Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896)
Mass No. 3 in F Minor (1868)
Psalm 146 (1858?)
Organ Works:
Themes for improvisation, completed as “Festmusik” by Erwin Horn
[8:35]
Andante in D minor (WAB 130) [1:49]
Postlude in D minor (WAB 126) [4:07]
Prelude and Fugue in C minor (WAB 131) [5:54]
Fugue in D minor (WAB 125) [3:58]
Prelude in C minor (WAB 129) [2:06]
Ania Vegry (soprano); Franziska Gottwald (alto); Clemens Bieber (tenor); Timo
Riihonen (bass);
Gerd Schaller (organ)
Philharmonischer Chor München, Philharmonie Festiva/Gerd Schaller
rec. live July, 2015 (Mass & Psalm), September, 2015 (organ), Abteikirche,
Ebrach
Texts for Mass (Latin and German) and Psalm (German only) provided in the
booklet.
PROFIL PH16034 [60:21+56:48]
Recordings of Bruckner’s last and greatest Mass are
not exactly scarce but this most recent live performance from the celebrated
Ebrach festival has claim to being regarded as special, not just for its own
considerable merits, but also as it is presented by Profil in a double CD
package in tandem with the barely known Psalm 146 and the further bonus of
conductor-musicologist and performer Gerd Schaller playing six works on the
Eisenbarth organ in the Abteikirche.
The first great merit here is the sound quality: there is an angelic aureola
of warmth about it, excellent balance between the mighty forces deployed,
tremendous dynamic range and no loss of detail despite the reverberance of
the venue. None of the comparable recordings from Jochum, Barenboim and Celibidache
can compete for recorded sound: Jochum’s is over fifty years old and
fine for its era but decidedly wiry to modern ears; Celibidache’s live
recording, although digital, is marred by audience coughing – whereas
there is barely a sound here.
Barenboim’s soloists are excellent, but the performance as a whole comes
across as rather stolid and plodding; he does not in general achieve the kind
of nobility and impact we hear in excelsis from Schaller here. Celibidache’s
tempi could of course have seemed lugubrious had he not been able to infuse
proceedings with such grandeur and especially fine here is the ethereal Margaret
Price. Jochum has perhaps
the best soloists of all, but Schaller’s, too, are first class, even
though I would have preferred a more robust, pharyngeal tenor rather than
Clemens Bieber, who sings feelingly but whose tone can sometimes whine and
sound a little windy; Haefliger for Jochum brings more resonance to his sound
in the “Credo”. Soprano Ania Vegry is rather more febrile than
Price and infuses her every utterance with great emotion. Both the alto and
bass are admirable in the strength, depth and steadiness of their singing.
The highlights for me, however, are in the singing of the Philharmonischer
Chor at key points such as the impassioned and monumental opening “Kyrie”,
which emerges as a genuinely supplicatory in its plea for mercy, and the truly
thrilling “Et resurrexit”, central, in every sense of the word,
to the Mass. All the performers here seem inspired and galvanised by the occasion,
such that at times they are almost too demonstrative, but that involvement
underlines the truly dramatic nature of the Catholic liturgy and its emphasis
upon salvation . One thinks here of the argument surrounding how visceral
and “operatic” Verdi’s Requiem should sound but certainly
Bruckner seems here to be embracing the same sense of the dramatic that we
hear in the liturgical works of predecessors such as Beethoven’s “Missa
solemnis” and Berlioz’ “Requiem and “Te Deum”
– works with which Bruckner was familiar.
The “Credo” assumes the sonic landscape characteristic of a battlefield,
the choir’s war-cries of “Credo” punctuating the restless,
scurrying semiquavers of the underlying instrumental figures; this is Bruckner
at his most stirring. Despite the pitiless demands he makes upon his performers
in sustained fortissimo passages, there are also moments of repose and tranquillity
to be savoured, and I concede all credit to the choir and orchestra that they
are able to ratchet down the tension in order to embrace the tenderness of
the “Benedictus”; both the singing and instrumental playing display
enormous flexibility and virtuosity.
In terms of mere timings, just as he does when performing Bruckner’s
symphonies, Schaller finds the juste milieu between others’
extremes. Barenboim and Jochum are more sprightly at 58 minutes and as such
not as imposing; Celibidache, at 77 minutes, is to some ears excessively languorous.
In my judgement, Schaller finds just the right balance at one hour precisely,
conjuring huge weight without undue ponderousness.
The Psalm is a decided rarity. Were it not for the fact that we have Bruckner’s
manuscript score, published as recently as 1996, I would defy anyone without
foreknowledge of its composer to ascribe it correctly, it is so wholly uncharacteristic
of his oeuvre. Indeed, it positively reeks of Mendelssohn’s oratorios
at their most blithely insouciant.
Once again, the choral singing is the glory of this piece; the choir’s
energy and conviction ensure that instead of regretting the absence of Brucknerian
numinosity, the listener revels in the sheer exuberance of the melodies and
comforting, richly Romantic harmonies, yet the rhythmic vitality of the counterpoint
in the double chorus “Gross ist unser Herr” confirms that the
baroque world of Handel and Bach is never far away. Soprano Ania Vegry has
a vibrant, sometimes almost over-bright tone and handles the frequent melismata
in her music with aplomb. She is well matched in the “Arioso”
by Franziska Gottwald’s warm alto, with delightful individual contributions
from solo flute, oboe and violin. Especially uplifting is the fugal “Alleluia”
concluding the work, introduced by a splendid brass fanfare and extending
over nine minutes to provide a spectacularly confident testament to the fruits
of Bruckner’s formal studies with Sechter.
The programme is completed by a recital from Gerd Schaller demonstrating Bruckner’s
famed improvisatory powers as an organist and his command of fugal form. This
is probably music appealing to a more specialised taste than that of the average
Bruckner aficionado but Schaller expertly and sensitively exploits the extraordinary
range of stops of the mighty Ebrach organ to suit the varying demands of the
six pieces here.
Ralph Moore
This review reproduced by kind permission of The Bruckner Journal
who commissioned it.
Previous review: John
Proffitt
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