Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Images pour orchestre (1905-1912) [38:36]
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (1891-1894) [11:23]
La Mer (1903-1905) [25:50]
Singapore Symphony Orchestra/Lan Shui
rec. August 2004 (La Mer), July 2009 (Images), July 2013 (Prélude), Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore
Reviewed as a 24-bit 44.1/88.2/96kHz download
pdf booklet/inlay card included
BIS BIS-1837 SACD [76:43]
BIS introduced me to Lan Shui and the Singapore Symphony with Seascapes,
a truly scrumptious SACD that went straight to the top of my list of Recordings
of the Year 2007 (review).
The La Mer from that disc is reprised here, but the rest of this
collection – in varying sample rates - is new. What a tempting prospect
it is, given the quality of this band and the lovely acoustics of the
Esplanade Concert Hall. Indeed, of all their recordings that have come
my way only one, Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony, has left me seriously
underwhelmed (review).
As for that La Mer, I described it as ‘vivid and vibrant’;
it certainly outclasses Jun Märkl (review)
and Stéphane Denève (review)
and, for me at least, it shares top billing with the vintage Ernest Ansermet
(review).
Intended as a two-piano follow-up to his first set of Images
for solo piano (1905) Debussy’s Images pour orchestre is
probably one of his best-known works. This 2009 recording, taken from
a 44.1kHz original, has a brighter, more sharply etched sound than I remember
from Seascapes – probably due to the lower sampling rate
– but Gigues gets a decent outing nonetheless. As ever
Lan Shui calibrates dynamics with sensitivity, although some may find
the quieter passages a little too quiet; indeed, I don’t
recall a recording in which Gigues gets off to such a distant
start.
Par les rues et par les chemins, the first piece in the three-part
Ibéria, finds the SSO at their animated best; rhythms
are well articulated and momentum never falters. However, it’s a
little short on temperament – I miss the energy of Ansermet, now
on Decca Eloquence - but otherwise it’s a fair performance. Not
so Les parfums de la nuit which, despite some tactile playing,
lacks its usual loveliness; I prefer a lighter, more permeable reading
than this. As for Le matin d’un jour de fête it’s
much too well-mannered for a celebration. In that polite context the sudden
spurt of energy at the close seems out of kilter with the rest of the
piece. Alas, it doesn’t get any better; Rondes de printemps,
hobbled by the conductor’s refusal to loosen his grip on the music,
has little of the dance about it.
Lan Shui’s Images simply doesn’t get the idiomatic
and instinctive lift that makes his La Mer so memorable. A matter
for concern, perhaps, as such qualities are de rigueur in the
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune.
Some may feel that Karajan’s 1965 recording for DG - with Karlheinz
Zoller a hauntingly mellifluous soloist - is too moulded, but for sheer
pulsing beauty and purity of line it’s hard to beat. Indeed, that
and Ansermet’s uniquely coloured account are the most perfect distillations
of this game-changing piece that I know. By contrast Lan Shui’s
reading seems a tad prosaic – his breathier, warmer-sounding soloist
is somewhat earthbound - but still he conjures up enough magic to keep
one listening to the end. I even registered a goose bump or two along
the way. Not bad, then, but I still relish the liberating loveliness of
Karajan and Ansermet; at least this newcomer isn't as soul-crimping a
performance as Märkl's. The 24/96 recording seems better balanced
and more atmospheric than Images.
Readers who want to know why I rate Lan Shui’s La Mer so
highly need look no further than my Seascapes review. Within
seconds of starting De l'aube à midi sur la mer
it’s clear this 2004 recording is in another league entirely, both
musically and technically. The performance is simply ravishing, and the
Singapore band play with a blend of finesse and feeling that compares
favourably with Europe’s best. As for the recording itself I felt
it was one of BIS’s best then and I still do so now; spacious, detailed
and so alive this is a La Mer that all Debussians should
hear. I’d urge listeners to seek out Seascapes –
the music sounds even better in Super Audio - but if the Bridge, Glazunov
and Zhou Long pieces don’t appeal just lift La Mer from
this download.
It would be cavalier to write off this fine orchestra and conductor on
the basis of a few uneven performances. The SSO certainly didn’t
do as well at the 2014 BBC Proms as I’d hoped; that’s a pity,
for their recorded Rachmaninov – especially with pianist Yevgeny
Sudbin – is really rather good. As for issuing old and new material
together BIS have done this before; to their credit they do make that
clear in the booklet.
Lan Shui's La Mer is still one of the best on record; alas, the
fillers are rather ordinary.
Dan Morgan
twitter.com/mahlerei
Masterwork Index: La
Mer
Support
us financially by purchasing this from |
|
 |
|
 |
 |