There is no more authoritative
Stravinskian around today than the American,
Robert Craft. Indeed, from 1948 until
Stravinsky’s death in 1971, Craft was
closely allied with the composer, first
as assistant, later in a closer, almost
filial relationship. This recording
forms part of a massive project launched
by the MusicMasters label and now taken
up by Naxos with the 82 year old Craft:
the recording of the complete works
of Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Webern.
Stylistically, the
music on this CD has an authentic ring
to it, and Craft sets his tempi with
unerringly good judgement – such a vital
factor in Stravinsky’s work.
Stravinsky’s instrumentation
is often quirky, even eccentric, though
it almost always works wonderfully well.
But it does need a conductor with an
excellent ear for balance, and here
Craft again succeeds admirably. The
solo voices are projected without difficulty,
but with a most natural sounding recording
perspective. In Oedipus, the
sensitivity of the Philharmonia players
is very much in evidence, as is the
excellent work of the men of Simon Joly’s
chorus. This is demanding stuff for
the male chorus, for they have to sing
at times with great delicacy, at others
with the roughness of football hooligans!
The soloists are mostly more than capable,
particular praise going to Martyn Hill
in his passionate portrayal of the ‘title
rôle’. Only Joseph Cornwell seems
less than comfortable in the small but
vital part of the Shepherd, sounding
as if the part lies a little too high
for him. The part of the Narrator is
superbly delivered by Edward Fox; though
his approach is restrained and understated,
he manages to fill the text where necessary
with a sense of ominous dread.
Les Noces is
equally successful, possibly even more
so. This is one of the truly seminal
works of 20th century music,
whose massive influence on later composers
is belied by its relatively small size.
The sense of ceremony, of ritual, the
use of raw folk idioms and the clangorous
percussion effects all made an immense
impression on composers all the way
from Orff in Carmina Burana to
Bernstein in Chichester Psalms.
It was a great achievement to produce
such an idiomatic performance with a
group of non-Russian singers. It’s not
just the fluent pronunciation of the
language (no mean task in music of such
speed and rhythmic complexity); the
voices themselves have been chosen for
their earthy quality, just right for
the piece. This applies most of all
to the Simon Joly Chorale, who take
the lead in what is essentially an ensemble
piece, and sing with great style and
vigour.
An enormously enjoyable
and, for all admirers of this central
figure of 20th century music,
indispensable addition to the Stravinsky
discography.
Gwyn Parry-Jones
Recorded at Abbey Road Studio One, London,
England, on Jan.8th-9th
2001 (Les Noces) and June 2001 (Oedipus Rex) 
