BBCSSO, 28/11/2019
Haydn : Symphony No. 22 "The Philosopher"
Ligeti : Mysteries of the Macabre (Sara Hershkowitz, soprano)
Wagner/de Vlieger : The Ring: an orchestral adventure
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Antony Hermus
For a concert that was mostly going to lie in the realms of excess, one way or another, it began very decorously, with a dignified performance of Haydn's Symphony No. 22. It's a relatively early work, Haydn had not long joined the entourage of Prince Esterhazy, and you can still hear a harpsichord jangling discreetly in the background, and the structure of the symphony, the slow-fast-slow-fast pattern of movements, still belongs to the Baroque, rather than the Classical era. However, the first movement, with its walking bass and unison cor anglais pair, is very striking, to the point that I was distinctly hearing the "trials" scene of The Magic Flute - which post-dates the symphony by almost thirty years - clearly evoked.
Mysteries of the Macabre is described as three arias from Ligeti's surreal opera Le Grand Macabre arranged into a concert suite for coloratura soprano - or trumpet - and orchestra. In fact, it's the three 'arias', if such they can be called, of the same character, the chief of espionage Gepopo, conflated into a single number. It's certainly a tour-de-force number for the singer, and for the orchestral percussionists, who are kept busy. It's incomprehensible, but it's meant to be, and was delivered with a kind of mini-staging that saw Sara Hershkowitz swigging from a bottle of Irn Bru, poor woman! I hope she knew what she was getting when landed with that piece of local colour. I'm reasonably certain Hershkowitz, Hermus and the orchestra gave it their all, and it was undoubtedly entertaining. However, I'm also certain that I won't be voluntarily buying a ticket to see the complete Grand Macabre any time soon.
The complete Ring cycle is a different matter, I have seen it, and lived with recordings of it all my life. The final scene of Die Walküre is one of my very earliest musical memories. Dutch percussionist and composer Henk de Vlieger has made something of a name for himself with his symphonic renditions of several Wagner operas, notably his 65-minute reduction of the 16-odd hours of the Ring Cycle. The music consists mainly of the best-known highlights, primarily the orchestral ones, and de Vlieger barely touches Wagner's orchestration, not even transposing the vocal line, where there is one, into the texture most of the time. He does create some linking passages, to create a cohesive whole, so there's a fleeting passage reflecting the mortal conflict between Siegmund and Hunding that begins Die Walküre, before the music launches into the Ride of the Valkyries, or there are a couple of pages of music evoking the Gibichung palace and its occupants between Siegfried's Rhine Journey, and the Funeral March.
De Vlieger has tried to present this as a seamless whole within a rough symphonic structure. Sometimes it works, notably in the transition between Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, sometimes less so - I found the switch from the Prelude of Rheingold to the descent into Nibelheim, and then back up to Valhalla, a little awkward. Also, viewing the operas symphonically, Siegfried has always been the scherzo, whereas de Vlieger uses it as his 'slow movement'. Still, the actual material is never less than glorious, even if I do miss the voices at times. I admit to being curious as to what someone completely unfamiliar with the actual vocal works makes of it, if it sounds complete, or if they're aware of something missing.
The fact remains that this is demanding music to play, and in a concert version like this, without the distraction, or added attraction, of voices, never mind staging, the orchestra, especially the brass, is cruelly exposed. You are up close and personal with the band, and every little defect, which could pass without undue comment in the theatre, is terribly obvious here. The conductor, Antony Hermus, has what looks like quite a solid c.v. where opera is concerned, and he has conducted at least one Ring Cycle, but it took a long time for me to warm up to his Wagner. Not until the Awakening - Siegfried crossing the magic fire to reach Brünnhilde - did I feel that we were really getting to grips with Wagner. From then on until the end, the performance was excellent, a strong Love Scene, a sprightly Rhine Journey, a searing Funeral March, and an blazing Immolation Scene, all as it should be. By that time, however, we were two-thirds through the piece, and before that point, the work felt uneven and the horns (nine of them, with four doubling on Wagner tubas) were not having a particularly good day. As I said, the least scuff on a note tended to leap out in a way it would not in a fully staged performance. Still, Wagner's magic remains irresistible, and the fires of Götterdämmerung duly set the hall alight to bring the evening to an uplifting close.
[Next : 30th November]
Ligeti : Mysteries of the Macabre (Sara Hershkowitz, soprano)
Wagner/de Vlieger : The Ring: an orchestral adventure
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Antony Hermus
For a concert that was mostly going to lie in the realms of excess, one way or another, it began very decorously, with a dignified performance of Haydn's Symphony No. 22. It's a relatively early work, Haydn had not long joined the entourage of Prince Esterhazy, and you can still hear a harpsichord jangling discreetly in the background, and the structure of the symphony, the slow-fast-slow-fast pattern of movements, still belongs to the Baroque, rather than the Classical era. However, the first movement, with its walking bass and unison cor anglais pair, is very striking, to the point that I was distinctly hearing the "trials" scene of The Magic Flute - which post-dates the symphony by almost thirty years - clearly evoked.
Mysteries of the Macabre is described as three arias from Ligeti's surreal opera Le Grand Macabre arranged into a concert suite for coloratura soprano - or trumpet - and orchestra. In fact, it's the three 'arias', if such they can be called, of the same character, the chief of espionage Gepopo, conflated into a single number. It's certainly a tour-de-force number for the singer, and for the orchestral percussionists, who are kept busy. It's incomprehensible, but it's meant to be, and was delivered with a kind of mini-staging that saw Sara Hershkowitz swigging from a bottle of Irn Bru, poor woman! I hope she knew what she was getting when landed with that piece of local colour. I'm reasonably certain Hershkowitz, Hermus and the orchestra gave it their all, and it was undoubtedly entertaining. However, I'm also certain that I won't be voluntarily buying a ticket to see the complete Grand Macabre any time soon.
The complete Ring cycle is a different matter, I have seen it, and lived with recordings of it all my life. The final scene of Die Walküre is one of my very earliest musical memories. Dutch percussionist and composer Henk de Vlieger has made something of a name for himself with his symphonic renditions of several Wagner operas, notably his 65-minute reduction of the 16-odd hours of the Ring Cycle. The music consists mainly of the best-known highlights, primarily the orchestral ones, and de Vlieger barely touches Wagner's orchestration, not even transposing the vocal line, where there is one, into the texture most of the time. He does create some linking passages, to create a cohesive whole, so there's a fleeting passage reflecting the mortal conflict between Siegmund and Hunding that begins Die Walküre, before the music launches into the Ride of the Valkyries, or there are a couple of pages of music evoking the Gibichung palace and its occupants between Siegfried's Rhine Journey, and the Funeral March.
De Vlieger has tried to present this as a seamless whole within a rough symphonic structure. Sometimes it works, notably in the transition between Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, sometimes less so - I found the switch from the Prelude of Rheingold to the descent into Nibelheim, and then back up to Valhalla, a little awkward. Also, viewing the operas symphonically, Siegfried has always been the scherzo, whereas de Vlieger uses it as his 'slow movement'. Still, the actual material is never less than glorious, even if I do miss the voices at times. I admit to being curious as to what someone completely unfamiliar with the actual vocal works makes of it, if it sounds complete, or if they're aware of something missing.
The fact remains that this is demanding music to play, and in a concert version like this, without the distraction, or added attraction, of voices, never mind staging, the orchestra, especially the brass, is cruelly exposed. You are up close and personal with the band, and every little defect, which could pass without undue comment in the theatre, is terribly obvious here. The conductor, Antony Hermus, has what looks like quite a solid c.v. where opera is concerned, and he has conducted at least one Ring Cycle, but it took a long time for me to warm up to his Wagner. Not until the Awakening - Siegfried crossing the magic fire to reach Brünnhilde - did I feel that we were really getting to grips with Wagner. From then on until the end, the performance was excellent, a strong Love Scene, a sprightly Rhine Journey, a searing Funeral March, and an blazing Immolation Scene, all as it should be. By that time, however, we were two-thirds through the piece, and before that point, the work felt uneven and the horns (nine of them, with four doubling on Wagner tubas) were not having a particularly good day. As I said, the least scuff on a note tended to leap out in a way it would not in a fully staged performance. Still, Wagner's magic remains irresistible, and the fires of Götterdämmerung duly set the hall alight to bring the evening to an uplifting close.
[Next : 30th November]