Paul HINDEMITH (1895-1963)
Vorspiel zum Requiem (1946) [4:19]
Sinfonische Metamorphosen nach Themen von Carl-Maria von Weber (1943) [21:21]
Mainzer Umzug (1962) [39:42]
Georg Karl ZULEHNER (1805-1847)
Narrhalla-Marsch (1844) [2:46]
Marie-Christine Haase (soprano), Alexander Spemann (tenor), Michael Dahmen
(baritone), LandesJungendChor Rheinland-Pfalz, Philharmonisches
Staatsorchester Mainz/Hermann Bäumer
rec. 20-21 June 2018, Südwestrundfunk, Staatstheater Mainz; 26-27 November 2020, Halle 45 Mainz
CPO 555 257-2 [68:18]
A comprehensive survey of Paul Hindemith’s orchestral music was one of cpo’s early projects back in the late 1980’s soon after the label’s founding. That series included a recording of arguably Hindemith’s most popular work; the Sinfonische Metamorphosen nach Themen von Carl-Maria von Weber. So the performance here is its second appearance in the cpo catalogue alongside the Prelude to his Requiem and – most substantially – the forty minute Mainzer Umzug. The 1980’s collection also included the Prelude although I am not sure any other label or collection feature that work in isolation from the rest of the requiem setting.
In fact the programming of this disc as a whole does not feel that logical or coherent. The impressive
Prelude is a dark and lowering work directly at odds with the brilliant Metamorphosen or the genial Mainzer Umzug. It receives a weighty and powerful reading here with the resonant acoustic of Halle 45 – with the orchestra set well back into the space – adding an appropriate sense of sombre reflection. That same acoustic works against the interpretation of the Metamorphosen and in fact the actual execution and interpretation of this familiar music is rather disappointing. Everything feels just a fraction laboured and rhythmically flabby. The catalogue groans with fine versions. For me the precision and virtuosity – and good humour – of Claudio Abbado’s classic Decca performance with the LSO from the late 60’s is still the equal of any. While there is nothing wrong with this new performance neither is there anything that singles it out for special praise or attention. The recording information with this disc is somewhat ambiguous. There is a recording session photograph of a ‘socially distanced’ orchestra spread out in a very large space which I assume is the Halle 45 mentioned above. This distancing would seem to account both for the lack of real instrumental cohesion and the woolly sound.
Which means that the main if not only reason to buy this disc is the recording of the Mainzer Umzug [The Mainz Parade]. This is a theatrical work for three actor/singers, chorus and orchestra. In brief, there is an annual Carnival in Mainz celebrating the history and traditions of the town. For 1962, a particular anniversary prompted the Carnival planners to commission a special work to celebrate the event and they turned to Paul Hindemith along with librettist Carl Zuckmayer. All of the planning for the event is related in convoluted detail in the liner – the cpo liner writers reverting to their previous dense and barely comprehensible literary style. But a couple of salient facts emerge; Hindemith had considered a work along this festive/tableau lines with Zuckmayer up to thirty years earlier. Also, the premiere in Mainz was received rapturously whilst the following performances in Berlin and Vienna invoked a more tepid response.
The reason for this is not hard to understand – everything about this work relies on the listener understanding the context, the characters, the references and even the jokes. The music alone is simply not interesting or memorable enough for the “outsider”. Hard not to think as well that Hindemith in the 1930’s might have produced a more light-hearted populist score. I am sure there are musical references aplenty that pass me by in the work as it currently exists, but there is little stand-alone wit or brilliance. Especially when placed literally alongside the Metamorphosen which even in this pedestrian performance has a sparkle the damp squib of the Mainzer Umzug fails to achieve.
To the innocent ear, this seems to be a better, more alert performance than the preceding work – helped by the pre-COVID/not distanced orchestral and choir seating in the Staatstheater, I guess. Certainly all the performers sound on their toes. Whether or not their regional German is authentic I cannot say. As a final filler the disc is completed by the inclusion of Georg Karl Zulehner’s Narrhalla-Marsch. Again , for those in the know – this is the march that epitomises Mainz’s Carnival. For everyone else its a fairly generic and unremarkable Germanic quick march. Nicely played I guess but not something I will ever listen to again. But that could be said of the whole disc. For collectors of Hindemith or followers of the Mainz Carnival I imagine this will have an appea,l but for me this was about as enjoyable as a flat Pils and a cold bockwurst.
Nick Barnard
