April 2004
J.S. Bach
St John Passion
Unlike the Beethoven 9th Symphony which we enjoyed earlier in the series,
the St John Passion is a work for which an English version exists.
Furthermore, there is an excellent version available in English
and at a modest price. This is the 1971 recording conducted by
Benjamin Britten available on a Double Decca 443 8592.
The orchestra is the English Chamber Orchestra. Peter
Pears sings the part of the Evangelist and leads an all
star cast of the great and the good. An excellent choice
if you need it in English.
Of the other recordings in German,
there is a performance on Naxos from
Edward Higginbottom and the Choir of New College,
Oxford available at just under the ten pound mark
on 8557296-97. This recording was awarded the Gramophone
Editor’s Choice accolade on its release and also picked
up a glowing recommendation in the Guardian as “an outstanding period performance
that can stand comparison with any in the catalogue”.
This recording uses all male soloists and has generally fast tempi.
Also at budget price is the Andrew Parrott
recording
with the Taverner Consort on Virgin
Classics. Here the
choir is small, two voices to a part.
Speeds are mostly
on the fast side. Described as
“an intimate performance
that yet has sharp focus
and plenty of power” this recording is on VBD 5520192.
At full price we find John Eliot Gardiner in his
“exhilarating” recording
for DG with the Monteverdi
Choir and the English Baroque Soloists on 4193242.
He brings authenticity to the work through small
scale forces and period
instruments. Certainly a recording
which will please many.
Bizet
L’Arlesienne Suite No 1
The Naxos recording of this work brings together
both L’Arlesienne Suites
and the two Carmen Suites
on 8550061. Two mid price recordings,
both recommendable,
stand out. Besides Beecham
(CDM 567 2312 - one of EMI’s
Great Recordings
of the Century) with the RPO, there is
the Decca
recording from Dutoit and the Montreal SO on 466 4212.
It boils down to the choice of couplings; Dutoit presents
the 2
Carmen Suites, whereas Beecham offers the Symphony in C.
Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto No 1
There is a choice of recordings on Naxos;
one has the First Piano Concerto
and the
Third on 8550819; the other includes The Tempest
as well as
the Polonaise and Waltz from Eugene
Onegin (8550137). There is also
a 1930’s recording
on the Naxos Historical label featuring Solomon
accompanied by the Halle under Hamilton Harty 811 0680.
There are two recordings of this work which stand out from the crowd.
Both are live performances and coincidentally both are coupled with
the Rachmaninov 3rd Concerto. The newer of the two comes on the
Philips label and features Martha Argerich accompanied by the
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Kondrashin in an adrenaline
filled rendition dating from October 1980. No less exciting is
the performance from Vladimir Horowitz in a 1940 recording from
the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under John
Barbirolli in Carnegie Hall on APR5519. Admittedly the sound
quality is inferior, but what a performance!
Mussorgsky (orch Ravel)
Pictures at an Exhibition
One of the recent highlights on Naxos has been the appearance
of the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine under
Theodore Kuchar in an all Mussorgsky programme 8555924.
As well as Pictures, we get both the original St John’s
Night on the Bare Mountain as well as the more familiar
Night on the Bare Mountain. The whole CD is a delight from
start to finish; magnificent playing, coupled with excellent
sound quality.
At mid price the 1966 recording from Karajan and the Berlin
Philharmonic in DG’s Originals series is both a fine recording
and a great performance (447 4262). The other works on the CD
are
Debussy’s La Mer and Ravel’s Bolero.
Those of you with SACD
players might want to explore the Sony
SACD SS89414 which has
superb playing from the Cleveland
Symphony Orchestra under George Szell
(and also includes
the first suite from L’Arlesienne).
Bax
Tintagel
In recent months Naxos have released
a recording
of this work coupled with the 7th Symphony
in
a performance by David Lloyd-Jones on 8557145.
I’m sure that many will enjoy this as much as
I have.
However there is an older recording
which surpasses it;
the 1965 recording from Sir
John Barbirolli and the LSO,
in a mid price
coupling with the Vaughan-Williams 5th Symphony
on EMI CDM56521102.
Mahler
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
On looking through the Penguin Guide, I see that one
singer
has recorded these songs twice, each time
picking up a
Penguin rosette. Although the Naxos
recording with
Bernadette Greevy on 8554156 is
a good choice for the orchestral
version and
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau with Leonard Bernstein
a
good choice for the piano version ( Sony Mid-Price on SMK61847),
the honours go to Dame Janet Baker. The choice is either
the orchestral
version with Sir John Barbirolli
on EMI CDM5669812 or the piano version from Hyperion
accompanied by Geoffrey Parsons (CDH55160). Hyperion
inform me that this is shortly
to be reissued at
budget price on the Helios label.
Elgar
Symphony No 1.
According to John Adams last year, the Halle practically own
this
symphony. Certainly it is a work they have recorded
on several occasions.
One of the most memorable of these
was Sir John Barbirolli’s
Kings Lynn performance on
July 24th 1970. It was his last concert
with his beloved Halle;
the inspirational performance is available on
BBC
Legends BBCL 41062.
One recording of more recent vintage comes
on the budget
LSO Live label LSO0017 with Sir Colin Davis at the helm.
This is among my favourites, however the opening andante
tempo
is rather controversial - even slower than
James Loughran’s
ASV Quicksilva account
(not currently available).
If you have
enjoyed tonight’s bread and butter offering from
Mark Elder and the
Halle, then why not wait
a little while for the jam of their recording
of
the work on CDHLL 7500, a recording on their own label.
The symphony
was recorded on September 11th 2001, a session
of extraordinary intensity.
According to Mark Elder:
“We had to try
and put our emotional
concern, energy
and sense of incredible anger, our sadness
and fear to
one side. As a result the
symphony has a marvellous atmosphere to it.”
The Halle have also
now recorded the Second Symphony by Elgar and
this is now available.
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