TWO ORATORIOS AND A FESTIVAL

New Zealand Listener, Volume 30, Issue 777, 11 June 1954, Page 20

TWO ORATORIOS AND

A FESTIVAL

A monthly review by

OWEN

JENSEN

TT’S a long way from Handel to ) Walton, from the Messiah to ) Belshazzar’s Feast; but not so _far as the two hundred years be'tween their first performances might suggest. New recordings of both these works show that an oratorio’s an oratorio under the skin, whenever it may have been written. That means not only "sacred words as. properly adapted for the Occasion," as was reported of the first performance of | Messiah, but quite a slice of drama, too. | For reasons best known to them- | selves, the record companies have come /out in a rash of Messiahs. Columbia, H.M.V., Decca and Nixa have each produced a version. The Nixa production |is the first to come our way. It is con- |} ducted by Hermann Scherchen, who is responsible, no doubt, for the character , of the whole performance. The soloists are Margaret Ritchie (soprano), Constance Shacklock (contralto), William , Herbert (tenor) and Richard Standen | (bass), with George Eskdale (trumpet) and Thomas Matthews (violin). The choruses are sung by the London Philharmonic Choir with the London Sym- | phony Orchestra (Nixa NLP 907: 1-3). In listening to this performance, even | those who know Messiah back to front, /and the right way round, too, may feel | they are hearing the work for the first time. You may be thrilled, or you may dislike some of what you hear; but you | will certainly be astonished. Hermann Scherchen has used the Eulenberg edition of the score which, | so it is claimed, fairly represents Han- _ del’s text. The relatively small choir and orchestra give the music unusual clarity | and an athletic quality that comes out in Scherchen’s unorthodox fast tempi. This is the aspect that may astonish you. There seems no particular warrant for the raising of the speed limits, and Handelian traffic inspectors in mufti may feel like giving Mr. Scherchen a -warning. But the rest of us, admiring the virtuosity of his conducting and the impeccable singing of the soloists, to /Say nothing of the brilliant trumpeting of George Eskdale, will be glad that _the suet pudding, Sundaybun-fight sort | of treatment that Handel’s Messiah too often receives, is replaced with an

Incisive dramatic character which gives the music a bright | new look -one of | which I rather feel Handel would have approved. Altogether this is an outstand- | ing recording. This brings us to Belshazzar’s Feast, also newly recorded by Nixa (NLP 904). Walton is actually brought a little | nearer Handel in this interpretation by a toning down of the drama which /made the _ original | H.M.V. standard re- -_--- cording under Walton himself such an electrifying | experience. Dennis Noble, soloist in both performances, has in the

ten years since ‘the appearance of the original recording reduced the voltage of his singing somewhat, adopting what might be called a more "classical" style. Nevertheless, despite this . obvious, althouxh by no means ‘considerable mellowing of the interpretation, Belshazzar’s Feast is still dazzling music. Brilliant as the original recording was, this new version has, taking it altogether, more to commend it. There is, for one thing, infinitely more detail to be heard. The dramatic punch of the Huddersfield Choir is here replaced by the lithe, whip-like impassioned singing of the London Philharmonic Choir, clear as a bell. Sir Adrian Boult presents choir, soloists and the Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra meticulously but always leaving the music with its fine vigour. Almost best of all, you have Belshazzar’s Feast complete on two sides, with, therefore, only one interruption. The recording is as brilliant as the performance. The same Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra-it sounds like the London Philharmonic in disguise-is taken by Sir Adrian Boult through Holst’s Planet Suite (Nixa NLP 903). I say "taken through" because the suave, imperturbable virtuosity of the playing-particu-larly the woodwind-gives the impression of its being no trouble to anyone. The fidelity of the recording matches the realism of the music. After 40 years, Holst’s music hits the imagination as vividly as it did in the days when "modern" music was still a fighting cause. Music for Peace The most significent recording of the month, and perhaps of a twelve-month, is the two-disc documentary of the Llangollen International Folk Music Festival, 1952. Recorded by the BBC for the Unesco International Music Council, these recordings will be made available in New Zealand by Nixa (WLP. 6209: 1 and 2). They should be generally procurable very shortly. This music should not be missed. The story of the Llangollen Festival is a triumph of enthusiasm over all sorts of difficulties. Llangollen is a place in North Wales where thev like to

sing. They had the idea that it might be a good thing to share their. singing; so they put. their heads together and their hands in their pockets and _borrowed whatever else they needed. In 1947 Llangollen launched its first International Eisteddfod, an epic gesture of international goodwill. Every July — since then, choirs, individual singers, players and dancers have gathered in Llangollen for a week of music as vital and heart-warming as you're ever likely to hear. They come (continued on next page)

(C) Punch

(continued from previous page) from all parts, from the Ukraine to Minnesota, U.S.A., and they pledge themselves in music which, starting as national, finishes by being universal. The Nixa recording carries the best of the 1952 festival, admirably introduced by Jack Bornoff, executive secretary of the International Music Council, and faithfully recorded--which must have been difficult considering that it was made on the spot. From the same department of folk music, but much more _ sophisticated, comes a recent recording of Manuel de Falla’s ballet music, The Three-Cor-nered Hat, performed by L’Orchestre de L‘Opéra-Comique, Paris, conducted by Jean Martinon, and with Amparito Pero de Pruliere singing the soprano solo with appropriate Spanish tang (Nixa ULP 9034). While this playing hasn’t quite the polish of the performance by L’Orchestra de la Suisse Romande (Decca LXT 2716), reviewed some months ago, its very brashness becomes part of the character of the music, making this a spirited, virile presentation. Still dancing, but in a different manner, Mozart’s Twenty Country Dances for Orchestra, by the Vienna State Opera Orchestra conducted by Franz Litschauer (Nixa VLP 426), make delightful listening if taken in small doses. Coda Sir Thomas Beecham’s Beethoven Sixth Symphony, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Columbia 33CX 1062), is all that you expect of Sir Thomas and his bright boys-clean, meticulous playing, the music faithfully interpreted and _ faithfully recorded. Mozart's "Prague" Symphony; with the Handel-Beecham Faithful Shepherd Suite on the reverse side (Columbia 33CX 1105), is played by the some company in the Beecham manner. The recording is by no means as good as the playing deserves. For symphonic music a little off the beaten track, there is

Borodin’s Symphony No. 1 in E Flat Major, with Symphonic Minutes, Op. 36 (Dohnanyi) on the back, both played admirably by the Bavarian Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kurt Graunke (Nixa ULP 9066). The Amadeus String Quartet’s performance of Schubert’s Quartet in D Minor ("Death and the Maiden’) (H.M.V. ALP 1088) is much. superior to that by the Hungarian Quartet (Nixa -CLP 1152), being livelier although maybe too much so in parts when what should be warmth comes out as gloss. The WQXR String Quartet produce imaginative and even brilliant playing in Cesar Franck’s String Quartet in D> (Nixa QLP 4010), which they contrive to make much more exciting than one | might have expected this music to be. For something to go with the nuts there are Six Italian Operatic Overtures turned out by the orchestra of the Berlin | Civic Opera conducted by Arthur. Rother (Nixa ULP 9057). |