayev’s
Delos
album is available in 16-bit, Yablonsky’s
Naxos
one in 24-bit. Predictably, perhaps, Abdullayev takes an earthy approach to
this music, and his orchestra respond with playing of undeniable strength
and idiom. These are dramatic performances, captured in good sound that
includes a splendid tam-tam and bass drum. In fact, I much prefer
Abdullayev to Yablonsky in both works, not least because the latter’s
recording is too brightly lit and, at times, the sound is a bit coarse.
Some may feel that’s more ‘authentic’; I just find it wearying after a
while.
I then turned a CD rip of Yablonsky’s earlier album, which contains
Karayev’s Third Symphony, Leyla and Mejnun and Don Quixote.
There, too, the conductor opts for sinew rather than subtlety, and while
the performances are decent enough, they do seem a tad relentless at times.
It’s only when one hears Karabits and the BSO that one realizes just how
accomplished – even sophisticated – these scores really are, and how well
they respond to more sensitive treatment. I will now archive Abdullayev,
delete Yablonsky and add the Karabits to my shortlist of the year’s best
recordings. Yes, It’s that good.
Wonderful music, superbly played and recorded; a real find.
Dan Morgan
Contents
The Seven Beauties
[32:53]
I. Waltz [4:19]
II. Adagio [5:09]
III. The Dance of the Clowns [1:55]
IV. The Seven Portraits:
Introduction [1:24]
1. The Indian Beauty [2:28]
2. The Byzantine Beauty [0:53]
3. The Khoresmian Beauty [0:54]
4. The Slavonic Beauty [2:36]
5. The Maghrebian Beauty [2:56]
6. The Chinese Beauty [1:22]
7. The Most Beautiful of the Beauties [4:23]
V. The Procession [4:20]
Don Quixote
[20:32]
1. Travels [1:47]
2. Sancho, the Governor [1:56]
3. Travels [1:21]
4. Aldonse [3:32]
5. Travels [3:06]
6. Pavan [1:58]
7. Cavalcade [2:33]
8. Don Quixote's Death [4:16]
Leyla and Mejnun
[15:17]
Lullaby from The Path of Thunder [4:02]
