The performances
on these CDs are, in the main, of familiar Debussy and Ravel
works; most have been recorded a good number of times so
Rattle faces strong competition including much admired recordings
from Ernest Ansermet (who was a significant figure in the
world of music between 1915 and 1968 and was incidentally
present at the first performance of Debussy’s Images)
plus admired recordings by Karajan, Cantelli, Haitink, Tortelier,
Dutoit and Celibidache to name but a few. Yet all these Rattle
performances are atmospheric and colourful and at least one,
Rattle’s reading of Debussy’s La Mer with the Berlin
Philharmoniker is rated very highly as is his reading of
the complete ballet of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé. The
EMI sound for these recordings, made between 1989 and 2004
is spacious, warm and detailed.
CD1 opens
with something of a rarity, two short pieces from Debussy’s
incidental music for Le Roi Lear. The opening Fanfare
is very regal and one might judge them to be a very British
creation, if it was not known that the composer was French. ‘The
Slumber of Lear’ is very much in Debussy’s usual mould, hazy
and sultrily atmospheric with horns lending a sense of distant
perspectives as Lear’s sleeping and dreaming proceeds in
serenity.
Jeux was
premiered in 1913 by the Ballets Russes, just two weeks before
Stravinsky's then scandalous Le
sacre du printemps. Jeux is set in a tennis
court, where a man meets two women. He charms them, flirting
with one until he gets a kiss so making the other jealous.
The second girl then dances with him, until the first leaves.
They join together again at the end, and the ballet ends
with a tennis ball rolling across the stage, edging the trio
offstage. Jeux was criticized for being somewhat inaccessible.
Upon an initial hearing it can sound daunting for it is complicated. Its
adventurous harmonies stretch the limits of tonality and
it contains a number of techniques carried over from Debussy's earlier opera Pelléas
et Mélisande. Debussy breaks from his earlier richly-bodied
orchestrations toward fragmented pointillistic writing and
continually evolving harmonies, an organic music in which
all elements of the composition grow from the simplest cell.
In his 1989 recording, Rattle emphasizes the sensuous and
voluptuous aspects of the music plus its implications of
sexual manipulation and cruel wit.
Rattle’s 1989
reading of Debussy’s Trois Images is colourful and
has atmosphere and engaging rhythmic vitality especially
in the central triple Andalusian portraits: ‘Par les rues
et par les chemins’ (in the roads and alleys) captures, in
its varying moods and sonorities, the sunshine and shadows
and mysteries associated with a Southern Spanish city like
Seville, while the still sultriness and fragrances of ‘Les
Parfums de la nuit’ beautifully segues into awakening day
and the exhilarating dance rhythms of ‘Le Matin d’un jour
de fête’. ‘Rondes des Printemps’, the final Image, shares
its joyful festive mood, alternating with passages of Debussy’s
idiomatic hazy sultriness. It’s in sunnier contrast to the
more sober and melancholic ‘Gigues’ with its sad oboe
d’amore that is the opening Image based on the folk-tune ‘The
Keel Row’.
During 1889, at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, Debussy heard Javanese gamelan music. Although
direct citations of gamelan scales, melodies, rhythms,
or ensemble textures have not been located in any of Debussy's
own compositions, there is little doubt that the influence
of this exotic music appears in his music including ‘Pagodes’ from
Debussy’s Estampes. Percy Grainger’s orchestration
is a delight, with such expressive use of a battery of
exotic percussion including xylophone, cimbalom, piano,
tam-tam, and accordion.
CD2 is
devoted to Debussy but this time Simon Rattle is in Berlin
and we’ve moved forward to 2004. This disc includes that
highly praised La Mer. In passing I would like to
quote Caroline Potter (in "Debussy and
Nature" in The Cambridge Companion to Debussy,
p. 149): she suggests that Debussy's depiction of the sea "avoids
monotony by using a multitude of water figurations that could
be classified as musical onomatopoeia: they evoke the sensation
of swaying movement of waves and suggest the pitter-patter
of falling droplets of spray" (and so forth), and — significantly — avoid
the arpeggiated triads used by Wagner and Schubert to evoke
the movement of water.”
So what is Rattle’s
performance like? It certainly is very atmospheric right
from the pianissimo opening chords of ‘De l’aube à midi
sur la mer’; evocative subtlety in nuance and shading and
phrasing together with powerful climaxing – it’s all here.
In the scherzo middle movement ‘Jeux de vagues’, the hedonistic
interplay of spray and ocean breezes is magnificently, joyfully
caught; as good as any interpretation I can remember hearing
on record. Sir Simon’s ‘Dialogue du vent et de la mer’ builds
up tensely, relentlessly into one hell of a storm, the central
lull is full of latent menace. Yes, I would put this performance
up in front with Karajan and Celibidache, especially considering
the excellence of the sound engineering.
Rattle’s vision
of the Faun’s languid afternoon dreaming also impresses.
Just listen, for instance, to the horn’s dialogue, in the
opening minute, giving perspective and drawing us into the pianissimo stringed
haze that is the creature’s dappled sunlit woods. With delicacy
and refinement, Rattle realizes Debussy’s portrait after
Mallarmé, of the Faun’s reverie and attempted seduction of
the two nymphs. Mallarmé himself wrote to Debussy after the
first performance saying that it, “went so much further into
the nostalgia and light, and with such finesse, anxiety and
richness …”
Le Boite à joujou (The
Toybox) was composed before Jeux and is in a somewhat
simpler vein, revisiting techniques Debussy had employed
in his piano pieces that comprised Children’s Corner. ‘Le
Magasin de jouets’ (The Toyshop), the most substantial movement
is a kaleidoscopic tour, suggestive of toy soldiers parading,
a springing jack-in-the-box, mysterious Chinese dolls and
wicked magicians, plus clowns (in jazzy cakewalk style),
galloping Cossacks and splendidly gowned dolls dancing a
Viennese waltz. For ‘Le Champ de Bataille’ Debussy imagines
a child playing the black keys of the piano in a stealthy
interplay before toy soldiers march into battle. ‘Le Bergerie à vendre’ (The
sheepfold for sale) featuring a captivating cor anglais solo,
is a somewhat skittish pastoral with a folksong base, while
somewhat fuzzy allusions to Mendelssohn’s Wedding March and The
Keel Row feature in the final movement.
The Three Preludes
orchestrated imaginatively by Colin Matthews is an interesting
collection. ‘Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest’ (What the west wind
saw) is one of Debussy’s most advanced scores and Rattle
draws out its black menacing figures that somehow foreshadow
Bartók. In contrast “Feuilles mortes’ (Dead leaves) is all
falling melancholy and a sense of dank decay. The third Prelude, ‘Feux
d’artifice’ lifts the spirits with the colourful brilliance
of Bastille Day fireworks, beginning, one might imagine,
with the whirl of the Catherine wheel.
CD3 takes us into the magical world of Ravel commencing
with the Fanfare pour L’Éventail de Jeanne that was
Ravel’s contribution to a multi-composer commission for a
children’s ballet. It opens with a heavy drum-roll and ends
with a long reverberating tam-tam crash with ‘toy town’ figures
between, piccolo and trumpets prominent. Régine Crespin’s
classic 1963 recording of Shéhérazade with such a
wonderfully evocative accompaniment by Ernest Ansermet remains
unsurpassed. It is now available as a splendidly refurbished
Decca Legends CD 460 973-2 and I commend it without reservation;
it also includes a melting performance of Berlioz’s Les
Nuits d’été. Although Rattle’s reading cannot rival Ansermet’s
in terms of atmosphere and dramatic effect, this is a very
acceptable performance and the recorded sound is quite vivid.
Maria Ewing makes up for rather indistinct intonation with
a beautiful legato line and contouring. She nicely suggests
the languid mood and enigmatic sensuality of L’Indifférent.
Rattle’s Alborada
del gracioso (Aubade of the jester) has shadowy corners
and is provocative in its colourfully eccentric dance rhythms,
although, for me, it is just that tad heavy-handed. Percy
Grainger’s orchestration of La Vallée des cloches from Miroirs adds
magic to magic, bells on bells with the gamelan sound enhancing
its oriental essence and the strings providing atmosphere
of calm meditation. Mother Goose - Ma Mère l’Oye in
Rattle’s hands is engagingly shaped, warm and tender and
full of childish innocence and wonder. Rattle is sympathetic
to Ravel’s intent that it should be as ‘the poetry of childhood’.
The evocation of the spinning wheel is all dizzy enchantment;
the Pavane is dainty nostalgia, and the waltz section of ‘Beauty
and the Beast’ is exquisite. ‘Tom Thumb’s fate is sweet
plaintiveness. The gentle chinoiserie of Laideronette (The
plain little girl) is a vividly coloured concoction employing
a wide variety of exotic percussion. The closing ‘Fairy
garden’ is quite sublime here with lovely flute and violin
solos. Again the orchestral balance is very good and clear,
aided by excellent sound engineering. La Valse is
less successful, however. It is rather harsh in this reading
and sounds over bright. Competitive recordings offer more
a faceted, sympathetic approach with more mystery, and
atmosphere balancing the more grotesque elements, and more
glamour, the irony more subtly shaded.
CD4, in
the main, is devoted to a complete performance of Ravel’s Daphnis
et Chloé. The ballet was conceived by Diaghilev and his
circle in 1909; however the original Longus story was developed
quite differently for the stage. Ravel imagined a ‘Greece
of his dreams’ close to that of certain 18th century painters
while choreographer Michael Fokine wanted the dances to mimic
the authentic dances of the ancient world as recognized from
ancient vases. Rattle’s reading is most enjoyable; it is
atmospheric - sample the gorgeous ‘Daybreak’ opening of Part
III, for instance - and often voluptuous and intoxicating,
especially in the case of the final Danse générale and
the dynamic Dance guerrière. The recorded sound
is excellent and very detailed. But this presentation is
not helped by inadequate notes. There is no track-by-track
analysis: 13 are indicated spread over the work’s three parts,
but no titles are given so the action cannot be followed
closely; only a brief plot synopsis is given. Rattle’s Boléro is
expansively recorded too but it feels laboured and it unfolds
slowly; I found myself urging more spontaneity and snappier
rhythms. Try Karajan’s white heat reading (with Daphnis
et Chloé No. 2) on DG 427 2502.
CD5 is
concerned with Ravel’s Piano Concertos. Interestingly there
are two comparative versions of the Concerto for the Left
Hand. The earlier 1977 recording was made with Andrei Gavrilov
as soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra; the other
with Cécile Ousset and the City of Birmingham Symphony. Ousset
consistently delivers slower readings, for instance, the
opening Lento - Più lento - Andante movement has Gavrilov
taking only 8:09 as against Ousset’s 8:23. In the outer movements
Gavrilov’s rhythmic inflections are more strongly accented
and in the quieter central parts of those movements Gavrilov
digs deeper and finds a pathos and a poetic delicacy that
escapes Ousset. Shame then that Gavrilov did not also record
the G major Concerto with Rattle. In that Concerto, Ousset
also disappoints in the crucial, lovely Adagio assai central
movement. Her reading is altogether too cool and uninvolving
which is all the more disappointing because Rattle provides
a most characterful accompaniment. If you want a recommended
coupling of both concertos try the 1999 DG recording with
Zimerman accompanied by Boulez, or the bargain EMI coupling
with Collard and Maazel. But for the G major the outright
winner has to be Michelangeli with Gracis on EMI 567238-2
an undisputed classic of the gramophone and coupled with
a terrific reading of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 4.
The final CD
is completed with another fine reading of ‘Le jardin féerique’ from Ma
Mère l’Oye, this time with the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Beautiful it is too, with a meltingly lovely violin solo.
A confident recommendation
for those requiring such a collection. But as far as individual
works are concerned there are frequently better alternatives.
Ian Lace
Disc details
CD1 [67:52]
Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Musique pour Le Roi Lear (orch. Roger-Ducasse)
(1904) [4:47]
Jeux (1912) [19:24]
Trois Images pour orchestre: Gigues; Ibéria Rondes
de printemps (1905-12) [37:15]
Estampes-Pagodes * (orch. Grainger)
(1903) [5:58]
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
rec. Arts Centre, University of Warwick, Warwick, UK, 15-17 November 1989 and
* Symphony Hall, Birmingham, 1-2 December 1996.
CD2 [78:46]
Claude DEBUSSY
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (1892-4) [10:17]
La Mer (1903-5) [24:12]
La Boîte à joujou (orc. Caplet) [31:40]
Trois Preludes (orch. C. Matthews): (1910-13) [11:53]
Berliner Philharmoniker
rec. Philharmonie, Berlin 17-10 October 2004.
CD3 [74:35]
Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Fanfare pour ‘LÉventail de Jeanne’ (?) [2:18]
Shéhérazade: Asie; La Flûte enchantée; L’Indifférent
* (1903) [17:37]
Alborada del gracioso (1918) [7:41]
Miroirs – La Vallée des cloches (orch. Grainger) (1905)
[5:38]
Ma Mère l’Oye (1911-12) [28;43]
La Valse (1920) [12:33]
Maria Ewing* (soprano) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
rec. Arts Centre, University of Warwick, Warwick, UK 1-5 October 1989 and 6-14
April 1990
CD4 [73:17]
Maurice RAVEL
Daphnis et Chloé: (complete) (1909-12) [57:02]
Boléro (1928) [16:15]
City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and Orchestra
rec. Arts Centre University of Warwick, Warwick, UK 16-17 and 21 December 1990
CD5 [65:15]
Maurice RAVEL
Piano Concerto in D for the Left Hand (1929-30) (two recordings)
Andrei Gavrilov (piano); London Symphony Orchestra [17:43]; Cécile Ousset (piano)
[18:50];
Piano Concerto in G (1929-31) [22:41]
Cécile Ousset (piano); City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
rec. Arts Centre, University of Warwick, Warwick, UK, 26-27
April 1990.
Ma Mère l’Oye: ‘Le Jardin féerique’(1911-12) [5:30]
Berlin Philharmoniker
rec. Philharmonie, Berlin, April 2002
City of Birmingham
Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmoniker/Sir Simon Rattle
