And still they come! This is the third recording
of
Le Sacre to come my way for review this year, following on
the heels of versions by Rattle (
review)
and Sokhiev (
review).
How many more will appear in this centenary year? [Quite a few by the
look of it and we can start with
Le sacre du printemps 100th
Anniversary Collectors Edition. Ed.]. It’s appropriate that there
should be a centenary contribution from the city where
Le Sacre
and, indeed,
Pétrouchka were both heard for the first
time.
One thing that this Gatti version of
Le Sacre has got going for
it is the quality of the recording. I’m not sure where in Paris
the recording was made - no further information is given in the booklet
- but the engineers have produced a recording that has impact and body
and which reveals a considerable amount of inner detail without, I feel,
any unnatural spotlighting. Those comments apply equally to the recording
of
Pétrouchka, by the way.
I approve of Sony’s presentation of
Pétrouchka which
is divided into 17 tracks. This makes it very easy not only to access
certain points for comparison if one so wishes but also easy to follow
the story.
Le Sacre is divided into 14 tracks. The playing in
both works is very good indeed, as is only to be expected nowadays in
what have become standard repertoire pieces.
I enjoyed Gatti’s account of
Pétrouchka without
being bowled over by it - and, indeed, that’s a comment that applies
equally to his version of
Le Sacre. There’s plenty of colour
in
Pétrouchka and right at the start the depiction of
the Shrovetide Fair is vibrant and colourful with crisp rhythms. When
Stravinsky later takes us back to the fair his Technicolour scoring
is conveyed very successfully. A different aspect of colour is presented
in the Moor’s Room scene, where Gatti conveys the sinister ambience
successfully. He’s also good at illustrating the bear, which is
portrayed with suitably grotesque heaviness, and he does the poignancy
of Pétrouchka’s demise well. Some listeners may be troubled
by occasions when the pacing is on the steady side. An early example
of this is the flute solo at the start of the Conjuring Trick episode;
here I’ve written in my notes “unhurried”. Gatti takes
the Russian Dance at quite a steady speed though, to my ears at least,
he still manages to put life into the music. Some may think his pacing
of the Second Tableau, in Pétrouchka’s room, is too steady
at times - and I don’t feel that the pace picks up as it should
at 3:01 in this episode. However, he does characterise the music well
and I like the amount of detail that one can hear. Overall this is a
good account of the score but it does come across - unintentionally
- as a bit safe at times and while I got a lot out of listening to it
other conductors have found more vibrancy and drama in this wonderful
score.
In many ways the same considerations apply to
Le Sacre. The performance
has much to commend it though some listeners may feel it’s a bit
steady. At times the performance has impressive power: there’s
explosive percussion and tight brass playing in ‘Danse de la terre’,
for example. ‘Rondes printanières also impressed me; it
starts off in a calm, measured way before the explosion at 1:58, which
is potent and menacing, while a little later in the section the brass
glissandi have great power and there’s particular strength in
the bass registers of the orchestra. The Introduction to Part II is
atmospheric if, perhaps, a little too measured. The music in ‘Glorification
de l’Élue’ is forceful and dramatic while the concluding
‘Danse sacrale’ is weighty and powerful; it may strike some
people as a bit deliberate in pacing but the relentless savagery comes
through. I admire a great deal about Gatti’s performance but I
couldn’t escape the feeling that other versions have better conveyed
the primitive savagery of Stravinsky’s masterpiece - or have done
so in a different way.
This is a disc that I’m sure I’ll return to in the future
for it reveals a lot about both scores though Gatti doesn’t by
any means have the last word on either. Stephen Walsh contributes a
good booklet essay.
John Quinn
Masterwork Index:
Pétrouchka
~~
Le Sacre du Printemps
