John Sheppard welcomed Volume
1 of this Dvořák series in February and I won’t repeat
what he wrote about the filming of these performances since the
venue and director are the same. I fully agree with him on the
excellent camerawork throughout the DVD. As in the earlier issue,
these works seem to be performed at more than one concert. No
specific dates are given, but just the year: 1993.
The
programme begins with the first five of Dvořák’s cycle
of ten Biblical Songs, the ones the composer orchestrated
himself. They are more often encountered with their original
piano accompaniment, so it is good for a change to hear them
in their orchestral guise. Eva Randová, a mezzo familiar to
listeners from her operatic roles (the fox in Mackerras’s Decca
recording of Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen), sings
these in the original Czech and with no little ardour and drama.
I found them a little over-dramatic at times and preferred the
more subdued parts where she tones down her vibrato. She seems
to be better suited to opera than to these songs which benefit
from a lighter touch. I am thinking here of Gabriela Beňačková’s
recording of three of the songs with Rudolf Firkušný playing
the piano part on RCA Red Seal. But this is mostly a personal
preference, as Randová is certainly idiomatic and well accompanied
by Bělohlávek and the orchestra.
I
have no reservations whatsoever about the second work on the
DVD, the festive Te Deum that Dvořák composed for
the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s
discovery of America. The composer wrote this while he was director of
New York’s
National Music Conservatory. It is a splendid, colourful work
that ought to be performed more often and better known. It is
scored in four sections for soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra
and begins with pounding timpani and an orchestral and choral
outburst that anticipates Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass. The timpani also remind me of the beginning of de
Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat ballet. While the work utilizes
the whole orchestra well, as is typical of this composer, the
lower brass has an especially important role to play. The Te
Deum also has memorable quiet moments, but the infectiousness
of the typical Slavonic rhythms and the jubilant singing of
the chorus carry the day. Both soloists, the splendid Prague
Philharmonic Choir, and the Prague Symphony under Bělohlávek
produce an exciting and beautiful account of the piece.
The
final work on the programme is the familiar Violin Concerto
in a performance that is as good as any I’ve heard. It may not
erase memories of Suk/Ančerl, but it comes close to that
famous team. This is not due only to Ivan Zenaty, who plays
with a sweet, warm tone, but also to Bělohlávek and the
wonderful wind soloists of the Prague Symphony. They may not
be the Czech Philharmonic, but they have that Eastern European
sound: the tangy oboes and clarinets and the mellow horns. The
duets in the second movement between solo violin and horn, with
its tasteful use of vibrato, are especially lovely. Then the
finale is a Slavonic dance that is light on its feet. While
the performance overall is straightforward, it is by no means
stiff. Conductor and soloist employ enough rubato to make it
really interesting. A wonderful way to conclude the DVD.
The
accompanying booklet contains good notes on the works but reads
like the translation that it is. And while it also has individual
sections on each of the soloists and the conductor, there is nothing
at all about the orchestra or the choir. This is a shame, because
they deserve an equal amount of attention. Nonetheless, the DVD
is recommended to anyone who loves Dvořák and visually it
is also rather special.
Leslie Wright
Eva Randová (mezzo); Ivan Kusnjer (baritone); Lívia Ághová (soprano);
Ivan Zenaty (violin)
