Richard WAGNER (1813–1883)
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, WWV96, an orchestral tribute
(Symphonic compilation, arranged 2005 by Henk de VLIEGER (b. 1953))
[47:51]
Eine Faust-Ouvertüre, WWV59 (1840, rev.1855) [11:03]
Deux Entreactes tragiques (Performing version, 1996, by Henk de
VLIEGER after compositional sketches from 1832) [12:26]
Overture to ‘Columbus’, WWV37 (1835, edited 1907 by Felix MOTTL (1856 –
1911) as concert overture with the title Christoph Columbus) [8:05]
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Neeme Järvi
rec. Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, 17–19 August 2010. DDD/DSD. Hybrid SACD
CHANDOS CHSA5092 [79:54] 
Also available as a download from theclassicalshop.net
(CHAN5092, mp3, 16-bit and 24-bit/96kHz lossless and surround sound)
as reviewed in October 2011/1 Download Roundup here.
Chandos have produced several of Henk de Vlieger’s orchestral realisations
of Wagner operas. This kind of ‘Wagner without tears’ is far from new: bleeding
chunks of the Ring cycle are often performed, such as the Ride of the Valkyries
and Magic Fire Music from die Walküre and Siegfried’s
Journey to the Rhine from Götterdämmerung; the Venusberg
music is the best known part of Tannhäuser, the Good Friday
Spell of Parsifal and the Prelude and closing Liebestod
of Tristan und Isolde, played together as one piece, turn one of the
longest operas into one of the shortest on record.
What Henk de Vlieger has done goes beyond these bleeding chunks, however,
in an attempt to produce an orchestral synthesis of a complete opera: The
Ring - an orchestral adventure (CHSA5060 – see review
by Dan Morgan), Parsifal – an orchestral quest (CHSA5077 – see review
by Simon Thompson) and Tristan und Isolde – an orchestral passion (CHSA5087
– see review
by Rob Barnett). The aim of the process for die Meistersinger, presenting
a symphonic whole rather than a potpourri, is well explained in Emanuel
Overbeeke’s notes in the booklet, included in the original Dutch as well as
in translation.
Essentially the aim is the same as on previous recordings, but these orchestral
syntheses have met with mixed reviews here and elsewhere: veteran reviewer
Edward Greenfield thought that the Ring conflation worked remarkably
well, but our own Dan Morgan was underwhelmed by it, and Simon Thompson was
not much more enthusiastic about the Parsifal. The Tristan recording
seems to have come off best, holding Rob Barnett’s attention more than Wagner
normally does. Whether that or the new Meistersinger recording counts
as a symphonic compilation, however, remains an open question; in my
opinion, it doesn’t quite qualify.
Henk de Vlieger starts with a real advantage in the case of die Meistersinger
von Nürnberg in that the opening Prelude and that to Act III are established
concert pieces which make perfect sense when played on their own. Equally,
since this is a more light-hearted work – Wagner’s equivalent of Verdi’s Falstaff,
if you like – there’s less of the high ground for us Wagnerites to defend,
so that a potpourri of the kind that de Vlieger has sought to avoid,
perhaps with the Offenbach/Rosenthal Gaîté Parisienne in mind, might
not have been too objectionable. Nor is there one absolutely clear winner
among recordings of the opera to point to as definitive in terms of tempo
and the like, though most of us will have a firm favourite – in my case the
stereo Karajan, recently reissued on EMI 6407882; for all that I recognise
the superiority of the earlier mono version (Naxos Historical 8.110872/5),
the recording requires too much tolerance.
In the two preludes Järvi judges the pace very nicely – none of the tempo
problems which Dan Morgan noted in the Ring compilation: the opening
Vorspiel (9:25) comes within two seconds of the stereo Karajan in the
complete opera (9:27); both are a little slower than the mono Karajan (9:11)
and all three are a fraction faster than his recording of the same piece on
his EMI recording of Wagner Overtures and Preludes (4768962), where he takes
9:34. The same observation, that Järvi’s tempi and direction are pretty
close to what one would hear in the opera house or on record*, is generally
true elsewhere and, at the risk of upsetting Wagnerites who are more serious
about their man than I am, it was only really in Walther’s Preislied
that I missed the vocal contributions. In compensation for any loss, I noted
some of the felicities of Wagner’s orchestral writing that normally go unnoticed.
* with the inevitable exception of Reginald Goodall, whose slow-paced but
enjoyable English-language Mastersingers is preserved on Chandos CHAN3148
(4 CDs).
Among more recent versions, Marek Janowski, who also includes the two Meistersinger
Preludes on a budget-price 2-CD set on Virgin (5620342) is significantly slower,
thereby losing some of the power which Järvi imparts.
The inclusion of some rarities adds to the appeal of this recording, not least
the Faust Overture, which inevitably invites comparison with Liszt’s
Faust Symphony, a comparison from which the less well known Wagner
emerges far from defeated. Most of the currently available recordings are
of a certain vintage, so the new recording is very welcome.
The two Entreactes (sic) are pretty small beer; I would have had real
difficulty in identifying them as the work of Wagner. Closer to the echt-Wagner
mode is the final work, the overture to Theodor Apel’s popular play of the
1830s about Christopher Columbus. There’s only one other version in the current
catalogue, an early Naxos recording with Alexander Rahbari and the Malaga
Philharmonic Orchestra. The neglect is unjustified, though one wouldn’t place
it on the top ten list of Wagner works, and the performance here makes a strong
case for it.
I listened to this recording in the 16-bit lossless download format, equivalent
to the CD layer of the SACD, burning the result to CDR and printing out the
booklet to recapture the effect of holding the physical disc in my hand. I
thought the recording just slightly lacking brightness at first, but a small
boost of volume helped considerably and I think, in any case, that the lack
of voices where the memory expects to hear them contributes mainly to the
illusion. I didn’t notice the same problem in the purely orchestral works.
Sound buffs with large bankrolls may wish to investigate the Studio Surround
version, though it doesn’t come cheaply; at £19.99 a throw, it’s more expensive
than the SACD.
I approached this recording with some apprehension in the light of reviews
of earlier releases. In the event I enjoyed the whole thing much more than
I had anticipated, though with the reservation about its symphonic status.
I think that most Wagnerites who found those earlier arrangements lacking
will be more tolerant of the new recording – and, probably, some non-Wagnerians
who find themselves enjoying the Prelude as a separate item will also enjoy
it.
Brian Wilson
Not exactly ‘symphonic’ but well worth hearing.