Frank Martin (1890-1974)
Requiem (1971-1973)
Leoš Janáček (1854-1928)
Otčenáš (Our Father) (1901/1906)
Jane Marsh (soprano), Ria Bollen (contralto), Claes H. Ahnsjö, Heinz Zednik (tenor), Robert Holl (bass)
Arcola Clark (harp), Rudolf Scholz (organ)
Wiener Jeunesse Choir, ORF Choir
ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/Leif Segerstam
rec. live, 23 February 1979 (Martin), 22 October 1987 (Janáček), Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
Texts & translations provided in the booklet
CAPRICCIO C5454 [60]
Martin and Janáček: not the first composer pairing to come to mind. They do have in common Leif Segerstan and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony. Segerstam conducted the ORF in 1975-1983, and the Finnish Radio Symphony for much of that time. At the ORF, he programmed then-new and less well-known works. We have one of each on this disc.
Leoš Janáček could not be called religious – his attitude might be described as “I’ll believe it when I see it” – but he was asked to write sacred works at various times in his career. He approached the texts in a social or nationalistic fashion; witness his great Slavonic Mass. This setting of Otčenáŝ (Lord’s Prayer) was commissioned for a charity event in Brno. The event would reenact paintings by the Polish painter Józef Męcina-Krzesz (1860-1934), which depict sections of the Lord’s Prayer. Janáček illustrated five of the paintings using choir, piano and harmonium. Four years later, he arranged the piece for tenor soloist, choir, harp and organ; this is the definitive version. Each of the five sections illustrates a line of the Lord’s Prayer. Janáček’s contrast of choir and tenor soloist is very imaginative, and the work exudes seriousness and charm. The harp is almost the prime soloist. It is used in many different ways, and sometimes augmented by the organ. Especially dramatic is the final “And lead us not into temptation…” where all threats are banished. This music, very convincing for an atheist, is a tribute to Janáček’s dramatic abilities. It can almost be compared with his operas.
Frank Martin, one of ten children of a Protestant minister in Geneva, had a very different attitude towards religion. It was an important part of his outlook, although he expanded beyond the Calvinism of his childhood. His large-scale choral works, along with some of his orchestral music, are his best-known compositions. The Requiem is the last big choral work he completed. He had long contemplated setting the text of the Office for the Dead but it was only after a Mediterranean cruise in 1971 (touring St. Mark’s in Venice, Monreale Cathedral in Palermo and the Greek temples near Naples) that he finally felt capable of portraying both the frightening and the consolatory aspects of the text.
Listeners familiar with Martin’s great oratorios In terra pax and Golgotha may find the dissonance quotient a little higher in the Requiem, but there is no doubt about his sincerity and compositional mastery. There are eight sections, with an opening Introitus somewhat distant and despairing, aspects well articulated by the soloists. There follows a more dissonant Kyrie in which pleading solos alternate with choral work. The Dies Irae is the longest section in most settings of the Requiem, and Martin’s is no exception. It begins with a solemn passage for speaking chorus and percussion – quite an effect – followed by several sections with individual soloists placed against solo and combined woodwinds. The full orchestra arrives in the Judex Crederis section: a profound moment. Lacrymosa, the final section, is set for chorus and orchestra, perhaps the highlight of the whole work, before all join for the final amen.
Martin asks for a pause of about 30 seconds before the start of the Offertorium. This section marks a complete change in atmosphere. It is hushed, with accompaniment scored for strings and harpsichord alone, while the succeeding Sanctus and Benedictus form a single unit, ending triumphantly. The beautiful Agnus Dei, scored for contralto and organ, is extremely moving. Its gentle mood is continued at first in the Pie Jesu, with the music alternating between soprano and chorus, but in a wonderful transition soloists, chorus, organ, and orchestra join together. The Lux Aeterna section brings back music from the Introitus, but now full of quiet confidence.
Ria Bollen was the contralto soloist at the world premiere of the Requiem in Lausanne in 1973. After the performance, Martin wrote a heartfelt message of thanks in her copy of the score. Bollen was something of a Martin specialist, and one can tell that from her near-perfect performance. (That original performance was available on an LP, Jecklin-Disco JD631-2, but this is hard to find.) The other three soloist are all fine, especially Robert Holl, whose performance brought to mind his contemporaneous one on Preiser’s recording of Schmidt’s Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln. Interestingly, the fine organist Rudolf Scholz, who performs in both the Martin and the Janáček, was also the organist for Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln. We must not forget the tenor Heinz Zednik, who sings expressively in the Janáček.
Leif Segerstam’s conducting of the Martin is a little erratic: quite effective in the slower passages but slurred in the faster ones. Overall, it is a powerful performance, but I wonder what he could do with the Requiem if he conducted it today. On the other hand, his performance of the Janáček is practically ideal, except for the sound quality. The performance of the Martin dates from 1979, so some listeners may prefer the 2010 recording on Troubadisc (TRO-CD 01441, review) or the 2014 recording on Musiques Suisses (MGB-6183). But combined with the excellent performance of Otčenáŝ, this should prove a very attractive disc.
William Kreindler
Previous review: Marc Rochester
B09QFFZV34
9313084--frank-martin-requiem-leos-jana-ek-ot-enas-our-father
