This is another welcome
issue from Australian Eloquence’s Rachmaninov
series. Unlike the Kletzki and Weller
symphony discs, recently reviewed, this
is not a first issue but it is no less
welcome from Rachmaninov’s favourite
orchestra at budget price. The conductor,
Charles Dutoit, is not known for his
passion in romantic repertoire and that
holds good here. The use of mostly Russian
soloists helps enormously with the singing
of the texts. Nevertheless the American
Choir cope extremely well with their
part.
This disc couples all
of Rachmaninov’s works for choir and
orchestra. This is a nice idea and the
performances, whilst not the best available,
are more than satisfactory and allow
enthusiasts to enjoy these works at
super budget price. In a recent BBC
Review, The Bells was discussed.
These performances were unavailable
at the time, which is a shame, as they
would, I am sure, come out quite well
in competition with the others currently
available. My own favourite, Kondrashin
with the Moscow Philharmonic and all
Russian voices is my Desert Island choice
for this work, even given the rather
raucous tone of the recording. This
was similarly unavailable for the BBC
review.
The Bells is
a choral symphony in four tableaux inspired
by Edgar Allan Poe’s re-interpretation
of the Russian tale by Konstantin Balmont.
The work forms a life-to-death picture
of human existence, expressed through
the metaphor of bell sounds. We hear
the silver bells of birth and youth,
the golden bells of marriage of marriage
and love, the brazen alarm bells of
terror and anguish, and finally the
iron knell of death and burial. This
recording handles the forces well and
Decca seem to have generated a warm
and lively acoustic for the orchestra
and choir. So often recently, have recordings
of this superb orchestra not done its
mahogany tone full justice. Philadelphia
does not however have a recording venue
like the one provided for Dutoit in
his usual location in Montreal.
The next work on the
disc, Spring, suggests a re-birth,
based upon the poem by Nikolay Nekrasov.
In its way the piece was also a re-birth
for the composer, after his long bout
of depression following the disastrous
premiere of his First Symphony. In the
poem, a peasant, having spent the summer
in the city, returns to his village,
and learns from his wife that she has
been unfaithful to him. As they spend
the winter months cooped up together
in the cold and dark, the peasant’s
feelings become bleak and he considers
revenge. As the spring season starts,
rage and bitterness ebbs away and these
dark feelings are replaced with hope
and light. Love, endurance and forgiveness
are the main themes at this point, and
the soloist, supported by the chorus,
sings of these things, before the work
ebbs away into calm. This piece, intended
originally for Chaliapin is well written
and is highly characteristic of its
composer.
The Three Russian
Songs are for chorus and orchestra,
the first for male only, the second
for female voices, and the last for
mixed voices all with orchestra. Dutoit
paces these well and Rachmaninov’s mature
scoring and writing is immensely satisfying.
I enjoyed this disc
very much. More goodies from Australia
– well done Eloquence – keep up the
good work.
John Phillips
Alexandrina Pendachanska Op.35, (soprano) 
