Prom 75: VPO/Rattle - Elgar Dream of Gerontius (11.09.15)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

And yes, you never know, it could be very different tomorrow.......

It's Bychkov conducting Brahms and Schmidt tomorrow.

Roderick Davies - just about adequate in vocal scale.

Who???

It was a pity about the top A omission. It is only a small-print alternative, but it's the one most angel/mezzos go for.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Certainly more appropriate than 'Jesus, Maria - I am near to death....'

The thought did worry me. . .

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I was eyeing up a performance of something or other in Berlin in February 2016 . BPO and Rattle. Guess who the Mezzo is?

BPO Mahler 2 Festival hall this year...Mezzo? you guessed it.

Nepotism is never good - neither is cronyism. Yet both are rife in the world of music.

[Prommer]

Well, it should be quite something to hear the VPO play this... I am up in the second tier to the left of the stage. God knows what the sound will be like. Anyone been up (or down) there?

[Nick Armstrong]

Nepotism is never good - neither is cronyism. Yet both are rife in the world of music.

It came across as toe-curlingly cosy the other weekend to hear Gus Christie come on stage at Glyndebourne to deliver the end-of-season speech, apologising to his wife (who we'd just heard turning in very good performances in the Ravel double-bill) for not letting her have the last word (humorous murmurs among the audience). Not a bad move for Mlle. de Niese to have married the Chairman... Still, Mrs Christie had delivered 100% on the artistic front (having done so on the maternal front in June) so no complaints!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Did I promise a review? I don't think so, though someone did ask. Here goes:-

The reception given to the man who put Birmingham on the musical map some three and a half decades ago was given a rousing reception in the hall he had inspired. From the first notes, any doubts that the Vienna Philharmonic would not be able to play Elgar idiomatically were quickly dispelled, with the orchestra's glow interpreting Elgar's music as it may never have been heard before by a British audience.
Gerontius's first entry may have appeared tentative to some, but it was true to the composer's markings. Toby Spence gave a confident and accurate reading, but one which perhaps lacked the degree of depth of other interpreters. But the quality of the BBC Youth Proms Choir was the surprise of the day. The commitment of these young singers should give food for thought to those in musical education who seek the easy option of concentrating on popular music and denying opportunities for quality group singing.
Toby Spence was dramatic in the Sanctus fortis, aided by Sir Simon's responsive accompaniment in Elgar's frequent variations of tempo.
The exact selection of the semi-chorus from the mass of the full choir would have been an internal decision, but it appeared that this smaller group contained the more “trained” singers. Thus the group intended to sound more ethereal in the “Noe from the waters in a saving home” section actually contained voices with a degree of vibrato, so maybe their selection for this elite group was not ideal. However, the effect was slight and inoffensive for the most part.
Whatever the strengths of Toby Spence's Gerontius, Roderick Williams' Priest was in a class of its own – strong and decisive, and balanced superbly against the mighty choir – a moving close to Part I. There was no audience applause at the moment where the concert interval would normally be, even when the conductor and soloists left the stage for a brief moment, but there was applause when Sir Simon returned with Magdalena Kožená and Toby Spence, there was warm and appreciative applause.
It was Magdalena who risked degrading a fine performance. From the start, she seemed to lack projection in the quiet passages, and her body language gave the impression she felt more at home in the opera house than on the concert stage. This feeling was confirmed in the duet “A presage falls upon thee”, a passage not dissimilar to the love duet in Part III of Elgar's cantata “Caractacus”. Here, Magdalena Kožená was heard at her dramatic best.
Few choirs can sound demonic enough for the “hell” scene – Barbirolli's Hallé Choir of 1965 comes closest - but the Youth Choir clearly enjoyed the venom of this passage, and the Vienna Philharmonic responded magnificently..
But the moment of truth in this was the climax of the work – Elgar's stunning setting of “Praise to the Holiest in the Height”. W. H. Reed quoted a comment made to Elgar during the work's composition - “You are going to include the Ancient and Modern version of Praise to the Holiest?” When one hears a choir and orchestra like the VPO and Proms Youth Choir play and sing what Elgar actually wrote, it comes as no surprise to hear of the composer's annoyance at the unhelpful suggestion.
Perhaps Sir Simon came into his own in the work's final pages, with the various themes interweaving in layers that give the ending of Wagner's Götterdämmerung a run for its money.
A performance that is likely remain in the memory for a considerable time.

[Barbirollians]

Well Rattle did also record with his first wife Elise Ross.

[greenilex]

Lovely to have a full-length review. Thank you so much.

[Pabmusic]

Did I promise a review? I don't think so, though someone did ask. Here goes:- ...

Well done, EA!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Well done, EA!

... although, for a moment there, Alpie had me thinking that Louis Fremaux had turned up to conduct.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

... although, for a moment there, Alpie had me thinking that Louis Fremaux had turned up to conduct.

Hmm. . . I see what you mean.

[verismissimo]

Lovely to have a full-length review. Thank you so much.

Yes, thanks to Alpie for a thoughtful and detailed review, nearly all of which reflects my own experience in the hall. Perhaps I would add that S Rattle's intimate knowledge of the hall enabled him to obtain really first class sound throughout - something that will be hard to obtain in the Albert Hall this evening.

The only aspect where I felt differently from EA (and others) was in my response to Magdalena Kozena. I was seriously apprehensive about how she would deal with her role. How could she possibly match Janet Baker, Gladys Ripley, even Margaret Balfour? What struck me most forcibly about Kozena's performance was that she made no attempt to imitate those singers, making her interpretation very much her own - more operatic than the traditional British approach, for sure, but why not. It was, for me, both fresh and musically convincing. I also expected that we would have to endure some very exotic English vowels, but her pronunciation seemed to me almost faultless.

[Pabmusic]

... although, for a moment there, Alpie had me thinking that Louis Fremaux had turned up to conduct.

Oh yes! Can I make it half a pint? No - go on, it's still very good.

[Prommer]

If the VPO's playing of Nimrod this evening (as an encore) is anything to go by, we have a treat indeed in store for Gerontius.

A very nice way of linking the two concerts together, too.

[EdgeleyRob]

Did I promise a review? I don't think so, though someone did ask. Here goes:-

Many thanks for this wonderful review EA,I can't wait to hear the piece tomorrow