Alfredo CASELLA (1883-1947)
Suite in C major, Op. 13 (1909-1910) [26:16]
Pagine di guerra, Op. 25bis (version for orchestra, 1915, 1918) [11:00]
Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 61 (1937) [32:42]
Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma/Francesco La Vecchia
rec. 15-18 June and 11-15 July 2011, ORS Studios, Rome (Pagine. Concerto);
16-17 October 2011, Auditorium di Via Conciliazione, Rome (Suite)
Detailed track list at end of review
NAXOS 8.573004 [69:58]
The earlier instalments in this most enterprising series are a total success;
Francesco La Vecchia and the Rome orchestra’s recording of Casella’s
First Symphony alerted me to the charms of this neglected composer (review),
while the Second confirmed Naxos’s gamble had paid off (review).
Not to be outdone Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic have also recorded
several Casella collections for Chandos; their version of the Second and Scarlattiana
is very distinguished indeed (review).
As for the prominent ‘World Premiere Recordings’ tag on this new
release Naxos may have taped the Concerto for Orchestra just a few
months before Chandos,
but the latter’s recording of the piece was released first (review).
The Third Symphony has been recorded by Alun Francis (CPO)
and La Vecchia (Naxos).
Nit-picking aside, La Vecchia’s Suite and Pagine are indeed
the first on record. Much has been written about the influence of Mahler on
Casella’s early style, and the Suite certainly confirms such
a link exists. As David Gallagher points out in his liner-notes, Casella had
just arranged the Paris premiere of Mahler’s Resurrection, so
it’s hardly surprising to hear echoes of the latter’s soundworld
in this contemporaneous suite. In that sense the nomenclature of the piece
is a trifle misleading, for these rumbustious tunes bear scant resemblance
to the archaic forms on which they’re based.
The start of the Overture is a thinly disguised mélange
of Mahler and Richard Strauss, which soon morphs into a gaudy - and resolutely
Italian - free-for-all. These Romans certainly make the most of those dancing
rhythms, annunciating fanfares and sizzling cymbals. The Sarabande
is more sedate - grave, even - and it boasts lovely tunes that float free
of the orchestra in a quite magical way. Happily the recording combines transient
tizz and tingle with compensating warmth and weight; this ensures Casella’s
darker, more sonorous writing is also well caught. The boisterous Bourrée
brings to mind the high spirits of Mahler’s Fourth, whose wide-eyed
innocence is soon lost in a blaze of festal energy.
This music is an audacious mix that really demands an all-or-nothing approach
from conductor, orchestra and recording engineers; and that’s exactly
what it gets. Pagine di guerra - inspired by newsreels of the Great
War - is even more visceral; and while the original images were conveyed in
flickering monochrome Casella’s are delivered in extra vivid Technicolor.
The relentless pounding of German artillery and a Cossack cavalry charge will
rattle your window-panes; the human cost is counted in a poignant lament for
Rheims Cathedral and an endless panorama of a field crammed with wooden crosses.
In any other context this piece would be condemned as an amalgam of sheer
bombast and crude sentimentality; that it works so well here is a tribute
to La Vecchia’s judicious balancing of raw pictorialism and real feeling.
The Concerto for Orchestra, dedicated to the Dutch conductor Willem
Mengelberg, is the most substantial work here. It’s also a summation
of Casella’s progress to date; in the highly animated Sinfonia
various parts of the orchestra are allowed to shine, those see-sawing string
figures reminiscent of Shostakovich at times. That said, there’s a boldness
- an ease of invention if you like - to Casella’s writing that confirms
he’s mastered his craft; the Passacaglia, artfully worked, is
not as dry as one might expect, and the finale takes us on a thrilling ride.
Chandos may offer the better recording and more polished playing, but La Vecchia
and his band are every bit as engaged - and engaging - in this strange, delightfully
dishevelled work.
Music of unbridled energy, a big, sense-sating sound and unusually detailed
liner-notes add up to a most desirable package. In short, Naxos have given
us another cracker - and it’s not even Christmas!
Great fun; buy now and beat the rush.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
Great fun; buy now and beat the rush.
Detailed track list
Suite in C major, Op. 13 (1909-1910)
Ouverture [8:05]
Sarabande [11:30]
Bourrée [6:41]
Pagine di guerra, Op. 25bis (version for orchestra, 1915, 1918)
Nel Belgio: sfilata di artiglieria pesante tedesca [2:05]
In Francia: Davanti alle rovine della cattedrale di Reims [2:24]
In Russia: Carica di cavalleria cosacca [1:17]
In Alsazia: Croci di legno [2:51]
Nell'Adriatico: Corazzate italiane in crociera [2:23]
Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 61 (1937)
Sinfonia [10:08]
Passacaglia [15:02]
Inno [7:32]