Record Reviews

by JOHN M. CONLY

Bach: Organ Works (Helmut Walcha, organ; Decca-Archive ARC3013/30: eighteen 12”). Odd to recount, and to experience, my reaction to this set of records was in very large part an access of humility before such a mighty and ecstatic display of musical beauty and devotion. Everything here conduces to the almost overpowering effect of the summation. All but the contested and fragmentary works of Bach are included. The blind organist has immersed himself in them: there may be alternative approaches to some of the music, but none, surely, more valid or stirring. The two organs, both ancient and not tampered with or “improved,” sing with the elemental sweetness of a past we cannot reach but which can reach us (for which be thanks). The recording has been accomplished with minute and loving care by the engineers of Deutsche Grammophon, and the disks themselves double-guarded in plastic. The whole issue is part of a history of Western music in recordings which promises to be monumental. But no other Western instrumental music can surpass — and almost none can match — the organ music of Johann Sebastian Bach. So here is probably the high point of this most ambitious project, and something no one who pretends to be a music lover can afford to ignore. I should suggest starting with either ARC-3021, which includes the C Minor Passacaglia and Fugue, or ARC-3029, intriguingly assembled under the title of Chorales of a Different Kind. After listening I felt, briefly, like a Human Being of a Different Kind, and so may you. It’s worth trying.

Bach: Concertos for Two Harpsichords in C Major, for Two Harpsichords in C Minor, for Violin and Oboe in D Minor (Helma Elsner and Rolf Reinhardt, harpsichords; Will Beh, violin; Rolf Reinhardt conducting Stuttgart Pro Musica Orchestra; Vox PL-9580: 12”). Both concertos, in their harpsichord versions, have been recorded before, and well. The Violin and Oboe Concerto — a precedent version of the C Minor Harpsichord Concerto — is new and overdue to major-league LP. It is one of Bach’s most fetching concertos, warm and winsome, and although it is paced here a little briskly for my taste, it still is welcome. The recording is brightly intimate, as chamber-music records should be.

Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta (Sir Adrian Boult conducting the Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra; Westminster W-LAB-7021: 12”). Sonic impact is paramount for effectiveness in this engaging tour de force that is more than a tour de force, and here the sonic impact is quite beyond cavil. So is Boult’s shrewd pacing, which makes the whole thing well worth its premium price.

Brahms: Sonatas for Viola and Piano, Opus 120 (Paul Doktor, viola; Nadia Reisenberg, piano; Westminster WN-18114: 12”). These were published simultaneously as sonatas for clarinet and for viola. In the latter version, I had not heard them until now. Whereafter, I agree with Sir Donald Tovey that they are better in the viola than in the clarinet version; there is a tenderness in the strings that the reed cannot quite match, even when Kell is the artist, and it is important here. Doktor and Reisenberg — a marvelously expressive pianist — leave nothing to be desired, and the reproduction is adequate to their intent.

Corelli: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6, No. 8, “Christmas,” and No. 11 (Argeo Quadri conducting the English Baroque Orchestra; Westminster W-LAB-7015: 12”). Most of Westminster’s laboratory-standard super-fi series has been devoted to loud music. It is a real joy to hear a chamber orchestra get the same treatment, and the illusion of actual presence is quite startling. Corelli’s two lovely concertos are played with fitting charm.

Debussy:La Mer;Nocturnes (Pierre Monteux conducting Boston Symphony Orchestra and Berkshire Festival Chorus; RCA Victor LM1939: 12”). The gorgeous tone of the Boston orchestra is so compelling that only after La Mer has ended does one realize that he was getting more color than content. At least, that’s how it affected me. I couldn’t get seaborne, somehow, as I nearly always can by the Toscanini reading (on old RCA Victor LM-1221, with un-“enhanced” sound). No fault whatever to find with the Nocturnes.

Mozart:Le Nozze di Figaro (two versions: Erich Kleiber conducting Lisa della Casa, Hilde Gueden, Suzanne Danco, Alfred Poell, Cesare Siepi; other soloists; Vienna State Opera Chorus and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; London XLLA-35: four 12". Vittorio Gui conducting Sena Jurinac, Graziella Sciutti, Risë Stevens, Franco Calabrese, Sesto Bruscantini; other soloists; Glyndebourne Festival Chorus and Orchestra; RCA Victor LM-6401: four 12”). Here is no lopsided competition. On RCA Victor’s side, Jurinac’s Countess edges out della Casa’s, Sciutti’s Susanna matches Gueden’s, Bruscantini’s Figaro shades Siepi’s, and Calabrese’s Count outpoints Poell’s. London has the better Cherubino (Danco), and — wherein the whole picture changes — London has Kleiber and the Vienna Philharmonic. In finish, richness and dramatic continuity, the Glyndebourne production simply cannot compete; I must vote for London’s as the best Marriage of Figaro. However, I do like RCA Victor’s gift of two ItalianEnglish libretti better than London’s of a piano score.

Puccini:Turandot (Renata Tebaldi, Inge Borkh, Mario del Monaco, Fernando Corena; other singers; Alberto Erede conducting Chorus and Orchestra of the Academy of St. Cecilia, Rome; London XLLA-36: three 12”). Puccini died before Turandot was finished, and Franco Alfano composed its close, but that is not why it never has seemed to me real Puccini. In trying to extend his philosophic reach, he sacrificed some of his earlier inspired showmanship, and the opera moves massively. This is its best current version, beyond doubt, but it isn’t faultless. Tebaldi, a big and luscious Liù, makes Borkh sound like a very small, chilly Turandot. The men are adequate in their parts. The sound is splendid, and Erede maintains all the continuity the work permits. There’ll be another Turandot along soon, I believe, by Angel, probably with Callas.

Scarlatti: Eight Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord (Julian Olevsky, violin; Fernando Valenti, harpsichord; Westminster WN-18113: 12”). An attractive novelty, these are very early Scarlatti, with a “period” flavor and grace. A great man’s beginnings are always interesting. To see how great the great man got, buy also Volume 12 of the complete Harpsichord Sonatas in performance by Valenti, just out (Westminster WN18102). Excellent sound in both.

Schubert:Die Winterreise with Schumann:Liederkreis (Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Gerald Moore, piano; RCA Vidor LM-6036: two 12“). This is one of the best records of this or any month, and I do not want to indulge in any talk of whether Sehiötz or Hüsch could, in his prime, have bettered FischerDieskau. The fact is, we have FischerDieskau, and he is good enough for me. His voice has, I think, some dynamic limitations, but they are not important in these songs. What is important is the wonderful conveyance of tenderness and pathos he contrives through tone and inflection. There is high and sensitive intelligence in this singing, and earnest commitment, and much work behind it. Gerald Moore is his usual, quietly brilliant self. A memorable album.

British Band Glassics — Gustav Holst: Suites No. 1 and No. 2; Ralph Vaughan Williams:Toccata Marsiale;Folksong Suite (Frederick Fennell conducting Eastman Symphonic Wind Ensemble; Mercury MG-40015: 12”). There apparently has been much writing for wind-band, some of it by major composers, of which we know very little. Mr. Fennell, in Rochester, has dedicated himself to dispelling this ignorance, with the brilliant assistance of his Eastman School band. Gustav Holst, it appears, entered music as a trombonist and never lost his love for brasses. Some of it he communicated to his friend Vaughan Williams. Four samplings of the results we hear on this record, a revelation. The music is big, bright, and gay, without a dull moment, but at the same time clever and subtle. The band projects its propulsive vitality with a finesse I somehow never have connected with brass bands, and Mercury has transferred the whole thing to disks with hair-raising effect. A truly new, and very exciting, musical experience.