The main work on this CD is the reissue of the first recording
of Bernstein’s Arias and Barcarolles in its version
orchestrated by Bright Sheng under the supervision of the composer.
Since it was originally issued twenty years ago we have become
more acquainted with the music that Bright Sheng has composed
on his account. It has to be said that the orchestral writing
sounds far more like Bernstein than Sheng. The composer always
intended to orchestrate the work itself - it was originally
written for two voices and piano duet - but was prevented from
doing so by ill-health; he died shortly thereafter. The ironic
title refers to a remark made to Bernstein by Eisenhower in
1960 when the President said to him that he liked “music
with a tune, not all of them arias and barcarolles and things”.
Well, the song cycle - about love and marriage - has plenty
of tunes, even if nothing quite as catchy as West Side Story,
and has many lyrical moments as well as the expected Bernstein
rhythms. The texts are mainly drawn from poems by the composer,
and as usual Bernstein’s words have their full share of
uncomfortably mawkish sentimentality as well as some unexpectedly
comic touches which the booklet notes compare to Sondheim -
who worked on West Side Story. There are no texts provided
with this release, nor on the Naxos website although this may
be counted as a possible blessing. The diction of both singers
is sufficiently clear to make plenty of the words audible. The
work itself is essentially rather lightweight, but has plenty
of the Bernstein verve to keep it going. Whether you like it
or not will depend on your reactions to some of Bernstein’s
other personally committed works like the Mass or the
Kaddish Symphony.The final wordless Nachtspiel
is a touching elegy, the last piece that Bernstein ever wrote;
it sounds even more ethereal in the unexpected combination of
voices and piano duet, but works well here in its orchestral
guise.
The overture The school for scandal was one of Barber’s
earliest works. It launched his career with a bang; although
it is described as “Overture to The School for
Scandal” it was not written for any particular performance
of the play, nor does it reflect individual incidents within
it. It is a concert overture pure and simple, and great fun
in its own right. There are two ways of playing it - fast and
furious, or slower and more delicately. Schwarz steers a middle
course, not as fast as some but with plenty of weight and colour.
Am I the only listener who can detect the influence of Vaughan
Williams’s Wasps Overture in the beautiful lyrical
interlude at 1.50 - and even more so when it returns on the
strings at 5.43?
When originally issued this disc also contained a recording
of the complete Gershwin An American in Paris, including
passages and repeats which the composer later deleted. This
has been omitted from this reissue - which leaves rather short
measure - but instead we have David Diamond’s tribute
to his friend and mentor Ravel on his death. This work exists
in two versions: this one for brass, percussion and harps and
a later version for strings and percussion which Schwarz has
also recorded. It is a surprisingly violent tribute, with elements
of agony and protest as well the more elegiac music that the
title would lead one to expect. The brass scoring emphasises
this violence and some may well prefer the version scored for
strings; the music itself remains the same, and both treatments
are valid. Nevertheless the piece makes an oddly tragic companion
for the other two pieces on this disc.
Buy this disc for the performance of Bernstein’s last
major work if it appeals to you; the performances of all concerned
are excellent. The other items are interesting or enjoyable
makeweights. One should congratulate Naxos for making Schwarz’s
invaluable series of recordings for Delos available again.
Paul Corfield Godfrey
Naxos
American Classics review index
Jane Bunnell (mezzo) Dale Duesing (baritone)