Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Nocturnes [24:26]
Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Daphnis et Chloé – Second Suite [16:12]
Pavane pour une infante défunte [6:41]
Alexander SCRIABIN (1872-1915)
Le Poème de l’extase, Op 54 [19:30]
New England Conservatory Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra / Claudio Abbado
rec. 1970/71, Boston
Presto Classical CD
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 415 370-2 [67:36]
I well remember these recordings from LP days. I used to own them all but the LPs are long gone and for some reason I never replaced my vinyl copies with CDs. So, I’m delighted that Presto Classical have added this deleted DG compact disc to their on-demand listing. For collectors unfamiliar with the service, all the recordings in what is now a substantial list have been licenced by Presto and copies can be ordered through their website. What you get is an exact copy, booklet and all, of the original release.
The DG documentation gives no information about the date and location of these recordings. However, I’m absolutely certain they were set down in Symphony Hall, Boston. The publication dates are given as 1970 and, in the case of the Scriabin, 1971 so we can infer that the sessions took place shortly before those dates.
I suspect the reason why I didn’t ‘upgrade’ my copy of Scriabin’s Poème de l’Extase to CD was that it’s a work that I don’t particularly warm to. It sits rather oddly in this programme alongside the refined sensibilities and palettes of Debussy and Ravel. Then again, when originally released the coupling was Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, an equally strange bedfellow for Scriabin’s hothouse music. The music is hedonistic and, to my ears, over-inflated. However, in this performance the piece benefits from Abbado’s characteristic attention to detail and concern for textures. The Boston Symphony plays the piece very well for him. The important trumpet part is delivered confidently and assertively. The player has a bright vibrato, which gives the trumpet line extra prominence. I presume the trumpeter was Armando Ghitalia, the BSO’s principal trumpeter from 1965 to 1979.
For me, the main attraction here is the French repertoire. I recall that when I bought the LP release it came in a box with a handsome booklet – even there was only a single LP. That was pretty
luxurious presentation and the performances matched that standard.
As soon as I started to listen to ‘Nuages’, the first of the Nocturnes, I was struck by the pleasing sense of the hall’s acoustic around the sinuous Boston woodwinds. That sense of space is, if anything, more pronounced when the upper strings begin to play, their sound delicate as can be. Abbado’s view of the music, which is sensitively translated into sound by the orchestra, is subtle and refined; I admired the flexibility he displays in moulding the music most sympathetically. The opening of ‘Fêtes’ is full of gaiety and vitality. The response of the BSO is athletic and they are very precise over rhythms. When we hear the approaching band procession (2:08), the trumpets are very distant but when the band gets close to us the music is a riot of colour. In ‘Sirènes’ the sound of the female choir is quite present – some listeners may prefer a slightly more distanced sound – but the ladies of the New England Conservatory Chorus sing very well and throughout the movement Abbado demonstrates a scrupulous care for textures and flow. This is a very successful performance of the Nocturnes.
His Ravel is no less fine. The ‘Lever du jour’ which opens the second Daphnis et Chloé suite is simply rapturous. The Boston strings are lustrous while their woodwind colleagues sound for all the world like a flock of excitedly chattering birds. When the sunrise reaches its zenith, I’m profoundly grateful that, even though the complete ballet was not recorded – a great pity - DG engaged a choir; the music never sounds quite as sumptuous if there’s no choir involved. The ‘Pantomime’ section is graced by supple and agile playing in the extended flute solo. I presume this was the work of the late Doriot Anthony Dwyer, the BSO’s principal flute from 1952 to 1990: DG should have credited her in the documentation. The concluding ‘Danse Générale’ is full of verve and energy.
After the exhilarating end to Daphnis et Chloé, a lovely account of the gravely beautiful Pavane pour une Infante Défunte is the perfect contrast. This performance is poised and elegant with the BSO once again offering refined playing.
These analogue recordings have come up really well on CD and the sound does justice to the quality of the interpretations and playing. I’m delighted to have encountered these recordings again and to find that my memory has not played tricks on me: these are fine examples of the skills of Claudio Abbado. It’s great news that, thanks to Presto Classical, these recordings continue to be available.
John Quinn
