Pineapple Poll was a splendid idea,
when you think about it. A ballet based on Sullivan's great tunes
- drawn mostly from the G&S canon, of course, with sprinklings
from Cox and Box and the Overture Di Ballo - was
bound to find an immediate audience among Savoyards. On the other
hand, the presentation of the music in purely orchestral guise
- disencumbered of the more precious mannerisms associated with
the genre - might well have won it fans among confirmed G&S
haters as well. It really was a no-lose proposition.
The inherent hazard here for Savoyard types is the almost irresistible
tendency to play "name that tune"; I know I'm always
"singing along" in my head. But Mackerras was shrewd,
arranging most of the longer dances as sequences of shorter
chunks, rather than transplanting entire numbers or choruses
intact. We hear each theme just long enough to enjoy it, but
not so long as to risk getting mired in thoughts of the original
sources.
The bounding energy with which David Lloyd-Jones invests the opening
dances helps things along. The successive themes tumble, one
upon the next, to kaleidoscopic effect. At first it's hard
not to be drawn by the infectious rhythm and forward drive.
Soon, however, one notices that the musical characterizations
are rather generic: the faster movements are zippy, the lyric
ones droop a bit. And there's enough of a sense of untidiness
around accompanying figures, a distinct unease at some transitions
(In a doleful train almost has a false start) to reveal
that Lloyd-Jones's technical control isn't really up to par,
though the orchestration, balancing, and engineering conspire
to distract us by bringing the melodies well forward.
I suspect Lloyd-Jones likes the Irish Symphony better than the
ballet. Certainly he's more nearly on its wavelength, and
three of its four movements are nicely turned. The opening
movement is taut and dramatic, though the big build-ups are
clouded in ambient resonance. The third movement, an Allegretto
scherzo, comes off with a jaunty "nautical" flavor
-- not Pinafore but Vaughan Williams - expanded into
"symphonic" scale. The finale is bracing, with contrasting
moments of calm. The snag is the Andante espressivo,
which sings forthrightly, but wants more breathing room; more
critically, Lloyd-Jones seems deaf to its subtleties of texture.
Mackerras himself has recorded Poll twice; coincidentally, I
recently heard the Classics for Pleasure reissue of his first
recording, from the early 1960s. Not only is it more crisply
played than the new one, but Sir Charles gives the various
dances sharper, more individual profiles, phrasing the lyric
episodes more affectionately. His Decca remake, too, is impressive,
but the brilliant sonics are perhaps too insistently digital.
Another Sir Charles - Groves
- recorded my favorite Irish Symphony (EMI), but I
can't vouch for its availability on silver disc.
Stephen Francis Vasta
see also Review
by Michael Greenhalgh
