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Joseph HAYDN (1732–1809) Die Schöpfung (1798)
Miah Persson
(soprano) – Gabriel, Eva; Topi Lehtipuu (tenor) – Uriel;
David Wilson-Johnson (baritone) – Raphael, Adam
Salzburger Bachchor
Mozarteum Orchester, Salzburg/Ivor Bolton
rec. live, 20–22 October 2005, Salzburg Mozarteum, Grosser
Saal OEHMS CLASSICS
OC609 [52:20
+ 45:53]
Two years ago I reviewed another
SACD issue of Die Schöpfung (Naxos
8.6110073/74)
and I found it highly satisfying. I included it as one of
my “Recordings
of the Year”. Conducted by Andreas Spering with the crisp
VokalEnsemble Köln, the even crisper Capella Augustina on
period instruments and three excellent soloists, that super-budget
version on
Naxos can still be whole-heartedly recommended; except to
the most period-performance hostile.
Now here comes this live recording from Salzburg. Good it is
too - only to be expected with Ivor Bolton at the helm. The brass
section plays on natural instruments but as far as I can
tell the strings are modern and we hear a slightly larger
body than Spering’s ensemble. The Bachchor appear to be larger
in number than Spering’s VokalEnsemble. Singing and playing
are expert, tempos mainly swift and rhythms vivacious. Overall
timings show that Bolton is even faster than Spering: CD1
takes 52:20 as against 55:09 and CD2 45:53 against 49:13.
The big choruses are powerful. Vollendet ist das grosse
Werk, concluding part 2, is sung with a stirring swagger.
Recitatives are accompanied by a fortepiano as on the Spering
version, so there are several points in common. The greatest
difference lies in the crisper, more “baroque” and therefore
paradoxically more “modern” phrasing by Spering. Bolton is
slightly closer to the 19th century, which was
only two years away when the work was premiered. As I have
pointed out before: most music can stand several interpretative
approaches, as long as they are performed with conviction.
I will live happily with both these versions but retaining
a special liking for the Spering. It is what I called in
the review his seeing “the whole work from a child’s perspective
that marks his version out from the many. The child is listening
to this amazing story for the first time and with mouth wide
open enthralled by the fairy-tale descriptions of the proceedings …”
So far I have assessed the two versions
without taking the soloists into the
account. I was deeply impressed by Spering’s
soprano, South Korean Sunhae Im. Her
voice is light and glittering, with
an Emma Kirkby purity about her. Bolton
has, however, a real trump-card in Miah
Persson. Vocally she has the same purity,
the same agility and probably also the
slightly larger voice paired with more
expression. Her big aria Auf starkem
Fittiche is deeply involved and
the solo flute that twitters behind
her is ideally balanced to make this
in effect a duet. The young Finn Topi
Lehtipuu, resident in Paris, is also
a highly expressive singer but tonally
he isn’t as attractive as Spering’s
Jan Kobow. Lehtipuu is more of a character
tenor and this pays dividends, not least
in the aria Mit Würd’ und Hoheit.
Kobow is smoother but maybe a little
pale.
Veteran David Wilson-Johnson has probably never sung a dull note
in his entire career, which now spans almost 30 years. Here
he invests every phrase with illuminating inflexions, starting Im
Anfange schuf Gott quietly, as if not wanting to disperse
the wonder surrounding the creation. He is a powerfully dramatic
story-teller in the recitatives Und Gott machte das Firmament and
later Und Gott schuf grosse Walfische. But Müller-Brachmann
for Spering is also very keen with his words. Though sometimes
a bit unsteady, his is the darker, more rounded voice. Wilson-Johnson
for all his excellence and deep musicality is a baritone
and at times his long career has started to make its mark.
The recording is excellent and there is nothing to reveal
that it was recorded live: no coughing, no applause … The booklet
has full texts and English translations, artists’ bios and
historical notes. A quality product that should give great
pleasure to all lovers of this marvellous masterpiece.
My ranking still has Spering at the top and for an altogether more
large-scale version I have a special liking for Levine (DG)
with the unsurpassable Kurt Moll as Raphael. Bolton is also
highly attractive and, as I intimated at the beginning, possibly
a safer bet for those who are sceptical about period performance
practice.
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