Igor STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)
CD
L’Oiseau de Feu - Suite (1919) [21:49]
Le Sacre du Printemps (1913) [33:10]
DVD
Le Sacre du Printemps (1913) [37:00]
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse/Tugan Sokhiev
rec. September 2011 (CD); 17 September 2011 (DVD), La Halle aux Grains, Toulouse
DVD: NTSC; Region Code: 0
NAÏVE V 5192 [CD: 54:59 + DVD: 37:00]
The centenary of the première of Le Sacre du Printemps will
doubtless occasion the release of a lot of recordings - both new accounts
and reissues. Here is a contribution from France.
Tugan Sokhiev has been Music Director of the Orchestre National du Capitole
de Toulouse since 2008. I don’t recall hearing any of their work together
but I’ve read good things about some of their previous releases. David
Barker was very complimentary about a pairing of Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky
(review) though Stephen Francis Vasta felt the Tchaikovsky symphony
had been committed to disc prematurely (review). Sokhiev’s pairing of Prokofiev and Rachmaninov
also drew a positive response in these pages (review). So with his credentials well established in
Russian repertoire I was keen to experience him in these two great Stravinsky
scores.
The 1919 suite from L’Oiseau de Feu is well done. Sokhiev and
his players relish the colourful nature of the score and impart good atmosphere.
There’s a good air of mystery at the very start, even if I have heard
more hushed accounts of the opening. The Firebird’s Variation music
is glittering and airborne. The Ronde des princesses is beautifully
done; the graceful oboe solo is just the first of a series of excellent solos
from various members of the Toulouse orchestra. The primitive savagery of
Kastchei’s dance is well realised while the Berceuse is
gorgeous, the solo bassoon lulling us all nicely into drowsiness. Perhaps
the start of the Final is a trifle on the slow side but that’s
the only minor criticism that I have of an excellent and enjoyable performance.
The centenary of Le Sacre du Printemps and the myriad recordings that
have been issued down the years - over forty have been reviewed on MusicWeb
International alone - prompts one or two thoughts. For example, has it lost
its power to shock? Readers will have their own views on that. It certainly
seems to have lost its power to stretch orchestras as playing standards have
risen. It was instructive for me to review not long ago Pierre Monteux’s 1929 recording of the
work. That was one of the first recordings - perhaps the very first - of Le
Sacre and while it’s creditable in many ways and a fascinating,
valuable document the strain on the players is palpable at times. Fast forward
some eighty years and not only do the world’s professional orchestras
regard it as a repertoire piece but youth orchestras too, such as what was
still in 2010 the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela,
take it in their stride (review). So I didn’t expect to detect any sign
of strain among the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse - and I didn’t
find any.
This is an impressive reading, well recorded. The sound quality helps to ensure
that everything that’s going on in the Introduction to Part I registers
carefully, the parts well balanced by Sokhiev. The stamping chords impel the
music of Augures printaniers along excitingly. I had the impression
that the tempo for the start of Jeu de rapt was a little on the steady
side. However, by compensation, this means that when the music erupts a little
further on in the section (track 11, 2:12) it’s invested with baleful
power - the trombone glissandi stand out menacingly. Danse de la
terre is driven and frenetic. The Introduction to Part II is refined and
fastidiously balanced while Glorification de l’élue sounds
primitive and barbed. Sokhiev handles the concluding Danse sacrale
very well: this tumultuous section is vivid and physically exciting but, like
the entire performance, it is kept under tight discipline. This is not, perhaps,
what my colleague Dan Morgan has referred to elsewhere as “a life-changing
Rite” but it’s still a pretty good version, very well played
and conducted with excellent attention to detail.
That attention to detail on Sokhiev’s part comes across in the accompanying
DVD in which we see a live performance of the work. The visual presentation
is conventional in that we see a straightforward film of the concert. If that
sounds dull it isn’t and the film is mercifully free of any gimmickry,
allowing the viewer to focus without distraction on a very good performance.
I have included in the heading to this review all the information about the
audio recording and the DVD that I’ve been able to glean from Naïve’s
documentation, which is long on arty drawings representing the two ballets
but a little short on some of the hard information that collectors need. So,
for instance, I can’t tell you whether the performance of Le Sacre
that you hear on the CD is identical to the one on the DVD or whether it’s
a different recording made under studio conditions; I suspect it’s the
latter.
I’m sure that 2013 will bring us many more recordings of Le Sacre,
some new and some from the archives. This release from Toulouse gets the centenary
off to a strong start.
John Quinn
This release from Toulouse gets the centenary of Le Sacre off to a
strong start.
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