The days are long gone when it was asserted that only British musicians
could do proper justice to British music. Nonetheless, it's interesting -
and refreshing - to encounter recordings of two of Elgar's great
masterpieces by predominantly Belgian forces under a Dutch conductor. It's
particularly fascinating to find the chorus parts sung by Collegium Vocale
Ghent, an ensemble which I've previously associated with much earlier
music.
Let's start, therefore, by considering the choral contribution to this
recording of
The Dream of Gerontius. I don't know how many singers
comprised the choir - possibly 70 or 80? - but I'm sure the choir is
numerically much smaller than I have encountered on previous recordings of
Gerontius. However, the key here is not the size of the choir but
the fact that it is a group of professional singers. Recently I heard a
fully professional choir of about 80 singers do full justice to Verdi's
Requiem in concert (
review) and here's another example of what professional
forces can achieve. I suspect this may be the first time
Gerontius
has been recorded by a wholly professional choir and the contribution of
Collegium Vocale Ghent is one of the strongest features of this present
performance. Throughout the performance the choir is tight in ensemble and
produces finely focussed singing. As a result the Demons' Chorus - never one
of my favourite passages - is taut and exciting, every separate line crystal
clear. The build-up to 'Praise to the Holiest' is equally well achieved
while the outburst at the start of 'Praise to the Holiest' itself is a truly
thrilling moment, the singing grand and sonorous and superbly recorded by
the Pentatone engineers. After that spectacular start the main body of that
chorus is very well done, aided by a fleet tempo set by de Waart; what can
be a dull or stodgy passage in a lesser performance here emerges as light
and agile with dynamic contrasts keenly observed. All in all, this
performance offers the best choral singing I can recall hearing in this
work; the only disappointment is that the semi-chorus doesn't sound as
ethereal as, ideally, it should.
The orchestra is similarly fine. All sections play impressively, starting
with a very well-played Prelude. The only time I would fault the orchestra
is during the Prelude to Part II where the strings sound much louder than
the
pp or
ppp that's marked in the score. On the other
hand, the orchestral preparation for 'Take me away' is superb - except that
de Waart ignores the
stringendo marking in the last couple of bars
- and the great crash that depicts the blinding vision of God that Gerontius
is momentarily granted is as shattering as I've ever heard it on disc.
In many ways Peter Auty is an impressive Gerontius. Certainly, you'll go a
long way to find one whose voice is as clear and open-throated and his
diction is crystal clear throughout. In Part I especially he offers a
somewhat operatic interpretation, which isn't inappropriate, and he's
ringing and forthright for much of 'Sanctus fortis'. I'm not sure that he
suggests much of the frailty of a dying man, though. Also the slightly
Italianate way in which he sings means that one has the impression that not
all the words are attacked cleanly. He's lighter of voice in the more
intimate stretches at the start of Part II and I liked much of his
contribution to the dialogue with The Angel. Once or twice I think he misses
a trick, though. For example, 'I see not those false spirits' after the
Demons' Chorus is sung in far too straightforward a fashion and I'd like
more inwardness and apprehension at 'I go before my judge'. However, he has
the necessary vocal resources for 'Take me away' and makes a very good job
of this final solo. Overall, he's a good Gerontius though I've heard several
- including Paul Grove, Philip Langridge, John Mitchinson and the
incomparable Heddle Nash - who are more distinctive and who seem to me to
penetrate to the heart of the matter more convincingly.
The South African mezzo, Michelle Breedt, sings The Angel. Hers is a very
full-toned voice, almost veering towards contralto in timbre, and her tone
is somewhat covered at times. Initially I thought I was going to like her
performance but as Part II unfolded I began to have reservations. For one
thing, her heavily accented English is sometimes intrusive. More seriously,
she frequently adopts an operatic style that I find quite at odds with the
spirit of the music. To make matters worse, quite often she breaks the line,
which is inexplicable since I can't believe a singer of her operatic
pedigree is running short of breath. She does offer a good account of the
Farewell but elsewhere I often listened in vain for evidence of a consoling
or encouraging sentiment in her singing. I could list many singers who have
given a more rounded and heartfelt interpretation of this role and I'm left
wondering if Miss Breedt really understands the role or the work.
The bass, John Hancock, is American, I believe. I can't say I really care
for his singing as The Priest. He sings with so wide a vibrato that not all
the notes seem completely secure and, for an Anglophone singer some of his
pronunciation - especially 'In the neem' - seems odd. He's much better as
The Angel of the Agony, possibly because he's not pushing his voice as much.
Overall he doesn't present a serious challenge to the best singers in these
roles, including Robert Lloyd and the late, lamented John Shirley-Quirk.
I'd not previously associated Edo de Waart with Elgar's music but he
conducts the score well. Some may find unsettling the fairly flowing tempi
that he adopts for much of the dialogue at the start of Part II but once I'd
listened for a while I found this approach refreshing. He handles the big
moments, such as 'Praise to the Holiest' and the Angelicals' build-up to it
very well and he makes the Demons' Chorus fiery and exciting. He clearly
inspires fine singing and playing from his choir and orchestra. Once or
twice I felt a little let down - where's the urgency at 'Rescue him' in Part
I, for instance? Overall, however, I thought he conducted the work
successfully and with understanding.
I also admired his performance of the very generous 'filler': the First
Symphony. Neither of these works can be exactly staple fare for a Belgian
orchestra but the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, having distinguished
themselves in
Gerontius, play the symphony extremely well. I like
the way de Waart treats the motto theme at the start: it's nobly voiced,
especially when the full orchestra takes up the tune, yet he keeps the tempo
moving forward very persuasively and avoids any risk of pomposity. The main
allegro surges most convincingly while the more delicate episodes
are beautifully done.
The
Allegro molto movement is bracing while its 'riverside'
passages have a becoming lightness. It's one of music's miracles that Elgar
transforms the scurrying string figurations of the second movement into such
a glorious
Adagio. De Waart handles the seamless transition between
the two movements very well and the
Adagio itself, well described
in the notes as 'something like a golden sunset', is warmly played and
phrased. De Waart ensures that the lyrical side of the music is given its
full value but he also maintains a pleasing momentum throughout a very
satisfying account of this movement. The finale is often red-blooded and
energetic though there were times when I felt the rhythms were a touch four
square. When Elgar brings the motto theme back for its closing peroration de
Waart makes the moment into a very satisfying and not overblown QED. This is
a most enjoyable performance of the symphony and while it may not challenge
the leading recommendations it would certainly have been competitive had
Pentatone chosen to release it singly.
The presentation by Pentatone calls for quite a bit of comment. On the
plus side the sound quality of these SACDs is very fine indeed. In fact I
don't think I can recall hearing
Gerontius in better sound. The
notes are interesting and enthusiastic, even if one doesn't agree with every
word. However, there are two major presentational shortcomings with this
set. The first is the complete absence of texts and translations. Since the
notes are in English, French and German I presume the release is aimed at an
international market. Frankly, the lack of texts to accompany a premium
release such as this is unpardonable. It's a very generous package to offer
these two major scores together. Alas: this generosity comes at a high
price. In order to accommodate the symphony, which is too long to fit on
disc one before Part I of
Gerontius, it's necessary to change discs
part way through Part II. The break comes immediately after 'Praise to the
Holiest'. I suppose it could be argued that there's a general pause at that
point, marked
lunga, but even so having to change discs at this
point is a catastrophic distraction, unprecedented in my experience, and
it's a very serious drawback to this set. It seems almost as if we've
regressed to the 'bad old days' of LP side-breaks.
That's a great pity because, even though it's not a top version, there's
much that's worth hearing in this
Gerontius, not least the choral
and orchestral contributions, while there's much to admire in Peter Auty's
performance and Edo de Waart's conducting. As the recording of the symphony
is a good one I'd seriously urge Pentatone to take the unusual step of
reissuing each recording separately as soon as may be feasible and, in the
process, eliminating the disfiguring break in Part II of
Gerontius.
In any event, I should be interested to hear more Elgar from Edo de
Waart.
John Quinn
Masterwork Index:
Elgar Symphony
1
