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Alberto GINASTERA
(1916 - 1983)
Estancia Op.8 (extended suite) [14:20]
Suite de Danzas Criollas Op.15 (1946, orch. Shimon Cohen) [9:16]
Panambí Op.1 (extended suite) [12:33]
Ollantay Op.17 (1947) [12:31]
Popol Vuh Op.44 (1975/1983) [24:12]
London Symphony Orchestra (Estancia, Panambí); Jerusalem
Symphony Orchestra (Suite de Danzas Criollas); BBC
National Orchestra of Wales (Ollantay, Popol Vuh); Gisèle
Ben-Dor
rec. Abbey Road Studios, London, 23-24 May 1997 (Estancia, Panambí);
The Jerusalem Theatre, Henry Crown Hall, Israel, 2 November 2006
(Suite de Danzas Criollas) and BBC Broadcasting House, Llandaff,
Cardiff, 26-27 June 2001 (Ollantay, Popol Vuh)
NAXOS 8.570999 [72:51]
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Let it be said straight away: there are no such things as these
so-called extended suites from Panambí
and Estancia. These have been - so to say - assembled
from the existing recordings of the complete ballets once released
on Koch and re-issued on Naxos
8.557582 that I reviewed here some time ago. They somewhat
differ from the existing suites made by the composer and are
said to follow the chronology of events in the ballet scores
more closely.
Originally composed for piano and first performed by Rudolf
Firkusňy in Buenos Aires in 1947, the Suite de Danzas
Criollas Op.15 is heard here in an orchestration by
Shimon Cohen made at the request of Gisèle Ben-Dor. Cohen
did a fine job although I find that his scoring makes these
short dances larger than life. I for one will stick with the
original version available on Naxos 8.557911-2
that has been reviewed here too.
Although it has been recorded before the symphonic triptych
Ollantay Op.17 is still too little known, unjustly
so, I think; this is one of Ginastera’s most appealing
works. It is based on the myth of Ollantay, son of the Earth,
who opposes Inca, son of the Sun. The latter declares war on
Ollantay who resists for a long time in his fortress but is
eventually killed. The first panel Paisaje de Ollantaytambo
(“The Ollantaytambo Landscape”) is a beautiful,
though troubled nocturne. There follows Los Guerreros
(“The Warriors”), a powerful war dance. The triptych
ends with La Muerte de Ollantay in which Ollantay forecasts
the destruction of the Empire and the disappearance of the Sons
of the Sun.
Popol Vuh Op.44 - Ginastera’s last major
orchestral work - was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra
who had just first performed his large-scale choral orchestral
Turbae ad Passionem Gregorianam Op.43. Ginastera
started sketching the piece almost immediately but for whatever
reasons laid his sketches aside resuming work in 1982. The bulk
of it was thus completed some time before the composer’s
death but was actually left unfinished at the time of Ginastera’s
death. When Ormandy died in 1985 the score was all but forgotten
till the pianist Barbara Nissman drew Leonard Slatkin’s
attention to it. Both deemed it perfectly performable as such
so that Slatkin and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra gave
the first performance in 1989 and recorded it soon afterwards
on RCA 09026 60993 2 (possibly still available). The Popol
Vuh or Council Book contains the mythological Mayan narrative
of creation. The various movements of the work thus trace the
creation of the world according to the Mayas from the original
chaos to the birth of man, subject of the missing final movement
that should have been scored for percussion only. It is perfectly
viable as it stands. The music is vintage Ginastera with its
mix of primal brutality and of more reflective or atmospheric
stances.
The opening movement La Noche de los Tiempos grows from
the depths of the orchestra with dark growling from bass instruments.
The impression of inchoate chaos is maintained throughout except
for a short violent outburst when the Divine Council decides
to create the world. The following movements El Nacimiento
de la Tierra (“The Birth of the Earth”) and
El Despertar de la Naturaleza (“The Awakening of
Nature”) evoke the process of creation, at first from
simple beginnings. These progressively become engulfed in more
dynamic elements, the whole leading into the short violent El
Gritto de la Creación (“The Cry of the Creation”).
But the gods are not satisfied with what they have created and
La Gran Lluvia (“The Great Rain”) sweeps
everything away so that the Gods may start again. This allows
for the creation of mankind in the form of La Ceremonia Magíca
del Maiz (“The Magic Ceremony of Corn”), another
powerful dance. The final movement evokes the creation of the
sun, the moon and the stars in a slow crescendo culminating
in heroic fanfares (El Amanecer de la Humanidad - “The
Dawn of Mankind”). The incomplete Popol Vuh
remains an impressive score in its own right. It will not fail
to make its mark on the attentive and sympathetic listener.
Incidentally there is still another recording of Popol
Vuh available on Neos 10918, a most desirable release
for all lovers of Ginastera’s music because it is coupled
with the impressive and very little known Cantata para
América Mágica Op.27 for soprano and percussion.
Gisèle Ben-Dor is clearly on familiar ground here and
she conducts vital, committed and convincing readings of all
the works. All three orchestras respond superbly with playing
of the highest quality. The recorded sound is excellent throughout.
There is actually very little to complain about with this generous
release. There is one small caveat which I touched on
when beginning this review. I still believe that the so-called
extended suites from Panambí and Estancia
might have been dispensed with to allow for the inclusion of
some hitherto unrecorded works such as Estudios Sinfónicos
Op.35 and Iubilum Op.51, but I hope that
these will appear in some forthcoming release.
Hubert Culot
Information Received
I disagree with the reviewer on the issue of the Suites. There
is not, factually, and has never been, any other CD including
the selections in this latest CD. The only suites available
are the very short ones published from the start, and always
including the same pieces. I seem to be one of the very few
conductors even playing some of the unplayed selections in public
concerts . ( The Panambi Suite in this release is completely
different from the usual and only one, practically in its entirety.“Dawn”
and “The Sprites” ,for example, are never played.
In Estancia, there are “La Doma” and “Idilio
Crepuscular”, which are never included in any suite).
The recording he mentions (Naxos 8.557582) is my own recording
of the full ballets, which Naxos reissued!
Gisele Ben-Dor
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