Hector BERLIOZ (1803-1869)
Overtures:
Le Corsaire, Op. 21 (1844) [8:03]
Overture to Béatrice et Bénédict (1862) [7:58]
Overture to Les Francs-juges, Op. 3 (1826) [11:47]
Le Carnaval romain, Op. 9. Ouverture
caractéristique (1844) [8:25]
Waverley, Op. 1. Grande ouverture. (1827-28) [9:53]
Le Roi Lear, Op. 4. Grande ouverture. (1831)
Overture to Benvenuto Cellini Op. 23 (1838) [10:34]
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Andrew Davis
rec. 11-14 June 2012, Grieghallen, Bergen, Norway.
CHANDOS CHSA 5118 SACD [72:52]
The Bergen Philharmonic here continue their fruitful relationship with
Chandos,
appearing for the first time on disc, I think, with Sir Andrew Davis. Of
course,
when we combine the names Davis and Berlioz in the same sentence we’re
normally
referring to Sir Colin Davis, doyen of Berlioz conductors, though on this
evidence
Sir Andrew also has much to offer as a Berlioz interpreter. By coincidence,
a
few years ago I reviewed
an identical compendium of Berlioz overtures conducted by Sir Colin Davis.
This
was a 1997 collection in which he conducted the Staatskapelle Dresden.
Sir Andrew Davis gets his programme off to an excellent start with a
mainly swashbuckling account of Le Corsaire. The Bergen Philharmonic
plays the energetic music in this piece with brio yet they are encouraged by
Davis to display sensitivity in the slower music that occurs soon after the
start - as Hugh Macdonald justly observes in his notes, this was something
of a structural trademark in Berlioz’s overtures.
In the brilliant overture to
Béatriceet Bénédict the
early slow music is associated with the character of
Béatriceand Davis displays excellent feeling in the way he
handles this episode. The playful, quicker music has gaiety and freshness,
the Bergen players distinguishing themselves once more. I don’t feel
that Sir Andrew’s performance is bettered by Sir Colin Davis’s
equally exhilarating account.
Where Sir Colin does have the edge, I think, is in Les
Francs-juges. There’s much to admire in the Bergen performance,
where the dark, suspenseful atmosphere at the start is well captured, but I
think there’s more of a baleful ambience in Dresden, thanks especially
to the marvellously sonorous Dresden brass section. Writing of Sir
Colin’s recording in 2005 I singled out “the extraordinary
passage where a long, troubled and troubling wind melody is quietly and
distantly sounded, accompanied at first by agitated strings underneath.
Subsequently, threatening percussion underpins the melody. Davis balances
all this perfectly and as a result the atmosphere of chilling menace is
conveyed just as Berlioz surely intended it.” Heard against the new
recording, my view is confirmed. The Bergen version (5:38-7:28) is excellent
but you get even more in Dresden. Two details, typical of the
composer’s imaginative orchestration, stand out for me. Early on in
this episode the strings have phrases that cut across the wind lines.
They’re more jagged, and therefore more telling, in Dresden. Near the
end of this passage (at 7:09 in Bergen) the timpani play in a completely
different rhythm to - and across - the rest of the band. That comes over
well in both recordings but at the same time unique atmosphere is
contributed by dull, sinister thuds on the bass drum. Quiet as they are you
can hear them quite clearly on the Dresden recording and it’s
marvellous: they’re virtually inaudible in Bergen. On such fine
margins …
However, that is the only overture in which I would express a clear
preference
for one conductor over the other. Sir Andrew’s account of Le
Carnaval
romain is excellent. The memorable cor anglais solo near the start is
nicely
paced - Sir Colin is a bit more specious and I have a slight preference for
his
rival in this episode - and then the Bergen reading catches the colourful
brilliance
of the carnival itself in a dashing display - there’s brightness and
energy
in Dresden too.
Benvenuto Cellini is another conspicuous success in both collections.
Once
again the lyrical music is very winningly done in Bergen while there’s
all
the sweep and brilliance you could wish for later on in the overture - when
the
faster music resumes at 4:05 there’s a real fizz to the performance:
the
flashing Bergen woodwinds lay down the gauntlet to their string colleagues
who
take it up gleefully.
With the exception of Les Francs-juges - and even here the
differences are not massive - I wouldn’t care to express a preference
for one of these two fine collections over the other. For Chandos Sir Andrew
Davis conducts these colourful and inventive scores with panache and he
secures colourful, rhythmically precise performances from the Norwegian
orchestra which plays with zest throughout the programme. The Chandos
recording is up to the usual high standards of the house - I listened to
this hybrid SACD as a CD - and Hugh Macdonald’s succinct notes are
ideal. If you’re looking for a set of Berlioz overtures - a highly
desirable addition to any collection - then this disc has very strong claims
on your attention.
John Quinn
If you’re looking for a set of Berlioz overtures then this disc has very strong claims on your attention.
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