The Creation preceded
The Seasons in Haydn’s productive
late period of genius and has generally been regarded as the greater of the
two works. Certainly it tends to be performed and recorded more often. It is
therefore an especial pleasure to enjoy this refreshing performance of the
later and arguably more interesting work. Not that there is much point in
comparing the two. Their structures and characters are very different, with
The Seasons longer and more episodic. It also has a slower path
towards the climatic final section where the day-to-day concerns of rural
life are overtaken by more fundamental questions. As a whole it is
wonderfully varied and detailed, a summation of Haydn’s life, and music to
which I find myself returning again and again.
The three soloists here are all outstanding in particular in their ability
to project and characterise the text. Florian Bosch especially brings to
life every phrase he sings. The chorus are also good even if the appearance
of several of the singers suggests boredom. This is fortunately belied by
the quality of their singing. It is clear from the entertaining if not very
enlightening rehearsal documentary that Harnoncourt wants an energetic and
characterful performance from the orchestra. What we hear is beautifully
played but for much of the time lacks the conviction that they were
encouraged to achieve in rehearsal. There is little that I could positively
object to but much less than I expected that had the same impact as the best
recorded performances that I have heard. I usually find myself going back to
John Eliot Gardener or Colin Davis for preference. There are moments of
great beauty and some unexpected but usually effective speeds but overall
this is not really a memorable performance. This may be due to the size of
the Hall and is not helped by a style of filming that all too often seems to
be looking at the wrong performers. The final chorus, for instance, is for a
double choir who question and answer each other. Before it the choir has
moved around the platform to achieve this. Strangely the director then fails
to show the choirs questioning and answering each other thus missing one of
the composer’s crowning effects.
Despite my lack of enthusiasm for some aspects of this disc I will
nonetheless return to it for the performances of soloists and choir. It is
worth remembering that in the not too far distant days before
The
Seasons was first recorded a performance of this quality would have
seemed an impossible dream. I am sure that in the concert hall this was a
memorable occasion and anyone approaching
The Seasons for the first
time would find it a reliable guide to the supreme genius of the work. There
are however alternative audio recordings that give a better impression of
the quality of the work.
John Sheppard
