Ottorino RESPIGHI (1879-1936)
Transcriptions
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Prelude and Fugue in D major (BWV532), P 158 (arr. Respighi, 1929) [10:02]
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor (BWV 582), P 159 (arr. Respighi, 1930) [15:13]
Tre Corali, (BWV 659, 648, 645) P 167 (arr. Respighi, 1930) [10:27]
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943)
Cinq Études-Tableaux, P160 (1930, arr. Respighi) [22:22]
Orchestre Philharmonique Royale de Liège / John Neschling
rec. September 2017, Salle Philharmonique de Liège, Belgium. DSD
BIS BIS-2350 SACD [59:08]
It’s been a while since BIS issued the last Respighi disc from John Neschling. To the best of my recollection, there hasn’t been a release in the series since 2018 when they gave us the very fine disc that included Vetrate di Chiesa (review). By my reckoning, this is his sixth SACD of the composer’s music. Here are the details of the other four instalments: Vol. 1
~ Vol. 2
~ Vol. 3
~ Vol. 4.
This time, Neschling has chosen to explore a particular aspect of Respighi’s output: his interest in arranging other composers’ music for the modern orchestra, and here he concentrates on some transcriptions that Respighi made in 1929 and 1930. This was a path Respighi had trodden in the past in his The Birds (1928) and suites of Ancient Airs and Dances (1917 and 1923: a third suite would follow in 1932). I wonder if John Neschling intends to record any of this music in due course.
I don’t know what made Respighi decide to orchestrate Bach’s organ Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV532 – Jean-Pascal Vachon gives no indication in his notes – but it was dedicated to Fritz Reiner who premiered it with the Cincinnati Symphony in 1930. Respighi used a substantial orchestra including triple woodwind, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, a full complement of horns and brass, timpani, piano (four hands) and strings. Notice what is missing, however: apart from the timpani, there’s no percussion (unless you count the piano) and, indeed, Respighi eschewed percussion in all these Bach transcriptions. I’m glad about that; such things as clashing cymbals would have been out of place. Despite the large forces that he deploys, Respighi achieves excellent clarity throughout the Prelude and I’d call his scoring respectfully inventive. Thanks to this clarity – and the BIS engineering – the piano makes its mark at times, notably around 4:00. In the Fugue Bach largely went for lightness of touch and so does Respighi in his response to the organ original. Once again, clarity is achieved, both by Respighi and by Neschling – even when more instruments are added to the mix, though it’s only near the end that the full forces are used. This spirited music receives an ebullient performance from the Liège orchestra.
As a direct result of his success in transcribing BWV532 Respighi received a request for something even more ambitious from Toscanini. The maestro asked for an orchestral transcription of the mighty Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582. Jean-Pascal Vachon’s notes tell us that Respighi demurred at first, but eventually he gave way and then, apparently, completed the transcription in just nine days. That’s a prodigious feat by any measure, and all the more remarkable because he expanded the already lavish forces that he’d used for BWV532; an even larger woodwind section was used and the horn section was increased from four to six. Respighi also brought in an organ – pedals only – to reinforce the bass line in places.
In its original form BWV 582 is a towering conception, not least in terms of the great variety of the variations which overlay the ground bass. The original seems to cry out for orchestral dress, a need which organists address, of course, through skilful registrations. Respighi adds a different dimension to the music, using his orchestral forces with taste and great imagination in response to Bach’s genius. Mind you, he wasn’t averse to adding little bits of music himself to elaborate the counterpoint. Wherever he does so it seems to me that he judges his additions expertly. In this piece it’s essential to control dynamics really well, whether you’re an organist or, in this case, a conductor, because the Passacaglia is often a slow-burner. Neschling is patient and builds the structure most impressively. In both sections he – and Respighi – achieve impressive clarity and that’s particularly welcome in the Fugue. This is a wonderfully imaginative transcription and it receives a terrific performance here.
The Tre Corali (There Chorales) are much more modest pieces and the orchestration is similarly modest. Indeed, in the first of them, after Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Come now, Saviour of the Heathen), BWV 659, Respighi uses strings only, with a bassoon to reinforce the bass line. The effect is very restrained, almost to the point of austerity, and the contrast is all the more marked coming straight after the opulence of the BWV 582 transcription. The second Chorale is after Meine Seele erhebt den Herrn (My soul magnifies the Lord), BWV 648. This is a tiny piece, playing for just one minute in this performance. The melodic interest is a duet for clarinet and bassoon – crisply played – with a trumpet gently intoning the chorale melody. Finally comes the well-known Chorale after Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme (Awake, the voice calls to us) BWV 645. I like the way that, as the chorale unfolds, Respighi gradually adds extra woodwind and brass voices to the famous melody, though I think I’d take issue with the statement in the notes that the ending “would not be out of place in a Hollywood score”.
The five transcriptions from Rachmaninov’s Études-Tableaux were commissioned by Koussevitzky. Four of the five pieces came from the Op 39 set and one from Op 33: did Koussevitzky or Respighi make the choices, I wonder? We learn from the notes that Rachmaninov was very enthusiastic about the project, to the extent that he sent Respighi “some explanations concerning the mysteries of the composer’s intentions, which will help you understand the character of these Études and to find the appropriate colours when orchestrating them”. That’s a remarkable stance when one recalls that some years earlier the composer had specifically declined the request of a journalist to discuss what might lie behind the various pieces. Rachmaninov was equally enthusiastic when he heard the finished results, writing to Respighi to congratulate him and praising specifically “the close rapport between your orchestration and my original”. I hadn’t actually read that quote in the booklet when I first listened to these orchestrations but I jotted down in my listening notes a comment to the effect that I wondered how well Respighi might have known or studied any of Rachmaninov’s orchestral works before he made these versions; to my ears they sound very authentic. Oddly, though, as I listened to Respighi’s orchestrations the two Rachmaninov works that came most readily to my mind were the Third Symphony and the Symphonic Dances, both of which still lay in the future.
I love the scoring of ‘La mer et les mouettes’ (The Sea and the Seagulls). Here, Respighi evokes in his scoring an aural vision of a tranquil sea at the start and end of the piece. In the middle, wonderfully evocative orchestration, not least the use of a deep gong, conjures up the mysterious depths of the ocean. The brief ‘La foire’ (The Fair) portrays the gaiety of the fairground in a colourful dance, played here with pleasing vigour. Perhaps my favourite of the set is ‘Le chaperon rouge et le loup’ (Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf). Rachmaninov’s original illustrates the story very well but Respighi’s imagination brings it even more vividly to life.
I enjoyed this disc from start to finish. The alliance of John Neschling and BIS’s engineers has displayed Respighi’s genius for orchestration in all their previous albums together. This latest offering is no exception. I listened to the stereo layer of the SACD and was well impressed with the results. The sound has depth, body and presence and the engineers have conveyed an abundance of detail in a pleasingly natural way. The recorded sound shows the fine, alert playing of the Orchestre Philharmonique Royale de Liège to optimum advantage. The booklet essay by Jean-Pascal Vachon is very useful.
If anyone doubts Respighi’s flair and skill as an orchestrator, this SACD should still those doubts. It’s an entertaining disc in the best sense of the word and it’s a worthy addition to John Neschling’s Respighi series. More, please.
John Quinn
