Carlos CHÁVEZ (1899-1978)
Pirámide (Ballet in Four Acts) – Extracts [21.05]
Los Cuatro Soles (The Four Suns) – Ballet after a Nahua tradition [28.47]
Aaron COPLAND (1900-1990)
Appalachian Spring (Complete Ballet – Original Version) [33.45]
Copland Rehearses Appalachian Spring [17.09] (SACD layer only)
Ambrosian Singers
London Symphony Orchestra/Carlos Chávez
Columbia Chamber Orchestra/Aaron Copland
rec. 16-18 March 1973, Abbey Road Studio No.1, London, (Chavez); 9-11 May 1973, Columbia 30th Street Studio C, (Copland)
DUTTON EPOCH CDLX7366 SACD [99.38]
To describe this reissue as welcome is something of an understatement. To have the composers’ thoughts on their music is always invaluable. One of the advantages of the original CBS recordings was – for 1973 – state-of-the art analogue sound. The two original LPs were available in mono and stereo/quadraphonic. In the hands of Michael Dutton, one of the great restorers of older recordings, the sound is pristine.
Both Copland and Chávez were more than competent conductors (not true of all composers) of their own works. The SACD layer contains an interesting – but perhaps not essential – recording of Copland rehearsing Appalachian Spring. The original LP presented this as a separate EP, inserted into the main sleeve. Copland begins the rehearsal with a mildly – but not altogether convincing – piece of self-deprecation, before revealing himself as a courteous but firm guide, with very clear ideas of how he wanted his ballet to sound. And this is an important performance, as it was the first recording of the original chamber-sized orchestration, and of the complete ballet, not the later Suite for full orchestra. I have always been slightly baffled by Copland’s Suites, as there are rarely much shorter than the original ballets. Leonard Slatkin has been an advocate of the full ballets, and produces superb interpretations.
In Appalachian Spring we gain an extra eight minutes of music. The chamber textures bring out an angularity not always evident in the orchestral version. Oddly, I find in the chamber version that I am less conscious of ‘Appalachia’, and find it easier to remember that that name was applied post-composition, and was in no sense an inspiration. The reason for the very limited orchestra was that the original venue, the Library of Congress, had a pit that accommodated only 13 players, a number retained for the first version of the original suite. The full version as recorded here has 15, flute, clarinet, bassoon and piano, and a string complement of five violins, two each of violas and cellos, and a single double bass. The result is something very attractive, and unmissable by any lover of Copland.
I love Copland, but I have never been certain in my reaction to Chávez. His contribution to Mexican music, and not simply as composer and performer, was colossal, and he excites admiration. But I have never felt I truly understood his idiom, or rather, his several idioms. He commanded many styles, often simultaneously. The first section of Pirámide on this disc (in fact, Act III of the original) is astringent, tough music. Elsewhere he is more lyrical. Los Cuatro Soles (‘The Four Suns’), a ballet based on a Nahua tradition, composed in 1925, is perhaps more immediately attractive, if no less uncompromising. The music appealed more and more with repeated hearing, aided by meticulous performance and recording. I liked it; and may yet love it.
This is a great reissue, with superb production values.
Michael Wilkinson
