Naxos have shown real
commitment to the Alsop’s Barber. This
is the fifth CD in the series. It’s
another strong collection too. It kicks
off with Knoxville -
a work whose praises I have already
sung in my reviews of the Steber (Sony),
McGurk (Regis) and Upshaw (Teldec).
This nostalgia-soaked soliloquy for
soprano and orchestra is part scena,
part meditation. The singer’s key to
success in this work is achieving a
balance of clarity of enunciation and
satisfying its operatic demands. Upshaw
manages the best balance overall and
does so most movingly. The historic
mono recording by Steber is unmissable
for serious Barber fans. McGurk and
Gauvin are very similar in vocal signature.
Gauvin piles on the pressure when called
for yet can relax and be confiding when
necessary. She poignantly suggests the
child in James Agee's picture of a family
lying on their backs in the garden looking
up at the night sky’s stars. Helpfully
Naxos provide the full text in the insert.
These two orchestral
Essays stare at each other across the
divide of 34 years. The Second
Essay belongs to 1942, a Bruno
Walter commission (Walter had famously
recorded the First Symphony - now on
Pearl). Its heated late-romantic style
was in keeping with the times although
the first signs of cultural trends pealing
away from Barber were in the air. The
Third Essay is given a
suitably torrid outing with much darkly
refulgent tone and mountain top dramatics.
The sense of melody is there but, apart
from at 3.10 onwards, direct tunes are
fleeting and subtle visitors. Again
this is warm music-making; when premiered
it must have seemed gear-crunchingly
out of step with the musical norms of
the time. Now it hardly matters; we
can enjoy the work for what it is. Contrary
to Daniel Felsenfeld's views in the
notes the work feels more inchoate than
the other two Essays. It is however
a generous and often enjoyable slice
of Barber written five years before
his death.
The Toccata Festiva
is of about the same duration
as the Third Essay. The tender
rocking theme at 2.30 onwards is notable.
At 5.01 there are some dissonant orchestral
protests and the Straussian upward-striking
gestures at 6.20 link with his ballet
Souvenirs. There is also some
very nice dynamic terracing by the horns
(8.00). This is a work that sometimes
adopts a tense Hispanic lyricism.
This is a soundly chosen
and executed collection, excellently
performed. If you are collecting the
series you will not be unhappy. If you
wanted to sample then this is a good
place to start if you like the sound
of Knoxville. Hard core Barber
fans will want the disc for the rare
Toccata which ends in a brawl
of splendour, dazzling, hoarse and clamant.
Rob Barnett
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Marin Alsop
