Otto NICOLAI (1810-1849)
Orchestral Works - Vol. 2
Kirchliche Fest-Ouvertüre op. 31 on the Chorale »Ein feste Burg ist
unser Gott« for Orchestra, Chorus and Organ (1843-1844) [6.30]
Variations brillantes op. 26 su motivi favoriti dell’opera:La Sonnambula
di Bellini arr. for Clarinet solo and Orchestra (1838) [14.57]
»Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor« (Overture) WoO 114 (1849) [8.15]
»Die Heimkehr des Verbannten« (Overture) WoO 113 (1844) [7.46]
Weihnachts-Ouvertüre (WoO 109) on the Chorale »Vom Himmel hoch,
da komm ich her« (1833) [10.02]
Johannes Pieper (clarinet); Evangelische Kantorei Siegen
Philharmonie Südwestfalen - Landesorchester NRW/David Stern
rec. Siegerlandhalle, Leonhard-Gläser-Saal, 10-11 April 2003, Siegerlandhalle,
Grosser Saal, 28-29 April 2003
MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG 601 1268-2 [48.15]
Otto Nicolai may be remembered only for the opera Merry Wives of Windsor
and as the first conductor of what became the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,
but had an early death at 39 not intervened, he clearly was a force to be
reckoned with as a skilful and talented composer. His works, seven operas
and a dozen in the instrumental and choral genres, span the two decades of
the 1830s and 1840s. The locations of his musical activity were Berlin, Rome
and Vienna, so Mendelssohn, Bellini and Donizetti were contemporary influences
with Weber and Beethoven inevitably casting their shadows.
Following the earlier MDG disc (Volume
1) containing his Symphony in D and a Fantasy with variations on themes
from Bellini’s opera Norma for piano and orchestra, we have here a
follow-up of bits and pieces, overtures for chorus and orchestra, and another
set of variations but this time from the same composer’s Norma. The
soloist - here accompanied by string orchestra by an unknown hand from Nicolai’s
original with piano - now a clarinettist, which brings us much closer to the
pyrotechnics of the coloratura soprano. The excellent clarinettist, Johannes
Pieper, undertakes this role. It’s a work which provides a vivid illustration
of how such transcriptions fed popular taste in the nineteenth century. The
gem of the selection is the overture to the opera, the subject of which is
Shakespeare’s play. It may have much Weber in it, but it also sets a path
for the Strauss family to follow. Quite why this opera should be so popular
in Germany (with Magic Flute and Hansel and Gretel it is a first
experience of opera for many children there), yet despite its quintessentially
English subject matter, remains one which has never caught on in the UK I
do not know. Two productions I have conducted - a concert performance for
a private club and a fully staged one for one London’s music colleges - delighted
both performers and audiences alike. One has to ignore the unassailable greatness
of the later work on the same subject, Verdi’s Falstaff. As far as
that composer is concerned, a further irony had already arisen when Nabucco,
originally intended for Nicolai in 1841 was instead preferred to Verdi, so
he wrote Il proscritto instead which turned out a complete flop.
The opening and closing overtures on this disc, containing choruses based
on traditional Lutheran chorales, reflect the growing interest in Bach and
Handel in the 1830s culminating in Mendelssohn’s revival of St Matthew
Passion. Nicolai takes the opportunity to flaunt his contrapuntal skills
with fugues and choral preludes on the respective melodies leading to grand
climaxes. Performers, whether orchestral or choral, enter into the spirit
and style of music which, despite the lean amount of music provided - totalling
just under 50 minutes - is worthy of committing to a disc, which has clean,
spacious sound. On balance, my only gripe is the too-distant, and therefore
indistinct chorus.
Christopher Fifield
The performers enter into the spirit and style of the music which is worthy
of committing to a disc, which has clean, spacious sound.