Frank MARTIN (1890-1974)
Requiem (1971-1973) [44:34]
Leoš JANĮČEK (1854-1928)
Otčenįš (Our Father) (1901/1906) [16:54]
Jane Marsh (soprano), Ria Bollen (contralto), Claes H. Ahnsjö, Heinz Zednik (tenor), Robert Holl (bass)
Arcola Clark (harp), Rudolf Scholz (organ)
Wiener Jeunesse Choir, ORF Choir
ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/Leif Segerstam
rec. 23 February 1979 (Martin), 22 October 1987 (Janįček), Musikverien, Vienna
CAPRICCIO C5454 [60:59]
In many ways the writing of a Requiem Mass was an uneasy fit for Frank Martin. While he was strongly driven by his devout Christian faith, and he was even more conscious than most composers of the centuries of musical heritage breathing down his neck, he was a Calvinist whose great musical hero was that pre-eminent Protestant composer, J.S Bach. In neither his faith nor in Bach would he have found a natural outlet in the Latin words of the Requiem Mass. He was more attuned to expressing his faith through the languages of his homeland – French and German – and through such genres as the cantata and, especially, the oratorio (his magnum opus might be regarded as the Passiontide oratorio, Golgotha). He had written a Latin Mass early in his career, but kept it hidden for almost half a century. Likewise, he claimed to have had a fairly early compunction to write a Requiem, but had kept it unfulfilled until he was into his 80s and aware of the imminence of his own death. The Requiem was not Martin’s last major work expressing his deep religious convictions – the violin concerto Polyptyque reflecting on six images of Christ’s Passion came two years later – but he did say once it weas completed, “I have achieved my purpose. Now I may die”.
Recordings of the Requiem are few and far between, so this remastering of a dusty archive recording from the shelves of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) is welcome. The recording was of a live performance with the audience much in evidence, especially when Leif Segerstam carries on with the subdued openings of movements while coughing is still much in progress. But it was marked by some exceptional soloists – notably soprano Jane Marsh, who closes the “In Paradisum” quite magically. The orchestral detail is fairly clear, the harpsichord (an instrument Martin took to considerably in his final years) well forward and the organ providing much depth and solidity, as well as a wonderfully glittering halo around the final movement “Lux aeterna”. While the Requiem is unmistakably the work of Martin, with all the hallmarks anyone who hears any of his music will instantly recognise, it is more austere and harmonically tense than his earlier work, his fascination with the work of his former pupils who had adopted 12-note and serial techniques clearly evident. He focuses on the drama of the language – not for nothing is the longest single movement the “Dies Irae” - and generally seems to treat the concept of death in a harsh, unforgiving way. However, the final movement brings the required sense of elevation and consolation.
Another recording rescued from the ORF vaults made during the period when Segerstam was Chief Conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, comes from 1987 and is of Janįček’s setting of the Lord’s Prayer. The sound is somewhat warmer here, but with the smaller forces – it is scored for tenor soloist (the role sung here with great gusto by Heinz Zednik) and chorus accompanied by organ and harp. Tuning issues between the instruments are not always fully resolved, and at times there is a certain lack of ensemble between them, which we can put down to the logistical issues of these two very different instruments in a live concert setting. Having suggested that, it may be that this was not recorded during a live concert, since if there was an audience present, they did not make their presence felt to the microphones. Most of the other recordings currently available of the work come from English choirs, often sounding very English indeed, but there is an ECM recording from 1996 featuring the Prague Chamber Choir and which is, in every way, preferable to this performance. Segerstam somewhat overplays the theatrical and fights shy of the occasional reflective and intimate elements that give the piece its real musical interest.
Marc Rochester
