From the Sublime to the...?

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 785, 6 August 1954, Page 16

From the Sublime to the...?

A monthly review by

OWEN

JENSEN

OR much more than a thousand years the music of the Gregorian Plainchant has been sung in many of the great churches of Christendom, elevating the devout from earthy problems to a more serene world of the spirit. Now this same elixir in sound may be taken at home, packaged in five LP discs (Decca LXT 2704-08). At first thought this may seem something like taking the sublime, if not to the ridiculous, at least to the incongruous, for the 20th Century drawing-room is far removed from the vast open spaces of piety. Play the music, however, and you discover how readily its simple strength becomes effective, transposing the imagination into the world from which the music came. Gregorian Plainchant must be accounted as eternal as any of our music and possibly as universal, too. The monks of the Abbey of St. Pierre de Solesmes, whose choir has made these records, have for many years made an exhaustive study of all extant sources of this ancient music to present it for our present-day in its purest and most authentic form. As such, these five LP discs must be regarded as among the most important of recent recordings. Vaughan Williams’s first symphony, A Sea Symphony, also speaks. of things of the spirit, the mystery of the sea, as' expressed through the poetry of Walt Whitman. In A Sea Symphony Vaughan Williams made the best of two worlds, getting one foot in on the orchestral repertoire and, by the extensive use of choir and soloists, producing a work suitable for the English choral festivals which have nurtured so many English composers. A Sea Symphony was, in fact, first performed at one of the Leeds Festivals. It is a symphony in that it has the typical four movements which are cast, for the most part, in symphonic design; but the inclusion of choir almost continuously throughout, and work for soprano and baritone, gives it the character of a large-scale cantata. A Sea Symphony is one of Vaughan Williams’s noblest works, and receives now a much overdue first recording. Isobel Baillie, Jom: .Cameron, the’ London Philharmonic Choir, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult (Decca LXT 2907-08) perform the work magnificently. If in the recording there is the inevitable loss of some of the details, there is in compensation an effective balance of Vaughan Williams’s great masses of tone, and moments, too, of great beauty like the opening of the last movement. Incidentally, one wonders with an LP set whether the awkward break in the last movement, necessitating a turn over, could not have been avoided. Anyhow, for good measure, this means that you get che whole of Vaughan Williams's "Wasps" music on the fourth side. Neither Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor nor Kodaly’s Quartet Mo. 2 can be accounted great music, but ineratiating tunes and lively rhythms make both of them pleasurable listening, a pleasure which is largely contributed to by the fine playing of the Vegh Quartet (Decca LXT 2876). Kodaly, by the way, would be a reasonable entrance into contemporary music, being of our time but

eS ve eS OS SS ee ee speaking plainly and simply enough about it, not overtaking the ear with unfamiliar sounds Sound But No Fury Schumann’s Concerto for ‘Cello and Orchestra, Op. 129, betrays, says one writer, "an increasing hankering for academic respectability," a tendency to be discouraged in any composer, but a fatal defect in one of Schumann’s romantic temperament. However, Clara Schumann noted in her diary about this concerto: "The romantic quality, the freshness and the humour, and also the inter-weaving of violoncello and orchestra, are, indeed, wholly ravishing; and what euphony and deep feeling there are in all the melodic passages!" It’s all in the point of view; you pays your money and takes your choice. And on this dise you do have a choice. if the Schumann concerto is not romantic enough for you, there is the lush Kol Nidrei of Max Bruch on the other side; and if you wish for something more "classical," there is, too, a delightful *cello concerto by John Christian Bach. Joseph Schuster’s rich tone makes tie most of the lyricism of the music and he has, too, no mean technique. The Los Angeles Orchestra Society conducted by Franz Waxman (Capitol CTL 7041) give a good account of themselves in the accompanying music. Talking about romanticism, I rather feel that pianist Branka Musulin’s heart is not altogether in his playing of the two Chopin piano concertos with the Stuttgart Suddeutcher Rundfunks Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hans Muller-Kray (Nixa PLP 574), although his playing is by no means to be dismissed lightly. His technique is competent enough to deal easily with Chopin’s difficulties, and his tone fluid -although the recording does not always disguise a percussive hardness in the piano-and the orchestra makes Chopin’s orchestration sound better than it is. But-well, you know what Chopin is, and it depends a little on how much you expect of'a pianist in the matter of the music’s romantic spirit. Before we leave this department, mention must be made of the redoubtable Janos Starker’s ‘cello playing of Music from Spain. Where Joseph Schuster with his Schumann, Bruch and Bach is warm and meticulous, Starker is redhot and brilliant. This music of Manuel de Falla (Seven Popular Spanish Songs and Ritual Fire Dance), Torroba, Granados, Albeniz and Cassado is the sort of thing Starker brings off particularly well (Nixa PL 584). He is assisted by a pianist, Leon Pommers, who gives the accompaniments as much character as the solo part. Curiously, Janos Starker brings to mind the singing of Inez Matthews in a bunch of Negro Spirituals (Nixa PLP 580). This singer has Starker’s knack of projecting the personality through the music, singing not only for you, but to, and with you. She has a quite magnificent voice, both warm and vivacious. If you like Negro spirituals, I think you will prebably like this disc of them. Cocktail Coda You can probably save a little money when throwing that next five o’clock party by using the disc of "Cocktail

Capers," played by the Art Van Damme Quintette (Capitol LC 6622) instead of an excess of liquid stimulant. Discreet and sophisticated, "an intimate cocktail combination that any hostess would give her sable stole to present to her guests" (that’s the record cover, not me), this music should go well with the chatter and even limber it up a bit. If you haven’t a sable stole, maybe you'd better stick to the "Goodman Touch" (Capitol LC 6620), which swings-I am indebted again to the record cover"lightly and politely." If the party needs livening up, you could put on "Ragtime Jamboree" by the Lawson-Haggart Jazz Band (Brunswick LA- 8635), although I am not prepared to take any responsibility for the possible results. For something exotic, try Ben and his Tropical Rhythm Kings (Nixa LPY 123); whose mambos, rumbas, sambas, boleros and guarachas are calculated to warm up the party a bit; but if it’s something more respectable you’re wanting, "Music in the Night," by the Cincinnati Summer Opera Orchestra (Brunswick AXTL 1035) might fill the bill. When I mention that it contains "Claire de Lune," "Liebestraum," "Flight of the Bumble Bee" and a bunch of operatic waltzes, you'll know what I mean. Incidentally, almost all the record covers could be used as wall decorations for the party.