BARBIROLLI conducts SIBELIUS' ORCHESTRAL
MUSIC
JEAN SIBELIUS
(1865-1957)
Hallé Orchestra
The HMV mono and Pye Stereo recordings
CD1 71.17
Symphony No. 2 (1902) [41:23] {45.57}
Swan of Tuonela (1893-7) [8.33] {7.51}
Symphony No. 7 (1924) [21.16] {21.54}
CD2 74.22
Symphony No. 1 (1898-9) [40.44] {41.50}
Symphony No. 5 (1914-19) [33:34] {33.15}
CD1 All recorded in mono by EMI 1949-55
CD2 All recorded in stereo by Pye
1957
ADD
DUTTON LABORATORIES The
Barbirolli Society CDSJB 1018
Crotchet
HMV's 5CD stereo collection of the complete Barbirolli Sibelius symphonies
made a splash earlier this year. It is phenomenally well transferred with
sound of a rich ferocity. The downside was that they caught Barbirolli in
old age and illness. Some interpretations have that tawny fire, notably Symphony
No. 1. However a certain 'accidie' invades symphonies 2, 3, 5 and 7. The
HMV set was Barbirolli's only complete cycle but in the 1950s he recorded
a number of single symphonies which are most valuably collected here. I have
reproduced the timings of the EMI 1960s comparators in curled brackets and
the Dutton set in squared brackets.
The Dutton Second Symphony has nothing of Oblomov about it. It is flammably
impetuous though still not the equal of the overwhelming and stunningly recorded
Chesky RPO version from 1962. The impetuosity can be heard in the string
surges at 1.48 in the first movement and the rush at 6.59 in the third movement.
The mono sound tends to 'clog' marginally at volume but the excitement and
vigour is patent and smartly catches you up in the drama no matter how well
you may know the music. The Second Symphony, mono and all, is a welcome antidote
to the torpor of the HMV 1960s stereo version.
Defying generalisation The Swan of Tuonela is slower in the Dutton
version than the 1960s HMV the richness of which makes the HMV set preferable
in this respect. Despite Roger Winfield's cor anglais neither version matches
the tension and slow concentration of magic in the 1960s Mravinsky on
BMG-Melodiya. Speaking of Mravinsky we come to the Seventh Symphony which,
in Barbirolli's hands, tends towards a steadier somnolent pace and an unwavering
inward quality. Nothing is rapped out. Contours are evened and smoothed.
The recording conspires in the same calming direction with the interpretation
becoming more incisive from 10.00 onwards. The voltage setting remains lower
but is preferable to the somnifacient HMV 1960s version. The Seventh is the
only work here to have been recorded at Abbey Road. The rest are taken from
the Hallé's own stamping ground, the Free Trade Hall, Manchester.
The set reproduces the original LP cover for the Seventh which intriguingly
was coupled with Rubbra 5.
My memories of the Pye two-channel recordings are based on the Golden Guinea
bargain reissue LPs of the 1960s and early 1970s. Accordingly I was astonished
by the clarity and attack evident in the second Dutton disc. The Golden Guinea
LPs sounded truly sub fusc; not so now. Cliff edge drama (listen to
the gruff and barbed brass at 11.01 in the first movement) and a rock-steady
control are notable in Dutton's mastering. Among all the flowing fire Barbirolli
is alive to the snow-fields' pastoral limpidity. The First must have been
a special favourite of Barbirolli's. It is also the most successful of the
symphonies in the HMV box. At 7.40 in the andante I have never heard the
fast rising and falling string waves given such exciting prominence. This
is a very special heart-racing performance in plangent 1957 sound (Ah those
quasi-Mahlerian strings at 9:40!) - a tribute to engineer Bob Auger as is
the Fifth Symphony.
The Fifth is also a Pye recording. The sound is prone to a subtle level of
'shatter' at high volume and impact. This is noticeable in the offbeat
hammer-blows that close the symphony. This is a very fine performance in
which everyone is on their toes not least in the ppp shadow world
of the skittering finale at 4.32 where the 1957 sound quality is stunning.
The chivalric writing emphasises for me the connection backwards to the
Lemminkainen Legends especially the Saari Adventures and the
Return. Would that Barbirolli had recorded the complete Legends.
Michael Kennedy's notes are always worth reading showing care to match the
text to the discs and particular performances. One correction: Barbirolli
did record the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Heifetz. The two discs are neatly
packaged in a single width case.
Reviewer
Rob Barnett
and Gerald Fenech adds:
This interesting package (like the Elgar before it) brings together Glorious
John's earlier and thus rather rare recordings of the Sibelius symphonies
closer to his heart. I always had some qualms and trepidations about his
later Sixties Halle' recordings, fine as these are, one cannot fail to notice
some excessive mannerisms here and there that detract from such superbly
structured pieces as the Fifth and Seventh. On the contrary these magnificently
refurbished Pye recordings demonstrate a grand sweep and manner that was
characteristic of Sir John's live performances so often talked about in
Manchester of the fifties. I was particularly taken by the emotional undercurrent
that runs through the Finale of the Fift, here barbirolli rivals the best
for grandeur and nobility. He is also cogently articulated in the Seventh
which reminded me of Beecham's classic 1940 NYPO reading and a subsequent
excellent version by Lorin Maazel on Decca (1967/VPO). The first two symphonies
were recorded almost five years apart but the Second is a very fine recording
indeed, quite matching his earlier NYPO version (also available on Dutton)
which realy has 'white heat' written all over it. In any case this 1952 Abbey
Road version is quite preferable to the last recording which has some squeaky
gesticulations and alterations in the Finale, which are not to my taste.
The same could go for this slickly played version of the First which has
a deep sense of hidden power that also places it amongst the best First's
that I have ever heard. Altogether, and with a haunting 'swan' as a bonus,
this release should now serve to be the 'Barbirolli Sibelius Album' complementing
the more famous (but not necessarily better) EMI set perfectly.
Gerald Fenech
Performance:
Sound:
***/****
