Jean-Philippe RAMEAU (1683 - 1764)
The Sound of Light
Nadine Koutcher (soprano)
Alexei Svetov (bass)
MusicAeterna (Orchestra and Choir)/Teodor Currentzis
rec. 2012, Diaghilev House, Perm, Russia DDD
Texts and translations included
SONY CLASSICS 88843 082572 [66:40]
Jean-Philippe Rameau is one of the most admired composers
of the 18th century. That is partly due to his operatic output which is original
and always of the highest quality. Another reason is his orchestration. Whereas
after his death his oeuvre was soon overshadowed by Italian-influenced opera
he was rediscovered in the 19th century. Hector Berlioz admired him and Claude
Debussy even adored him. The latter was one of the editors of the first complete
edition of his oeuvre which was started in the 19th century by Camille Saint-Saëns.
Other composers involved in the project were Vincent d'Indy and Paul
Dukas. In 1903 a modern premiere of Castor et Pollux took place.
The commemoration of his death in 2014 has given interest in his music a boost,
but even before that a number of his operas - albeit mostly a handful, performed
over and over again - appeared regularly in the calendars of opera houses.
The present disc offers a cross-section of his operatic output, and we meet
again some of his most famous creations, such as Les Indes Galantes, Platée
and Dardanus. In comparison Naïs and Zoroastre
are far lesser known.
Some time ago I reviewed
another disc with excerpts from Rameau operas, with the soprano Sabine Devieilhe
and Les Ambassadeurs. It was one of my discs of the year, but I am sure that
the present disc is not going to appear in my list next December. There can
be little doubt about the qualities of the ensemble MusicAeterna which Teodor
Currentzis has built up in as remote a place as Perm in the eastern part of
Russia. It is certainly a part of the world where I wouldn't have expected
to find a period instrument ensemble which focuses on the performance of baroque
and classical repertoire. One of the assets of this recording is also the
soprano Nadine Koutcher who has a really beautiful and pure voice which is
perfectly suited to this repertoire. That said this disc leaves me unsatisfied
for several reasons.
The first is the way the programme has been put together. I can't see
any logic in the arrangement of the extracts from the various operas. Pieces
from a single opera, such as Les Indes Galantes, are distributed
over the whole programme, and the first piece we hear, is the chaconne which
ends the opera, immediately followed by the Ballet des fleurs from
the 3e Entrée.
Secondly and more importantly, the palette of colours which is a feature of
Rameau's orchestral score is impressively displayed by Les Ambassadeurs
but doesn't really come off here. That is partly due to the difference
in the line-up of the two ensembles: Les Ambassadeurs make use of the string
instruments which were still common in Rameau's time, including haute-contre
and taille; MusicAeterna has the conventional line up with violins,
violas and cellos. However, that is not the main reason. Often its playing
lacks subtlety, especially when it plays forte. That effect is enhanced
by the fact that the orchestra is rather large, probably considerably larger
than what Rameau had at his disposal: 22 violins, 9 violas, 6 cellos and 4
double basses plus wind and continuo. There are also some special effects,
such as the long held chord which leads to the recitative and aria from Platée
(track 10), played forte, with many dissonants, and ending with a
crescendo. Ending an instrumental piece with a crescendo is one of the features
of this disc, and is quite stereotypical. The Entrée from Les
Boréades (track 3) is played in an extremely slow tempo. In some slower
episodes I miss a clear exposition of the dance rhythm, for instance in the
opening section from the Premier & Deuxième Tambourin from Dardanus
(track 17).
One of the major problems of this recording is that Currentzis attempts to
do too much. The dynamic contrasts are exaggerated, the caricatural aspects
of Platée are terribly overdone (Aux langueurs d'Apollon)
and so are the effects in La Poule. The latter is from a set of six
Concerts en sextuor, a collection of anonymous arrangements of Rameau's
Pièces de clavecin en concert with an additional concert
after harpsichord pieces from his oeuvre. La Poule is one of the
latter, and in his liner-notes Benoît Dratwicki states that this effects of
the piece are well suited to strings. However, here oboes and bassoons also
participate. There is no fundamental objection to that, but the performance
with an orchestra is highly questionable, both stylistically and from a historical
angle.
In his notes Teodor Currentzis states: "I do not wish to produce the
most "authentic" baroque sound. I wish to go further and meet parts
of myself that I do not know yet". In that case wouldn't it be
better to go to a psychologist? Currentzis's approach is of no use
to me, and I suspect I'm not alone in this. I want to hear Rameau's
music as he intended it to be played.
There has been much praise for this ensemble and its conductor, and especially
their recordings of some Mozart operas have earned great enthusiasm. I haven't
heard them, so I was curious to listen to this disc and find out whether the
excitement was justified. Having listened to it I wonder what all the fuss
is about. As I said before the qualities of the orchestra are not in doubt
but these interpretations leave me utterly unconvinced. Nadine Koutcher is
the only reason that I may return to this disc once in a while.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
Track-list
Les Fêtes d'Hébé:
Musette & Tambourin en rondeau pour Terpsichore [3:46]
Zoroastre:
Gavotte en rondeau [2:13]
Les Boréades:
Entrée pour les Muses, les Zéphyrs, les Saisons, les Heures et les Arts [7:01]
Les Indes galantes:
Chaconne [5:45]
Ballet des fleurs: Orage [0:44]
Zoroastre:
Air tendre en rondeau [2:22]
Platée:
Orage [1:51]
Les Indes galantes:
Danse du Grand Calumet de la Paix - Duo & Choeur: Forêts paisibles/ [3:40]
Jean-Philipp RAMEAU, arr anon
Concert en sextuor No. 6:
La Poule [5:56]
Jean-Philippe RAMEAU
Platée:
Récitatif & Ariette: Essayons du brillant - Aux langueurs d'Apollon
[5:13]
Naïs:
Premier & Deuxième Rigaudon [2:15]
Zoroastre:
Ouverture [4:19]
Hippolyte et Aricie:
Prélude & Air accompagné: Temple sacré, séjour tranquille [2:45]
Naïs:
Ouverture [3:55]
Les Boréades:
Première et Deuxième Contredanse en rondeau pour les Peuples boréades [2:31]
Les Indes galantes:
Air pour les esclaves africains [1:47]
Dardanus:
Premier & Deuxième Tanmbourin pour les Peuples de différentes nations
[2:16]
Castor et Pollux:
Prélude & Air accompagnée: Tristes apprêts [7:33]
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