When I saw this disc on the last request
list I had a fit of nostalgia, since
this was the recording through which
I got to know Carmina Burana back
in the mid-1960s. It appeared on one
of the early low-price labels, Heliodor,
a company affiliated to Deutsche Grammophon.
Later I purchased the full price DG
recording under Eugen Jochum and when
it appeared on CD in ‘The Originals’
series I bought it in that format too.
That recording has claims to be the
most authentic since it was recorded
under the supervision of the composer.
Coming back to Kegel’s almost fifty-year-old
East German recording, however, turned
out to be no mere trip of nostalgia
but in a way just as satisfying a musical
experience as the Jochum recording.
Herbert Kegel (1920–1990)
was born in Dresden, studied conducting with Karl Böhm and composition
with Boris Blacher at the Dresden Conservatory. He had a three-decade-long
association with the Leipzig Radio Orchestra and Choir from
1948 and became their principal conductor in 1960, the year
this recording was made. His discography is extensive and includes
several other works by Orff, among them the two operas Die
Kluge and Der Mond. He re-recorded Carmina Burana
in 1974, issued on the Eterna and Philips labels. From this
we can conclude that he had deep insight into Orff’s very special
sound-world and may be regarded just as much an authority as
Jochum.
Interpretatively
they are rather close. Kegel’s tempos are well judged and the
overall timing is about two minutes longer than Jochum’s, which
is a negligible difference in so long a work. He doesn’t indulge
in rubatos or too sophisticated nuances as some conductors tend
to, in order, no doubt, to make the music more artful. Kegel
is straightforward, keen on precision and rhythmic springiness.
It is a vigorous reading but he doesn’t underplay the lyrical
moments either. The Leipzig Radio forces may be less prestigious
than the Gewandhaus Orchestra in the same city, but the playing
and singing can nowhere be faulted and is fully comparable to
Jochum’s forces from the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. Where Jochum
scores is in recording quality. The Leipzig recording is far
from bad; playing at rather high volume the power was impressive
but DG’s balance engineer Klaus Scheibe ensured much wider dynamics.
Jochum also has better soloists – at least they are more personal,
which isn’t necessarily always to the good in Orff’s music.
Gundula Janowitz’s creamy soprano is warmer than her East German
counterpart and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is hard to beat in
this music. On the other hand I prefer Hans-Joachim Rotzsch’s
impersonation of the roasted swan. He finds the right balance
between pity and irony. But Jutta Vulpius also negotiates her
testing part very well and has no problems with the stratospheric
Dulcissime. Kurt Rehm is a straightforward and reliable
baritone soloist.
In the last resort
Jochum has to be the prime recommendation but Kegel is far from
negligible and I can’t imagine anyone buying this disc being
seriously disappointed. It was a perfect introduction to this
work for me more than forty years ago and hearing it again confirmed
that it holds its own against more starry constellations. The
disc comes in a simple cardboard folder with no texts and no
notes.
Göran
Forsling