When I
recently reviewed a 2-CD set of
Munch conducting Saint-Saëns, Ibert,
d’Indy, Franck, Roussel and Honegger
I outlined the career of this remarkable
conductor and suggested that he may
have been the ideal interpreter of that
part of the French repertoire which
leans towards the German symphonic tradition.
By implication, it might be expected
that his no-holds-barred verve and gut
conviction might be a bit over the top
for Debussy.
The question is, did
Debussy really live in a world
of vague impressions, shadows and dreams?
Munch evidently didn’t think so and
he convincingly gives us a Debussy of
flesh and blood, a creature of passions,
a composer who sings and exalts. His
Prélude à l’après-midi
d’un faune climaxes with great banks
of string tone which might be thought
not excessive even in Rachmaninov, yet
the voice which speaks to us is still
Debussy’s – it’s question of timing
and of nuance. The abiding impression
of his La Mer is one of colossal
power. The Jeux de vagues second
movement is quite extraordinary for
the way Munch seems to draw phrases
out from the depths of the orchestra,
then, as the phrase reaches its apex,
lo and behold another is welling out
from the other side of the spectrum.
This also says much for the effective
use of early stereo.
When these recordings
were new their vitality was always recognised,
but it was sometimes felt that the finer
poetic nuances were lacking. This is
now shown to have been largely the result
of the rather strident sound RCA favoured
in those days. In spite of a rather
high tape-hiss these recordings now
sound incredibly good for their age
– dates are not given but I presume
this is the 1956 version of La Mer
which has already appeared on CD at
least once. The two Nocturnes and the
Prélude are slightly later
and first appeared in the UK in 1963.
In a piece like Nuages we can
note that Munch certainly expects us
to hear every note – no vague groping
around in the far recesses of the orchestra
– but we can also appreciate the expressive
intensity and pinpoint nuance the players
show even while playing pianissimo.
Or listen to the trumpet near the beginning
of Gigues before the faster music
bursts in. This is a truly great orchestra
under a conductor who knew how to get
the best out of it, make no mistake
about it. I can see that the Munch recipe
might have come adrift with lesser orchestras
(it would be interesting to hear for
comparison the version of La Mer
he made for Concert Hall with the French
National Radio Orchestra), and it would
be a dangerous model to emulate, but
that only adds to the uniqueness of
what we have here; a particular combination
of orchestra and conductor with a sound
and a style all of their own.
Though from a critic’s
point of view this is a "historical
recording", I should add that the
sound is still remarkably vivid and
so this also makes a superb introduction
for the first-time buyer to Debussy’s
major orchestral masterpieces. It may
even provide a point of entry to those
unable to relate to the softer-centred
impressionist Debussy more commonly
heard. There are good notes on the music
and a brief paragraph on the conductor
in three languages.
Christopher Howell
Boston Symphony Orchestra/Charles Munch