Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Alborada del gracioso (1904-1905) [7:47]
Pavane pour une infante défunte (1899) [6:03]
Rapsodie espagnole (1907-1908) [15:27]
Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921)
Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78, Organ (1886) [35:00]
Joseph Adam (organ)
Seattle Symphony/Ludovic Morlot
rec. live, S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Washington, 19-21 September 2013 (Ravel), 27-30 June 2013 (Saint-Saëns)
Reviewed as a 24-bit download
Pdf booklet included
SEATTLE SYMPHONY MEDIA SSM 1002 [64:00]
Times are tough for the world’s great orchestras, many of which
now record on their own labels and offer CDs and downloads via their websites
or third-party retailers. As a business model it seems to work well for
the San Francisco Symphony, the LSO, the LPO and the Mariinsky Orchestra.
Most recently, the Berliner Philharmoniker resurrected their short-lived
own label with an impressive package of Schumann symphonies in a variety
of physical and downloadable formats (review).
The Seattle Symphony, once so familiar on Delos and then Naxos, are among
the latest ensembles to go it alone; this collection of French potboilers
is one of their first releases.
The orchestra’s website directs downloaders to iTunes and Amazon,
although the 24-bit version under review is available from eclassical.com
for $17.36; this represents a small premium over the equivalent CD from
ArkivMusic. Unusually eclassical don’t specify the original sampling
rate, although spectrum analysis suggests it's likely to be 88.2-96kHz.
On paper at least this looks like a decent proposition, given that competing
24-bit flacs can cost considerably more. The conductor Ludovic Morlot
is new to me, but the music certainly isn’t; and the inherent problem
with such a traditional programme is that it’s up against formidable
competition.
Seconds into Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso and the veracity
of that last statement is all too evident. For a start the orchestra aren’t
on top form; what strikes me most, though, is the soupy, unidiomatic reading
of this classic. Not only is the performance lacking in sophistication
it’s also short on flash and fire. True, the climaxes are impressive
– albeit in a superficial sense - but otherwise the band seem to
be playing on autopilot. The remaining Ravel items don’t fare much
better, although the enthusiastic audience reaction - hastily faded -
suggests otherwise. As if that weren’t dispiriting enough the sound
is dry and lifeless; that may not be audible on an mp3 or Mastered for
iTunes, but it’s the kiss of death in high-resolution terms.
The pièce de résistance here is the Saint-Saëns
Organ Symphony, underpinned as it is by the auditorium’s
4,489-pipe Watjen concert organ. Alas, that performance is just as dreary
as its predecessors, if not more so. Morlot’s moulded phrasing,
foursquare rhythms and the recording’s complete lack of atmosphere
are frankly ruinous; even worse, that mighty organ sounds puny. Indeed,
at times it’s hard to believe the instrument’s in the same
hall, except in the closing pages; here conductor and engineers pull out
all the stops for a blazing if somewhat rhetorical finale.
Bland performances notwithstanding, this release might just be acceptable
as a cheap, low-res download or as a post-concert memento. However, as
a pricier high-res offering it’s far less appealing. Also, the booklet,
stuffed with encomia to the orchestra’s benefactors, speaks of a
certain parochialism that’s at odds with the professionalism and
style of other in-house labels.
Run-of-the-mill readings with sound to match; not an auspicious start
for this new label.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
Masterwork Index: Saint-Saëns
Organ Symphony
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