Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Missa Solemnis (1818-23)
Lois Marshall (soprano); Nan Merriman (mezzo); Eugene Conley (tenor); Jerome
Hines (bass)
Robert Shaw Chorale, NBC Symphony Orchestra/Arturo Toscanini
rec. 1953
PRISTINE AUDIO PACO 034 [79:27]
This is a live NBC radio broadcast from Carnegie Hall, made on 28 March 1953,
its source being a “recording from the private collection of Christophe Pizzutti”.
As such, it inevitably invites comparison with the RCA recording made with
the same forces, in the same venue, begun only three days later on 30 March
and completed over 31 March and 2 April. Pristine have also produced an “ambient
stereo” remastering of the RCA recording which I have not yet heard, but which
they claim “ is the extraction of the natural reverberation as captured in
the original recording and the opening of this out onto a stereo soundfield.”
I should like to hear that, too, but note that Pristine concede that no modern
remastering can address the main shortcoming of the RCA recording, which is
that the soloists are placed too far back. The remedying of that defect, conveniently,
is the main virtue of this live broadcast – but that comes at a price, which
is a prominent hiss. The slightly dull ambience of the RCA version, even in
its sharpened up 1998 incarnation (in a 2 CD BMG classics set with the “Choral
Symphony”) is certainly easier on the ear but orchestral details are submerged
and the solo voices less immediate. The disciplined but impassioned chorus
emerge intact in both recordings and both convey not only the greatness of
the work itself but the supremacy and conviction of Toscanini as its supreme
interpreter.
The radio announcements and audience applause have been edited in order to
fit CD duration limit and one peculiarity is noted: “An organ malfunction
during the Kyrie rendered it inoperable for the rest of the performance.”
This results in some diminution in the heft of the continuo but it is scarcely
noticeable except just before the return to the main subject of the “Kyrie”,
otherwise the double-basses carry the burden adequately and I really don’t
think it should be a factor.
Comparisons with Toscanini’s earlier performances might be artistically enlightening
but the sound of the famous 1940 version places it beyond any but the most
enthusiastic historical buff when looking for a recording to live with. One
thing is clear: once Toscanini had assimilated this monumental work into his
concert repertoire he performed it more and more frequently and at an increasingly
brisk pace without sacrificing any expressiveness, such was his care for rhythm,
dynamics, phrasing and balance. The 1953 NBC recording is a full five minutes
faster than that of 1940 and this live one sits exactly in between the two,
mainly the result of the first two movements being more leisurely, at a minute
and a half and a minute longer respectively, than that NBC version. I prefer
the immediacy of the NBC tempi, but this being Toscanini, he makes all three
work. In any case, the “Kyrie” has no metronome markings to act as a guide,
even if one were to take any notice of such things. One thing is for sure:
the Robert Shaw Chorale must have at first been terrified by the tempo he
set for the notoriously challenging “Et vitam venture” – but they hang on
and it makes for a thrilling ride. Timings for the last three movements are
otherwise pretty much identical for both 1953 versions. Toscanini remains
the quickest out of Karajan, Klemperer and Bernstein, and despite his “Gloria”
being, for example, three minutes shorter than Giulini’s slightly turgid version,
there is never any sense of undue hurry, merely a massive momentum and certainty
of purpose. Even the most fervent admirer of Bernstein might concede that
his evident reverence for this music occasionally tempts him into too etiolated
and, yes,”indulgent” an interpretation compared with Toscanini’s more virile
directness. I still love Karajan’s rapt account of the “Sanctus” and “Benedictus”
with his ideal team of soloists, but find nothing lacking in Toscanini’s poised
control here, which is ably enhanced by the beautiful playing of Daniel Guilet,
the NBC concertmaster. Having said that, no violinist quite approaches Karajan’s
legendary Michel Schwalbe for eloquence and purity of tone, even if the delicacy
of Krebbers in the Bernstein set is also very beguiling. Overall, the closest
comparison for precision, energy and attack is to be found, somewhat surprisingly,
in Klemperer’s celebrated 1965 recording with the redoubtable New Philharmonic
Chorus trained by Wilhelm Pitz.
Key moments in this account come off so well owing to Toscanini’s famed combination
of discipline, rhythmic precision and overt emotionalism. Hence the attack
of the strings at “crucifixus” is heart-wrenching, contrasting tellingly with
the beatific sense of the awe and mystery of the Incarnation, so powerfully
conveyed by Conley at the words “homo factus est”.
Given that one of Toscanini’s many strengths was securing balance between
orchestral voices, we must assume that he consciously made the decision to
place the soloists further back from the microphone than we now find ideal.
Certainly Jerome Hine’s sonorous, thunderous bass could overpower other voices
and one of the pleasures of this live recording is that we can now hear both
him and that grossly under-rated tenor, Eugene Conley, much more clearly.
It is in fact the men who most benefit from the sharper acoustic of this recording;
the gentler ambience of the NBC recording softens Nan Merriman’s rapid, flickering
vibrato and prevents it sounding too close to a flutter. Similarly, it flatters
Lois Marshall’s occasional impurity and slight scratchiness of tone compared
with the almost otherworldly, disembodied flutiness of Gundula Janowitz’s
soprano. Nonetheless, Marshall delivers a courageous and generous performance;
her pitch is true and her fervour wholly convincing.
This new recording amply demonstrates the advantages of different microphone
placement and forms a desirable adjunct to the commercial recording. Both
provide ample evidence that in performance Toscanini was guided by the composer’s
fervent superscription to this great Mass: "Von Herzen - möge es wieder
- zu Herzen gehen".
Ralph Moore