RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Ottorino RESPIGHI (1879-1936)
Fontane di Roma (1916) [16:36]
Pini di Roma (1924) [21:42]
Feste Romane (1929) [24:27]
São Paolo Symphony Orchestra/John Neschling
rec. February 2008, Sala São Paolo, Brazil
BIS-SACD-1720 
[63:41]
I was impressed a while ago by the São Paolo Symphony Orchestra in their Across
the Pyrenees recording with Sharon Bezaly. Having already heard
good things about this ‘Roman Trilogy’ disc, I was confident of not having
to write bad words about it, even in a market which is filled with a wealth
of alternatives for these popular works.
Part of the thrill with this recording is having the full colourful splendour
of Respighi’s scores in SACD sound. With superb playing and Bis’s reliably
wonderful engineering you can expect to be blown out of your seat at numerous
moments. Fans of films scores of the epic variety can find the wellspring
of vast swathes of cinematic music at source with this collection, almost
every effect in these scores having been ‘nicked’ at one time or another.
With a sumptuous sound-spectacle assured, we can settle down and see if the
performances stand up to this almost larger-than-life scrutiny.
Beginning with the Fontane di Roma, you are immediately impressed with
the quality of the solo playing in the winds, each little touch from the peripheral
instruments, percussion, harp – those little horn-calls and the like, beautifully
present and accurately placed in terms of balance and perspective. Powerful
horns and a sense of infinite depths of sound generate theatrical colour and
light. The second section, The Triton Fountain, is followed by a Strauss
‘Alpine Symphony’ in miniature with the Trevi Fountain, magnificent
organ and all. Succulent strings and sparkling orchestration in the Medici
Fountain finish off this masterful and, to my ears as good as flawless
rendition.
The Pines of Rome opens with a rowdy scene of playful children, dizzying
us with energetic games and noise. Neschling and his band pull out all the
stops, so that the plunge into the catacombs is a shock of gloom – maximum
contrast, and very effective too. Restraint suffuses the solo instruments
as they rise above the strings, expressive but movingly respectful. The climax
which rises from those depths is truly, hair-raisingly massive. The Pine-Trees
of the Janiculum is one of my favourite orchestral moments, and I can
remember being fascinated by those parallel harmonies and poly-tonal moments
as well as that recorded birdsong from childhood. The warm expressiveness
of the strings is gorgeous here, and the clarinet and other solos can’t fail
with such a marvellous carpet on which to walk. The nightingale we get here
is a bit of a busy fellow and part of something of an avian crowd, but the
effect is nice enough if perhaps lacking that last ounce of Max Ernst surrealist
atmosphere. The sense of the ‘unending footsteps’ on the Appian Way is palpable
in this recording, the low piano notes providing a rich percussive thrum to
the rhythmic drive of the movement. Oh yes, the Romans are coming, you can
be sure of that, and in this recording you’ll not only be overawed by their
huge numbers and fantastic sense of discipline, but will also be blinded by
the sunlight gleaming from freshly polished armour and weapons. This is unstoppable
ceremonial and actual power embodied in sound, and only wonderfully inspiring
if you happen to be on the right side.
John Neschling’s performance of this ‘Roman Trilogy’ has to compete with a
fairly recent EMI
recording conducted by Antonio Pappano, which also manages to offer the
less frequently heard Il tramonto. This was given Recording of the
Month status by Tim Perry, but has been less well received in some quarters.
My own reference is the famous 1958/61 Philadelphia Orchestra recording with
Eugene Ormandy, available on Sony Essential Classics. This still sounds remarkably
good for its age, and there is no doubting Ormandy’s passionate response to
Respighi’s music. There are some wonderfully atmospheric moments in this recording
which have become part of my aural DNA, as I am sure they have for many other
people, but there is no doubting the São Paolo’s qualities in terms of technical
proficiency – beating the vintage recording in terms of intonation if nothing
else.
Digital SACD recording is also the major benefit, but the South American
sense of swing in vital moments of the Feste romane creates a sense
of Mediterranean joy and sunlit abandon which even Ormandy couldn’t manage.
I was never quite so keen on this piece, but have to admit to having been
entirely converted with this new recording. Neschling gets every ounce of
oomph out of Respighi’s over-the-top score and orchestration, and finds and
highlights themes, lets trombones rip through their glissandi, and pitches
the melodramatic impact of that killer first movement exactly right. Having
had the fear of imminent demise put into us, the chilling atmosphere of trudging
pilgrims makes us awestruck with religious piety. There is a transformation
into that ‘hymn of praise’ which you can almost physically sense turning the
corner into “the holy city, Rome! Rome!” At last the fun can start, and The
October Festival allows the São Paolo players to start showing us how they
can get into that groove of sleazy sumptuousness which is irresistibly southern.
The mandolin solo kicks in at 4:17: another unforgettable master-stroke from
Respighi the brilliant orchestrator, but let’s also not forget the stunning
violin solos from orchestral leader Cláudio Cruz. The final Epiphany is
the best I’ve heard either on record or in the concert hall, and if it doesn’t
have you dancing in one way or another then I fear a medical check-up may
be required. The São Paolo orchestra manages both energetic virtuosity and
magnificent wit, and this movement is quite literally a blast.
So, as you may have gathered, I am quite enthusiastic about this recording
of Respighi’s ‘Roman Trilogy’. As far as I’m concerned it has everything,
and in having everything can stand against all comers in its field. Bravo!
Dominy Clements
Bravo!
DOWNLOAD
REVIEW
SACD or download from eclassical.com
(mp3, lossless and 24-bit)
This is the Download of the Month in my February 2011 Download Roundup,
but it deserves a separate review in its own right.
The accolade is as much for the eclassical download website as for this recording.
This was my introduction to the site and it marks an auspicious beginning.
It offers BIS, Signum, Hänssler, HNH and Proprius recordings in full bit-rate
mp3 and 16-bit and 24-bit lossless flac, all at a very reasonable price. Where
other sites have a standard charge, often more expensive for lossless, or
charge by the track, eclassical charges by the second. Like Hyperion, who
reduce their charge slightly for shorter recordings, but without the per-second
finesse of eclassical, flac and mp3 come at the same price, for this site
stated in US dollars. This Respighi recording costs $7.52 ($11.28 for 24-bit),
which works out very reasonably by comparison with classicsonline.com who
charge £7.99 for 320k mp3 BIS downloads and Passionato.com, who charge £7.99
and £9.99 for 320k mp3 and lossless respectively. Most eclassical downloads,
like this one, come with a pdf booklet.
The lossless flac download of the Respighi Trilogy is excellent and
the performances are every bit as fine as Dominy Clements states in his review
above – a well-deserved Recording of the Month. Don’t forget that Pappano’s
very fine EMI recording adds Il Tramonto to the Trilogy (394429-2:
Download of the Month in October 2009 Download
Roundup. See also Tim Perry’s 2007 review).
Both versions offer plenty of zest where appropriate – and it often is appropriate
in Respighi’s cinematic music – but there are more delicate moments and both
Pappano and Neschling are excellent at finding and responding to these. I
mentioned Pappano’s skill in holding his forces in abeyance until the right
moment, a skill which Neschling also demonstrates, in Pini del Gianicolo,
for example, and in the opening of Pini della Via Appia before the
legionaries come marching in with their hob-nail boots. Even Feste Romane
sounds less than usual to be full of mere sound and fury. Neither Neschling
nor Pappano works with a big-name orchestra, but both the Santa Cecilia and
the São Paolo orchestras can look their better-known fellows in the eye on
the basis of these recordings.
If you already have Il Tramonto – perhaps in Tamás Vasary’s Chandos
recording which I recommended in the November 2008 Download
Roundup (CHAN8193), coupled with the charming Botticelli Pictures
and even more charming The Birds – bear in mind that the eclassical
download price takes the shorter playing time into account: you get what you
pay for, which is much better than eMusic’s system of charging per track.
Recordings with lots of short tracks work out more expensive than the parent
CD at eMusic, sometimes hugely more expensive, whereas Mahler and Bruckner
symphonies are very inexpensive. The eclassical system irons out all those
anomalies and the mp3s are all at the optimum 320kb/s.
I recently praised the São Paolo Orchestra in downloads of three BIS CDs of
the Villa-Lobos Chôros – see review. I had to rely for expediency on
downloads from eMusic and the Naxos Classical Library in compiling that review.
If I had had access to eclassical then, that would have been my preferred
source:
· Volume 1 (BIS-CD-1440) here
($9.25 at the time of writing)
· Volume 2 (BIS-CD-1450) here
($9.58 at the time of writing)
· Volume 3 (BIS-CD-1520) here
($9.42 at the time of writing)
Additionally the BIS recording of Villa-Lobos’s exuberant Floresta do Amazonas
is available here
($9.35 at the time of writing).
Brian Wilson