The Alto Rhapsody
is one of Brahms’ best-known and
best-loved short works, and the catalogue
contains any number of distinguished
readings, from the likes of Baker, Ferrier,
and more recently, Van Nes on Decca.
Thus any new recording, particularly
at full price like this Chandos one,
really does need to be exceptionally
good to stand up to the competition.
Everything here is in place technically
and musically; Anna Larsson has a splendidly
firm alto voice, the orchestral playing
is well disciplined, and the male chorus
makes a creditable appearance in the
concluding section. Yet the magic is
absent, and the work seems lightweight,
lacking the emotional intensity and
spiritual depth that a great performance
can bring.
Gesang der Parzen
(‘Song of the Fates’) and Rinaldo
are nothing like so well served
on disc, partly because they are not
on the same artistic level as the Rhapsody;
so the opposite problem exists, that
of making these works sound, perhaps,
better than they in reality are. Again,
Albrecht and his forces fail, though
perhaps more honourably. The powerful
opening of Gesang der Parzen has
a ponderous feel, as if Albrecht was
having difficulty in getting the orchestra
in motion, and there is a certain hesitancy
in the playing too. The chorus, however,
is excellent, and they do their best
to project this brief but rather fine
work. There are some great moments,
as Brahms experiments with the kind
of descending semitonal shifts that
the young Vaughan Williams must have
found so influential when he came to
compose Toward the Unknown Region.
Rinaldo, it
has to be said, is among the composer’s
less endearing works. It has some fine
moments, but is not kind to the tenor
soloist. He gets little chance to relax
and sing lyrically. I notice that the
Penguin Guide takes James King to task
for his coarse-toned "Heldentenor"
approach in the Abbado recording. Stig
Andersen suffers from the same sort
of problem, though his tone is far from
coarse. He doesn’t succeed in giving
the softer sections the intimacy they
need, and generally seems to be struggling
against the orchestral accompaniment.
However, the men of the Danish National
Choir are in superb voice, and this
means that the final chorus, in which
Rinaldo and his knights set sail from
the island where he has been ensnared
by the charms of Armida, acquires considerable
momentum.
A creditable disc,
then, rather than an outstanding one,
and if you are after these particular
pieces, you could certainly do worse.
Gwyn Parry-Jones
Anna Larsen, contralto, Stig Andersen, tenor 