Carl ORFF (1895-1982)
Trionfi
1. Carmina Burana (1935-6) [60:26]
2. Catulli Carmina (1943) [36:35]
3. Trionfo di Afrodite (1950-1) [42:44]
Ruth-Margaret Pütz (1,2) Enriquetta Tarrés (3),
Brigitte Dürrler (3) (sopranos); Michael Cousins (1), Donald
Grobe (2, 3) (tenors); Barry McDaniel (1), Roland Hermann (1)
(baritones); Hans Günter Nöcker (3) (bass); Der Tölzer
Knabenchor (1)
Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus/Ferdinand Leitner
rec. 1974, no exact dates or locations given
ACANTA 233584 [3 CDs: 60:26 + 36:35 + 42:44]
If you are looking for a modern demonstration quality recording
of Carl Orff’s Trionfi - which includes the ever-popular
Carmina Burana as one of its three parts - then walk
on by and read no more. With that behind us this set certainly
demands consideration as a reference-cum-historical document.
These recordings were made in 1974 and have been variously released
on CD since. In one incarnation on Arts Archive they proudly
bore the legend; “Carl Orff’s authorised recording”.
That imprimatur is noticeably missing on this new re-release
- perhaps Orff has changed his mind from beyond the grave. He
does seem to have been a composer willing to approve a performance
pretty much at will - the famous Jochum/Deutschen Oper/DG was
similarly adorned. That said, the presence of conductor Ferdinand
Leitner on this set does add weight to the idea that this is
an authentic account of Orff’s most famous works. Leitner
was very much an Orff specialist - even a brief glance through
the catalogue sees him at the helm of a wide range of Orff’s
works. Their closeness is further demonstrated by the publication
of a book of letters between the two men.
The three works that constitute Trionfi were written
over a fifteen year period from Carmina Burana in 1935/6
to Trionfo di Afrodite in 1951. The umbrella name of
Trionfi derives from the Roman word for festival or procession.
The binding element - as note-writer Karl Schumann rather neatly
and coyly puts it - is “the omnipotence of Eros”.
As noted above Carmina Burana is the first and by far
most famous of the three. It does seem to be one of those marmite
works that provokes love or hate - and I do mean hate - in equal
and opposite measure. Famously and in one fell swoop Orff discovered
his mature and defining compositional voice with such certainty
that he instructed his publisher to destroy all his earlier
works. There is little need to go into a detailed discussion
of such a familiar work but certain aspects of the recording
here should be highlighted. Unfortunately, of the three works
this receives the least impressive treatment musically and technically.
Elements of the orchestra are curiously muffled which is particularly
damaging when Orff’s throbbing trademark percussion ostinati
are obscured and ill-defined. Leitner’s tempi tend toward
the steady and cumulative rather than driven and ecstatic. At
first I felt he was just ‘slow’ but actually I became
more convinced that this was a viable - if not supreme - option.
His male soloists are good. There is luxury casting in using
two baritones although there is nothing in the liner to indicate
who sings which passage. Tenor Michael Cousins sings the famous
roasted swan role with much more heroic attack than one normally
hears - which I rather liked. Soprano Ruth-Margaret Pütz
appears in Catulli Carmina too. She was Klemperer’s
Papagena in his recording of the Magic Flute. Pütz
is rather good right up to that graveyard of sopranos, Ave
formosissima - what should be lyrically ecstatic sounds
simply forced. The chorus are good - especially the men who
have a wholly appropriate gruff and earthy energy. This is a
quality common to all three works and it is a consistent musical
highlight. The Cologne Radio orchestra are competent but not
exceptional - some ragged ensemble and sour wind intonation
are present in a way that one feels would not be accepted in
a studio today.
In a rather profligate way the three works are spread one to
a disc. Most Trionfi sets combine Catulli and Trionfo.
Certainly that could have been done here. However, at the bargain
price point at which this set is being offered the extra disc
is not an issue. Certainly there is no musical imperative for
the second and third parts of the trilogy to run together. It
does make the central Catulli Carmina a rather short
disc at less than thirty-seven minutes. If Carmina Burana
listed lust in Medieval times then Catulli, as the name
suggests, uses texts by Catullus from before the time of Christ
to catalogue impropriety Roman-style. Frustratingly this entire
set contains no texts at all which is a bad omission regardless
of price point; indeed given the narrative and wordy nature
of the pieces this comes close to being a deal-breaker. Especially
since not even a detailed synopsis is offered by way of compensation.
The words findable on the web but it’s a far from ideal
solution. From a musical point of view the novelty of the work
is that it uses a percussion orchestra alone. Four pianos and
much tuned percussion provide the melodic element of the instrumental
score but the main interest lies in Orff’s expanded use
- relative to Carmina Burana - of repeated rhythms and
syncopation. Curiously, I never think of this as a ‘noisy’
work but the instrumentation - with its debt to Stravinsky’s
Les Noces - imparts to it a pent-up nervous energy that
remains strikingly modern. As to why it has never come close
to challenging the earlier work in terms of popularity that,
I suspect, has more to do with the cost of staging it offset
against its lower audience appeal. Also, its length is problematic
in concert terms - it is not even half a concert in time terms
so quite how and where to put it in an evening’s entertainment?
None of this is an issue for a recording. In every respect this
is more consistently satisfying than the first disc. Here there
are only two soloists taking the roles of Catullus himself and
his demanding lover Lesbia. Pütz seems more secure and
the interaction between her and tenor Donald Grobe has the right
edge of danger and teasing. Again the chorus are characterful;
better still the thirty-eight year old recording copes very
well with the potential strain of so much percussion. Leitner
is particularly good at keeping the music pulsating along without
it feeling hard-driven or pushed; this is very much the sport
of love. The final part of the triptych, Trionfi di Afrodite
proves to be the best of the bunch as far as these performances
are concerned. For those hankering after more in the style of
the famous first part, movements such as the Invocazione
dell'Imeneo [CD 3 tracks 4-5] have a primal pulsing rhythmic
energy immediately recognisable from the earlier work. Orff
reverts to a massive orchestration which must limit the number
of live performances; triple wind, six horns, three each of
trumpets and trombones and two tubas. Then it get really serious
with a percussion section requiring ten to twelve players and
- I'm not finished yet - two harps, three guitars and three
pianos plus a large standard string section. Orff rarely unleashes
the full instrumentation, indeed much of the work is characterised
by the lightnesss of its orchestration. The size of the instrumental
group allows Orff to create textures within instrumental families.
Again Leitner impresses with the cumulative energy of his reading.
It’s by no means fast but I was impressed by the carefully
paced power. Compare this version to the much more recent cycle
from Welser-Möst on EMI Classics. The latter sounds far
more beautiful and indeed is better played and recorded but
those qualities come at the cost of musical character. Leitner's
soprano here is Enriqueta Tarrés. Hers is a name unknown
to me but she is excellent; a real firebrand and more than a
match for the impressive tenor Donald Grobe, mentioned previously.
I listened to a third set of Trionfi on Supraphon conducted
by Vaclav Smetacek as well. This set is older still than Leitner
and again suffers from the fact that Carmina Burana is
its weakest link. For recordings made in the sixties they still
sound remarkably fine with as characterful instrumental and
choral singing as one might expect. It can still be found -
at a price but it would be hard to recommend ahead of the authoritative
Leitner. As a complete cycle of three works the collector is
not overburdened with choices - especially if requiring modern
digital sound. The recordings by the aforementioned Welser-Möst
are more controlled than these embodiments of abandonment surely
demand. After that there is a set from Wergo which is DDD but
features two different conductors. Aside from Leitner there
is also a set on Berlin Classics from Herbert
Kegel and an oldest-of-the-lot 1950s DG cycle from Jochum.
None of those latterly mentioned sets have I heard in any degree.
All of which means it is worth giving serious consideration
to this current box on the assumption that a finer Carmina
Burana already resides in your collection and you are happy
to track down the texts. So in some curious way this set mirrors
the music itself - fascinating yet flawed.
Nick Barnard
Mirrors the music itself - fascinating yet flawed.