Alban Berg - Wozzeck; Lulu

"Karl Böhm was the conducting world’s tortoise to his contemporaries’ hares. Soft-spoken yet forceful, methodical and not given to telling people things twice, he was a 'quiet martinet,' the flip side to such volatile talents as Toscanini, Rodzinski, and Solti. Yet he resented them less than he resented those conductors who, he felt, put public image and ego ahead of interpretation, particularly Karajan, whose performances of Strauss and Wagner he intensely disliked, and Bernstein, whose performances of almost everything irked him. Ironically, he was particularly noted in America and England as a Mozart conductor, yet Mozart was the one composer whose music he conducted a bit too much on the slow side.

"As time wore on, however, Böhm's recordings of other music made it to our shores, and so little by little we came to admire his combination of fastidiousness and excitement in such music as that of Schubert, Beethoven, Strauss, and this surprising recording of Berg’s operas. Like many of his generation, Böhm respected Berg’s widow’s demands to perform Lulu incomplete, but no matter. This performance has an edge, an excitement, and a sense of instrumental precision that in my view eclipses the celebrated Boulez recording of the complete opera. More importantly, no one, not even the redoubtable Leif Segerstam on Naxos, has managed to eclipse this 'Wozzeck.' It is so perfectly performed in every respect that one comes away from it in awe. No matter that one may prefer a certain individual voice in certain roles, particularly that of Marie; everyone is so committed to Böhm's vision of the music, and his overall sweep, that one is carried away with it. Perfection is always rare, more so in music of this complexity. I hope this recording will remain in the catalog forever." (Review by Lynn René Bayley. See here.) 

 

Performers: Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Karl Böhm, Evelyn Lear, Patricia Johnson, Alice Oelke, Barbara Scherler, Walther Dicks, Loren Driscoll, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Donald Grobe, Gerd Feldhoff, Josef Greindl, Karl-Ernst Mercker, Ernst Krukowski, Leopold Clam, Helmut Melchert, Fritz Wunderlich, Gerhard Stolze, Karl Christian Kohn, Kurt Böhme, Robert Koffmane, Martin Vantin, Evelyn Lear, Walter Muggelberg

1.1. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene I: 'Langsam, Wozzeck, Langsam!'

1.2. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene I: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel

1.3. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene II: 'Du, Der Platz Ist Verflucht!'

1.4. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene II: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel Und Beginnende Militärmusik Im Hintergrund

1.5. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene III: 'Tschin Bum...! Hörst Bub? Da Kommen Sie!'

1.6. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene III: Verwandlung. Orchester-Überleitung

1.7. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene III: 'Was Erleb' Ich, Wozzeck?'

1.8. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene IV: Verwandlung. Orchester-Einleitung

1.9. Wozzeck, Akt I, Szene IV: 'Geh Einmal Vor Dich Hin...'

1.10. Wozzeck, Akt II: Orchester-Einleitung/Szene I: 'Was Die Steine Glänzen!'

1.11. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene I: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel

1.12. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene II: 'Wohin So Eilig, Geehrtester Herr Sargnagel?'

1.13. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene II: Verwandlung. Überleitende Takte Und Kammerorchester-Einleitung/Szene III: 'Guten Tag Franz'/'Ich Seh' Nichts'

1.14. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene III: Verwandlung. Überleitende Takte Und Orchester-Vorspiel

1.15. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene IV: 'Ich Hab' Ein Hemdlein An, Das Ist Nicht Mein...'

1.16. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene IV: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel (Walzer)

1.17. Wozzeck, Akt II, Szene V: 'Oh! Oh! Andres! Ich Kann Nicht Schlafen'

1.18. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene I: 'Und Ist Kein Betrug In Seinem Munde Erfunden Worden'

1.19. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene I: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel

1.20. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene II: 'Dort Links Geht's In Die Stadt'

 

2.1. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene II: Verwandlung. Orchester-Überleitung

2.2. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene III: 'Tantz Alle; Tantz Nur Zu...!'

2.3. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene III: Verwandlung. Orchester-Nachspiel/Szene IV: 'Das Messer? Wo Ist Das Messer?'

2.4. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene IV: Verwandlung. Orchester-Epilog: Invention Über Eine Tonnart

2.5. Wozzeck, Akt III, Szene V: 'Ringel, Ringel, Rosenkranz, Ringelreih'n!'

2.6. Lulu, Prolog: 'Hereinspaziert In Die Menagerie'

2.7. Lulu, Akt I, Szene I: 'Darf Ich Eintreten?'/'Mein Sohn!'

2.8. Lulu, Akt I, Szene I: 'Gnädige Frau... Frau Medizinalrat...'/'Sie Bekommen Mich Loch Lange Nicht'/'Wie Ist Dir?'

2.9. Lulu, Akt I, Szene I: 'Machen Sie Auf!'/'Auf Einmal Springt Er Auf'/'Noch Nicht Wieder Zur Besinnung Gekommen?'/'Kanst Du Die Wahrheit Sagen?'

2.10. Lulu, Akt I, Szene I: 'Ich Möchte Tauschen Mir Dir, Du Toter!'/'Wollen Sie Mir Zuhaken'

2.11. Lulu, Akt I, Szene I: Verwandlungsmusik

2.12. Lulu, Akt I, Szene II: 'Eva?'/'Befehlen?'/'Ich Finde, Du Siehst Heute Reizend Aus'

2.13. Lulu, Akt I, Szene II: Kammermusik/'Den Hab' Ich Mir Auch Ganz Anders Vorgestellt'

2.14. Lulu, Akt I, Szene II: 'Was Tut Denn Ihr Vater Da'/Wenn Ich Ihr Man Währe'

2.15. Lulu, Akt I, Szene II: 'Nun?'/'Du Hast Eine Halbe Million Geheiratet'

2.16. Lulu, Akt I, Szene II: Verwandlungsmusik

2.17. Lulu, Akt I, Szene III: 'Seit Ich Für Die Bühne Arbeite'/'Noch Ettwas, Bitte'/'Ich Hatte Bei Herrn Dr. Schön Das Vergnügen'/'Sie Hatte Einen Ohnmachtsanfall'/'Das Hättest Du Bir Besser Erspart'/'Wie Kannst Du Die Szene Gegen Mich Ausspielen?'/'Mein Alter! Meine Welt!'/'Sehr Geehrtes Fräuhlein'

 

3.1. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Sie Glauben Nicht, Wie Ich Mich Darauf Freue'/'Könntest Du Dich Für Heute Nachmittag Nicht Freimachen?'

3.2. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Gott Sei Dank, Daß Wir Endlich Zuhause Sind'/'Er Hat Sie Nämlich Ersprünglich Heiraten Wollen'/'Hast Oben Abgeschlossen?'

3.3. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Die Matinée Wird, Wie Ich Mir Denke, Bei Elektrischem Licht Stattfinden'

3.4. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Wo Ist Denn Der Hin'/'Du Kreatur, Die Mich Durch Den Straßenkot Zum Martertode Schleift!'

3.5. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Wenn Sich Die Menschen Um Meinetwillen Umgebratch Haben'

3.6. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Nieder, Mörderin! In Die Knie!'

3.7. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: 'Du Kannst Mich Nicht Dem Gericht Ausliefern'

3.8. Lulu, Akt II, Szene I: Verwandlung (Filmmusik)

3.9. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: 'Er Lässt Auf Sich Warten Wie Ein Kapellmeister'

3.10. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: 'Sie Wollten Der Verrückten Rakete Noch Geld Geben!?'/'Mit Wem Habe Ich... Sie?'

3.11. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: 'Hü, Kleine Lulu'

3.12. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: 'O Freiheit! Herrgott Im Himmel!'

3.13. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: Variationen (Lulu-Suite)

3.14. Lulu, Akt II, Szene II: Adagio (Lulu-Suite)

 

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Edgard Varèse - Kontinent Varèse

"From the beginning of the 20th century, Edgard Varèse made an essential contribution towards expanding our understanding of what music can be. He was the first composer to write a piece exclusively for percussion ensemble to be performed in a traditional concert hall setting ('Ionisation'); and he explored and searched intensely for sounds. Varèse integrated first the world of sounds, then electronic instruments into traditional orchestras, thereby opening a door to a new awareness of listening. Besides their structural strictness - Varèse him-self referred to this new way of organizing rhythm and tone color as "organized sound" - his compositions also reveal great emotional richness and an amazing variety of expression. Edgard Varèse's work materially influenced those generations of composers that came after him: a link between the beautiful, the exciting and the musically unsettling. The 2009 Salzburg Festival dedicated its 'Kontinent' series to this brilliant New Music pioneer. 

 

"'Ionisation' (1929-1931). When he wrote 'Ionisation,' Varese entered virgin territory as a composer: never before had a work been written for percussion instruments alone. Yet like his compositions for traditional instrumentation, 'Ionisation' is an exploration into the timbral possibilities of the instruments used. 

 

"The premiere under Nicolas Slonimsky's direction (New York 1933) was the beginning of a success story. The same year, the composition was a triumphal success in Havana, was performed in San Francisco and, a year later, again in New York. Next was the release of a legendary recording of the work. 'Ionisation' triggered the creation of numerous works for percussion instruments by New Music composers such as e.g. John Cage. 

 

"44 instruments are used: metallophones such as e.g. anvils, membraphones such as bongos, cord sounds like that of the snare drum, wooden sounds like that of the whip, multiple-sound instruments like the guiro, air friction sounds such as sirens, and keyboard instruments. The work is given a stable form by a framework of clearly defined components: a coda with clusters of tonal instruments, and an opening of bass drum impulses and siren curves that resembles a parable for a gong. Immediately following the opening, the field drum presents a long rhythm often referred to as the main theme. The other components are mostly short, signal-like cells derived directly from the natural properties of each instrument, such as e.g. the pentatonic motif produced by a light wood-block sound in the middle of the work, which is often regarded as a second theme due to its structural significance. Ionisation is a 'sound story' and at the same time appears like the organic development of a widely spread 'sound space', integrating phenomena as diverse as a single rustling of a jingle ring and the siren's long-drawn glissando curves.

"'Offrandes' (1921). 'Offrandes,' a work for soprano and chamber orchestra including a harp and nine percussion instruments, comprises two songs: 'Chanson de Là-haut,' dedicated to Louise, the composer's wife, and 'La Croix du Sud,' dedicated to his friend, harpist Carlos Salzedo. It was Varèse's first composition to be performed in America. Shortly after the successful world premiere under Carlos Salzedo in New York in 1922 it was also performed in Berlin. While a great number of elements and motifs have been adopted from 'Ameriques' and transformed, in line with the composer's typical modus operandi, there is a new clarity and transparency of notation foreshadowing his more mature works. The voice, at no time blanketed by instruments, is surrounded by orchestral atmospheres which create a palette of sounds encompassing the most tender of pianissimos as well as stormy expansions of sound. The typical way the musical instruments are grouped into 'blocks,' evident e.g. in the confrontation of concise wood-wind and string figures in the first song, is integrated into the coherence of a carefully balanced overall sound, whereby e.g. the drums so strongly present in the second song are linked with the tonal instruments through the gong.

 

"'Hyperprism' (1922-1923). This composition for nine wind instruments and seven percussion instruments, including a siren and, for the first time, a string drum also referred to as 'lion's roar,' was premiered under the direction of the composer himself in New York in 1923. 

 

"In 'Hyperprism,' Varèse sheds all conventional stylistic elements still recognizable in earlier works, thus laying the foundations for his highly distinctive mature style. Melodic motifs or form-building themes are replaced by short cells often revolving around just one single pitch. The same will to a focused and concise, accurate expression becomes manifest in the short duration of the piece. The individual elements are not subjected to a thematic development but, like a prism, shown in an ever new light through the continuous creation of new variations. The richness of rhythmic variation is a fundamental aspect. Every action is thus given a precise function as a musical event to trigger, interrupt, stop, expand, condense or subside, in ever new combinations, or relative independence, of the different groups of sound.

"'Intégrales' (1924-1925). This is the last, and longest, composition among four pieces written for the International Composers' Guild (the first American society for New Music, founded by Varèse in 1921). 'Intégrales' was premiered under Leopold Stokowski in New York in 1925; at the audience's insistence the performance had to be repeated. Six years later it was first performed in Paris, and in 1934 Martha Graham choreographed it for New York In its use of precise motif cores this piece for eleven wind instruments (with the flutists all playing piccolo) and four percussionists playing a total of seventeen instruments (not induding the siren) is a direct sequel to 'Hyperprism.' The characteristic opening with a quickly rising figure of triton and whole tone ends in a repeated drone rhythmized ever anew. The principle of sound expansion is also typical of Varèse's works of this period: an ensemble sound is developed in numerous variations of the process upwards through the entire register, often similar to a sound explosion, to lead to an enormous fortissimo and be then brusquely broken off, or gradually reduced. The subtle variations of rhythm and sound in some of the core figures represent Varèse's ideal of working with 'transformations achieved through slight formal changes of a function.'

"'Ecuatorial' (1933-1934). 'Ecuatorial' is based on a prayer of supplication from the 'Popol Vuh,' the sacred book of the Mayas. In accordance with Varèse's intentions the performance should have some of the 'elementary, raw intensity' of Pre-Columbian sculptures. In the premiere under Nicolas Slonimsky's direction (New York 1934) the solo bass was in some parts blanketed by the ensemble. The work was not published until 1961, then with a bass choir. Though misjudged for a long time, this most ritualistic, most enigmatic of all of Varèse's works is now being increasingly recognized as one of his most important compositions. 

 

"The block-like, sculptural quality of the music is due to the use of compact instrumental groups. The three blocks of four trumpets, four trombones and organ respectively are confronted with six percussionists. The piano (an unusual choice for Varèse) acts as a mediator between these polarities. Right at the beginning it establishes a motif of two descending half steps, which subsequently is taken up again and again. A remarkable feature is the use of two ondes Martenot. This pioneering electronic musical instrument enables finely regulated glissandi and extremely high tones that had been impossible to realize before. The nature of their sound, close to a pure tone, objectivizes the characteristic sound forms of the other instrumental groups. All of them together support the central bass voice, which is doubled in unison by each group in turn. Strictness, austerity, conciseness and precision: those were the maxims Varèse adhered to with implacable strictness throughout his life. 'Ecuatorial' was another landmark on his way towards a mode of expression purged from all embellishments.

"'Amériques' (1918-1921/1927). Only the works created after his emigration to the USA in late 1915 were recognized as parts of his oeuvre by Edgard Varèse (1883-1965) himself. Therefore, his official opus one is the orchestral piece Amériques: a symphonic composition entirely new in terms of form and language of sound, and severing all links with past traditions — arguably one of the most colorful, most contrasty and most vital New Music works. It was premiered as late as 1926 under Leopold Stokowski in Philadelphia and New York. A year after the premiere Varèse undertook a revision of the work to reduce the enormous and unconventional instrumentation, which originally included instruments like a boat whistle or a crow call. The new, reduced version was first performed in Paris in 1929.

"The title 'Ameriques,' the Americas, symbolizes 'new worlds on earth, in the sky, or in the minds of men.' However new the sound horizons may be, the score includes a multitude of compositional references to Debussy's orchestral works, Strauss' symphonic compositions, Schönberg's œuvre (in particular his 'Five Orchestral Pieces, op. 16') and Stravinsky's ballets. 'Ameriques' can therefore be regarded as a personal synthesis of all those elements that most strongly influenced Varèse, and as the starting point for the most creative period in his career as a composer." (Dieter A. Nanz. From the liner notes.)

Performers: The Percussive Planet Ensemble, Ensemble Modern Orchestra, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Martin Grubinger, François-Xavier Roth, Bertrand de Billy, Julie Moffat, Jacques Tchamkerten, Thomas Bloch

1. Ionisation

2. Offrandes

3. Hyperprism

4. Intégrales

5. Ecuatorial

6. Amériques

7. Ionisation

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Igor Stravinsky / Charles Wuorinen - The Flood; Abraham and Isaac; Variations; Requiem Canticles; A Reliquary for Igor Stravinsky

"'The Flood' is a musical play for tenor solo, two bass soloists, chorus, speaking parts, and large orchestra. It is a large-scale piece, though extremely concise, as it was written for television. Subtitled a 'dance drama,' Stravinsky began composing 'The Flood' after a request from CBS Television in 1959. The text of the work is derived from a number of sources, including mediaeval pageants and Genesis. It was Stravinsky's intention to represent the divine power of God, manifested in the flood, rather than dramatizing the life of Noah. For Stravinsky, 'Noah is mere history,' while the flood, replete with contemporary allusions, is 'the Eternal Catastrophe...[it] is also The Bomb.' Though the staging is quite complex, and the musical forces quite large, the work is nonetheless extremely concise, taking only a half an hour to perform. The short duration is a reflection of Stravinsky's desire to reach and please a television audience. 

 

"Stravinsky used different music and techniques to represent the different characters in this work. While no one character is represented specifically by one singer, Stravinsky does differentiate between the supernatural and mortal characters. God is represented by two basses, while the mortal characters utilize speaking parts. The work is divided into six parts: 'Prelude,' 'The Building of the Ark,' 'The Catalogue of the Animals,' 'The Comedy,' 'The Flood,' and 'The Covenant of the Rainbow.' 'The Building of the Ark' and 'The Flood' are choreographed sections, with pantomime and dancing. The other sections are divided into subsections, with singing juxtaposed with spoken narration. 

 

"'The Flood' is a serial work, and shows a particularly relaxed approach to serial composition, with the tone-rows effectively interrupted. Eric Walter White has noted that in certain sections notes are repeated, as Stravinsky disrupts the integrity of the row in order to suggest chant. It is also, as White points out, a work that is strongly based on harmony, or vertical organization, rather than melody, or horizontal considerations. This is important to note, as most of Stravinsky¹s oeuvre is remarkable for its contrapuntal texture." (Summary of 'The Flood' by Alexander Carpenter. From AllMusic. See here.)

Performers: London Sinfonietta, New London Chamber Choir, Oliver Knussen

1. The Flood: Prelude. 'Te Deum Laudamus'

2. The Flood: Melodrama. 'In A Worm's Likeness Will He Wend'

3. The Flood: The Building Of The Ark (Choreography)

4. The Flood: The Catalogue Of The Animals. 'The Lord Bade That I Should Bring'

5. The Flood: The Comedy (Noah And His Wife). 'Wife, Come In!'

6. The Flood: The Flood (Choreography)

7. The Flood: The Covenant Of The Rainbow. 'A Covenant, Noah, With Thee I Make'

8. Abraham And Isaac: 'Vay'hi Ahar Hadvarim Ha'eleh V'ha'Elohim'

9. Abraham And Isaac: 'Vayikakh Avraham Et Atze Ha'olah'

10. Abraham And Isaac: 'Vayi Sa Avraham Et Enav Vayat V'hineh'

11. Variations: Aldous Huxley In Memoriam

12. Requiem Canticles: Prelude

13. Requiem Canticles: Exaudi

14. Requiem Canticles: Dies Irae

15. Requiem Canticles: Tuba Mirum

16. Requiem Canticles: Interlude

17. Requiem Canticles: Rex Tremendae

18. Requiem Canticles: Lacrimosa

19. Requiem Canticles: Libera Me

20. Requiem Canticles: Postlude

21. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Reliquary

22. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Variation

23. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Lament

24. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Variation Continued

25. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Reliquary

26. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Coda

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Igor Stravinsky - Oedipus Rex; Les Noces

"Stravinsky conducted the first performance of 'Oedipus Rex' (1925-1927) in the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt, Paris, on 30th May, 1927, in a double bill with 'Firebird,' in which George Balanchine danced the role of Kastchei. Composers—Ravel, Poulenc, and Roger Sessions among them—were the first to recognize it as Stravinsky's most powerful dramatic work and one of his greatest creations. After hearing Ernest Ansermet conduct it in London, February 12, 1936, the young Benjamin Britten noted in his diary: 'One of the peaks of Stravinsky's output, this work shows his wonderful sense of style and power of drawing inspiration from every age of music, and leaving the whole a perfect shape, satisfying eve aesthetic demand [...] the established idea of originality dies so hard.'

 

"Leonard Bernstein may have been the first to identify the principal influence on the music: 'I remembered where those four opening notes of Oedipus come from [...] And the whole metaphor of pity and power became clear; the pitiful Thebans supplicating before their powerful king, imploring deliverance from the plague [...] an Ethiopian slave girl at the feet of her mistress, Princess of Egypt [...] Amneris has just wormed out of Aida her dread secret [...] Verdi, who was so unfashionable at the time Oedipus was written, someone for musical intellectuals of the mid-'20s to sneer at; and 'Aida', of all things, that cheap, low, sentimental melodrama. [At the climax of Oedipus' 'Invidia' aria] the orchestra plays a diminished-seventh chord [...] that favorite ambiguous tool [i.e., tool for suggesting ambiguity] of surprise and despair in every romantic opera [...] Aida! [...] Was Stravinsky having a secret romance with Verdi's music in those super-sophisticated mid-'20s? It seems he was.'"

 

"Bernstein might also have mentioned the debt to Verdi in Jocasta's aria and her duet with Oedipus. A photograph of Verdi occupied a prominent position on the wall of Stravinsky's Paris studio in the 1920s, and on his concert tours he would go out of his way to hear Verdi operas, to the extent of changing the dates of his own concerts, as he did in Hanover in December 1931 for a performance of 'Macbeth.' In the early 1930s he wrote to one of his biographers: 'If I had been in Nietzsche's place, I would have said Verdi instead of Bizet and held up 'The Masked Ball' against Wagner.' In Buenos Aires, in 1936, Stravinsky shocked a journalist by saying: 'Never in my life would I be capable of composing anything to equal the delicious waltz in 'La Traviata'.' 

 

"Other influences besides Verdi's are apparent. The 'Gloria' chorus at the end of Act One, the Messenger's music, and the a cappella choral music in the Messenger scene are distinctly Russian, but the genius of the piece is in the unity that Stravinsky achieves with his seemingly disparate materials.

 

"'Les Noces' ('Svadebka') ranks high in the by no means crowded company of indisputable twentieth-century masterpieces. That it does not immediately come to mind as such may be attributable to cultural and linguistic barriers, and to the ineptitude, partly from the same causes, of most performances, for the piece can only be sung in Russian, both because the sounds of the words are part of the music, and because their rhythms are inseparable from the musical design. A translation that satisfied the quantitative and accentual formulas of the original could retain no approximation of its literal sense. For this reason Stravinsky, never rigidly averse to sacrificing the clarity of sense for sound's sake, abandoned an English version on which he had laboured in the fall of 1959 and again in December 1965. It is also the reason, bizarre as it may seem, that his own first recording of 'Noces' was made in English (1934). No Russian chorus was available in Paris at the time, but in any case he abominated the French version by C. F. Ramuz, which requires numerous changes and adjustments in the musical rhythms. 

 

"Performances are infrequent as well as inadequate. The four pianos and seventeen percussion instruments that comprise the ensemble are not included in the standard instrumentation of symphony orchestras. Then, too, the piece by itself is long enough for only a short half-programme, while the few possible companion works, using many of the same instruments—Varese's 'Ionisation', Bartók's 'Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion', Antheil's 'Ballet mecanique' (an arrant plagiarism)—derive from it too obviously as instrumental example. 

 

"As a result of the obstacles of language and culture, audiences do not share in the full meaning of the work, hearing it as a piece of 'pure' music; which, of course, and as Stravinsky would say, is its ultimate meaning. But Stravinsky notwithstanding, 'Svadebka' is a dramatic work, composed for the stage, and informed with more meanings on the way to that ultimate one than any other opus by the composer. The drama is his own, moreover, and he is responsible for the choice of the subject, the form of the stage spectacle, the ordonnance of the texts. 'Svadebka' is in fact the only theatrical work by him, apart from the much slighter 'Renard,' that combines music with a text in his mother tongue, the only work in which ritual, symbol, meaning on every level are part of his direct cultural heredity. 

 

"It is also the one Stravinsky work that underwent extensive metamorphoses. 'Svadebka' occupied his imagination throughout a decade and, in aggregate, took more of his time than any other work of the same length. The sketches, in consequence, offer a unique study of his processes of growth and refinement. The reasons for the long gestation are, first, that Stravinsky several times suspended work to compose other music, which, in each case, left his creative mind with altered perspectives. Second, he was creating something so new, both musically, in its heterophonic vocal-instrumental style, and in theatrical combination and genre, an amalgam of ballet and dramatic cantata, that he was himself unable to describe it. 'Russian Choreographic Scenes,' his subtitle on the final score, neglects to mention that the subject is a village wedding and that the four scenes depict the ritual braiding of the Bride's tresses, the ritual curling of the Groom's locks, the departure of the Bride for the church, and the wedding feast." (Robert Craft. From the liner notes.)

 

Performers: Philharmonia Orchestra, International Piano Quartet, Tristan Fry Percussion Ensemble, Simon Joy Chorale, Simon Joy Male Chorus, Robert Craft, Edward Fox, Jennifer Lane, Martyn Hill, Joseph Cornwell, David Wilson-Jonhson, Andrew Greenan, Alison Wells, Susan Bickley, Alan Ewing

1. Oedipus Rex: Prologue

2. Oedipus Rex: Introducing Creon

3. Oedipus Rex: Introducing Tiresias

4. Oedipus Rex: Introducing Joacasta

5. Oedipus Rex: Introducing The Messenger

6. Oedipus Rex: Epilogue

7. Les Noces, Scene I: The Tresses (At The Bride's House)

8. Les Noces, Scene II: At The Bridegroom's House

9. Les Noces, Scene III: The Departure Of The Bride

10. Les Noces, Scene IV: The Wedding Feast

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Alban Berg - Wozzeck

"Wozzeck was written sporadically over a period of some eight years and was premiered at the State Opera in Berlin on December 14, 1925, under the baton of Erich Kleiber, who championed the daring new work. It caused a near riot. People in the audience argued and shouted and critics battled in the press the next day. As so often happens, scandal proved the best advertising, and numerous productions ensued until the opera was banned by the Nazis in 1933 as 'decadent'. Today, Wozzeck is considered Alban Berg's masterpiece and one of the greatest operas written in the 20th century. It is written mostly in the 12-tone method, but often calls on other, more conventional musical styles as the exigencies of plot and emotion demand. This flexibility and attention to dramatic truth are often cited as major reasons for the opera's eventual worldwide public success and critical esteem. Even listeners who profess to dislike 12-tone music often find themselves attracted to Wozzeck.

 

"Berg fashioned the libretto himself from a play by Georg Buchner, a budding German Early Romantic playwright who died of typhus at the age of 23, in 1837, leaving the drama incomplete. Woyzeck, to use the original spelling, was based on a real-life incident, which may help account for its extraordinarily vivid realism and modern feeling. For a play written at such an early date to make apparent references to schizophrenia, scientific positivism and existentialism fascinated many in the early Freudian era, including Alban Berg. The operatic result is a near-perfect marriage of idea and expression.

"Act I. Wozzeck, a working-class soldier, shaves the Captain, who spouts high-flown philosophy and accuses him of immorality because he is not married but has a mistress and child. Wozzeck snaps that he could be virtuous too—if he were rich. Later, while Wozzeck is gathering wood with his comrade Andres, he has disturbing hallucinations. His mistress, Marie, argues with their neighbor Margret, who taunts her for flirting with the Drum Major. Wozzeck pops his head in the window to tell about his visions, then runs away. Wozzeck has agreed to let a Doctor try dietary experiments on him, to make a little extra money. When he describes his hallucinations, the delighted Doctor gives him a raise of a few cents. Marie gives in to her temptation and sleeps with the Drum Major. 

 

"Act II. Wozzeck comes home to find a pair of earrings given to Marie by the Drum Major. He is suspicious, but turns over his paycheck to Marie and leaves. The Captain and Doctor conduct a fatuous discussion while on a walk. They run into Wozzeck and tease him about Marie's infidelity. Wozzeck grabs Marie roughly and she pushes him away. 'Better a knife in my heart,' she cries, 'than your hands on me.' Drunken patrons dance at a tavern. Wozzeck is tormented by seeing Marie waltz with the Drum Major. Andres tries in vain to cheer Wozzeck with a song. The village idiot, a kind of Holy Fool, smells blood on Wozzeck. At the barracks, unable to sleep, Wozzeck babbles to Andres about the voices in his head and of visions of knives. The Drum Major comes in drunk and taunts Wozzeck. They fight, and Wozzeck is left in a bloody heap on the floor.

"Act III. Ashamed of herself, Marie reads aloud the Bible story about Mary Magdalene and the woman taken in adultery. Later she and Wozzeck stroll by a pond. He kisses her and speaks gently, but when the moon comes up it reminds him of a 'blood-red iron.' He begins to accuse Marie again of infidelity and finally slits her throat. He goes to the tavern and gets drunk. He tries to dance with Margret, but she sees blood on his sleeve. He returns to the pond, looking for the knife, stumbling over Marie's body. Finding the knife, he throws it into the water, then wades out to make sure it has sunk out of sight. The water seems to turn to blood and Wozzeck drowns. The Captain and the Doctor walk by. Hearing something disturbing, they hurry away. After an orchestral interlude, the child of Marie and Wozzeck is seen playing ring-around-the rosy with other children. Another child runs up and tells the lad matter-of-factly that his mother has been found dead. Most of the children run off to see, but the boy is frightened and remains on his rocking horse, swaying back and forth." (Bill Parker. Synopsis and plot summary from the liner notes.)

Performers: Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm, Geraint Evans, Anja Silja, Fritz Uhl, Laurent Driscoll, Helmut Melkert, Hans Kremmer, Zoltan Kelemen, Klaus Hirte, Jan van Ree, Gertrude Jan

1.1. Akt I: 'Langsam Wozzeck, Langsam! Eins Nach Dem Andern!'

1.2. Akt I: 'Wozzeck, Er Ist Ein Guter Mensch, Aber...'

1.3. Akt I: 'Du, Der Platz Ist Verflucht!'

1.4. Akt I: 'Tschin Bum, Tschin Bum, Bum, Bum, Bum!'

1.5. Akt I: 'We Da? Bist Du's Franz? Komm Herein!'

1.6. Akt I: 'Was Erleb' Ich, Wozzeck? Ein Mann Ein Wort?'

1.7. Akt I: 'Geh Einmal Vor Dich Hin'

2.1. Akt II: 'Was Die Steine Glänzen! Was Sind's Für Welche?'

2.2. Akt II: 'Wohin So Eilig, Geehrtester Herr Sargnagel?'

2.3. Akt II: 'He, Wozzeck!... Was Hetzt Er Sich So...'

2.4. Akt II: 'Guten Tag, Franz'

2.5. Akt II: Landtänze

2.6. Akt II: 'Lustig, Lustig... Aber Est Riecht'

2.7. Akt II: Wortloser Chor Schlafender Soldatenwortloser

2.8. Akt II: 'Und Ist Kein Betrug In Seinem Munde...'

2.9. Akt III: 'Dort Links Geht's In Die Stadt'

2.10. Akt III: 'Tanzt Alle; Tanzt Nur Zu, Springt...'

2.11. Akt III: 'Das Messer? Wo Ist Das Messer?'

2.12. Akt III: 'Ringel, Ringel, Rozenkranz'

flac/16-bit

Jean-Philippe Rameau - Castor & Pollux

"The story of opera in France in the 17th and 18th centuries revolves around an extraordinarily volatile negotiation of outside influences. Opera, of course, was an Italian invention and Cardinal Mazarin's attempt to introduce it at the French court in 1647 was a dismal failure. If France was to have opera, it was to be distinctively French and free of all pernicious foreign tastes. France was to make opera its own. 

 

"Through the establishment of the Academie Royale de Musique in 1672, Louis XIV bestowed a monopoly on his Florentine-born 'surintendant de la musique', Jean-Baptiste Lully, for the production of opera in French. While heavily influenced by the original Italian model, Lully managed to forge a uniquely French style with the assistance of the great writer Philippe Quinault. The resulting genre, 'tragedie en musique', was inspired and guided by Aristotelian models of dramatic narrative. The role of the chorus was more important than in its Italian progenitor, and verisimilitude was underlined by speech-like declamation in both the airs as well as the 'recitatif ordinaire'. Ornamentation — lavish, to the ears of lovers of Italian lyricism — was understood to have accentuated correct prosody and outlined the richly varied rhyming schemes of French poetry. For the Italians, opera was about vocality and virtuosity; for the French, it was about narrative and nuance. 

 

"Lully's influence was so great throughout the first part of the 18th century that it was often very difficult for new composers to have their operas recognised by an increasingly conservative establishment that honoured the strength of existing forms. The pervasive and somewhat unyielding presence of the Lullian tradition may account for Jean-Philippe Rameau's late first foray into operatic composition. Having arrived in Paris in 1722, Rameau had attracted a formidable reputation as a theorist, composer and pedagogue but had yet to set an opera (though it appears he had had ambitions to do so). The 40-year-old Rameau bided his time. Apparently it was only on hearing a particularly moving production of 'Jéphte' by his old rival Montéclair in 1732 that he was inspired to take up his pen to set a libretto. 

 

"His first opera, 'Hippolyte et Aricie' (1733), sparked immediate controversy and divided Parisian audiences into those in favour of Rameau's new style (the Ramistes) and those who preferred the operatic status quo (the Lullistes, who derisively called their opponents ramoneurs, or chimney sweeps). Rameau essentially took existing Lullian conventions and intensified or heightened them, all the while taking into consideration the latest Italianate trends. He kept the diverse time signatures and painstakingly notated rhythms that Lully had initiated for correct declamation in much of the recitatif, but he made it more pliable, expressive, and above all harmonically richer. He introduced many Italianate melismas and turns of phrases in the paradoxically named ariettes (despite the diminutive - 'little arias' — these were the longest and most virtuosic) and he enriched the Lullian monologues and airs de mouvement with accompanied recitative and other kinds of orchestral accompaniment in novel and tonally imaginative ways. Overall, Rameau deepened French theatrical declamation with a profound sense of dramatic lyricism. Voltaire reported that Rameau told him: 'Lully needs actors, but I need singers.'

 

"Many of the Lullistes feared that Rameau was an Italophile iconoclast, but in reality he was far from it; the many revivals of his works attest to the attention he paid his critics. Many at the time said that Rameau's operas worked only in revival. The revisions appeared to have presented composer and audience with opportunities to better refine and appreciate, respectively, the works in question. 

 

"Through this process, it is fair to say that Rameau's 1737 'Castor et Pollux' only achieved success in 1754, at its first revival. By 1764, with the great Sophie Arnould creating her career-defining role of Télaïre, it was hailed by contemporaries as Rameau's greatest operatic achievement. Many now recognised the composer as France's greatest since Lully himself, a reputation he enjoyed thanks to the great success accorded the revived 'Castor et Pollux'. The 1754 version appeared at the height of the so-called 'Guerre des Bouffons' or 'War of the Comic Actors'. Earlier disputes between the Ramistes and Lullistes had taken on a new complexity in the 1750s, with discourse turning more to politicised debates on the relative merits of Italian and French music. 'Castor et Pollux' seems to have put an end to the increasingly empty debates, which had run their course. It very quickly became a touchstone of the 'tragedie en musique' genre. Composers as far afield as Telemann and Graun discussed Rameau's achievement. 

 

"The librettist, Pierre-Joseph Bernard, had wrought a rather unusual subject for the stage. Rather than the usual romantic pairing of man and woman, Bernard instead focused upon the fraternal devotion of Castor and Pollux. Graham Sadler has argued that in its revised form, Bernard's libretto 'is arguably the tautest, best constructed and most elegant of any that Rameau set'. Sadler notes the powerful conjunction of varying conflicts in the story: the struggle for Pollux between his duty and his unconditional love for Télaïre, and Castor vying with the fatal consequences of the jealousy of Phœbé.

 

"'Castor et Pollux' exhibits in its revised form a great and multi-faceted range of dramatic expression, from the solemnity of Castor's funeral chorus, to Télaïre's extraordinary outpouring of grief, to Castor's mournful air on the Elysian Fields, a place of repose in which he finds no succour. Above all, there is the fluid and sensitive setting of Bernard's elegant poetry, together with the sublime dances of the entrées and divertissements of the Spartans, the shades of Hades and the followers of Hébe. Rameau's word-setting is particularly beautiful in its extraordinary attention to detail: to pick one instance from many, when the two brothers are reunited in Hades, Rameau manages to perfectly convey, through a delicate filigree of mirrored part-writing, unison, dissonance and resolution, the tender reunion of the twins ('O mon frere, est-ce vous?'). The savagery of the off-stage confrontation in which Castor is slain is depicted in what was understood at the time to be a newly naturalistic fashion, with real-time responses from chorus and soloists alike to represent the bloody tumult of battle. The extraordinary contrapuntal treatment of the trio and chorus of demons in Act 4 was exactly the kind of texture that confused the Lullistes and galvanised the Ramistes.

 

"Diderot summed up the feelings of many when he wrote: 'Old Lully is simple, natural, even, too even sometimes, and this is a defect. Young Rameau is singular, brilliant, complex, learned, too learned sometimes; but this is perhaps a defect in his audience... Before Rameau, no-one had distinguished the delicate shades of expression that separate the tender from the voluptuous, the voluptuous from the impassioned, the impassioned from the lascivious.'" (Erin Helyard. From the live program.)

 

Performers: Orchestra of the Antipodes, Cantillation, Anthony Walker, Jeffrey Thompson, Hadleigh Adams, Celeste Lazarenko, Margaret Plummer, Paul Goodwin-Green, Anna Fraser, Pascal Herington, Mark Donnelly

1.1. Acte I, Scène I: Ouverture

1.2. Acte I, Scène II: 'L'Himen Couronne Vôtre Sœur'

1.3. Acte I, Scène III: 'Éclatez Mes Justes Regrets'

1.4. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Ah! Je Mourrai Content, Je Revois Vos Appas'

1.5. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Non, Demeure Castor, C'est Moi Qui Te L'ordonne'

1.6. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Chantons, Chantons L'éclatante Victoire'

1.7. Acte I, Scène IV: Air Très Pointe

1.8. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Quel Bonheur Règne Dans Mon Ame!'

1.9. Acte I, Scène IV: Tambourin I & II

1.10. Acte I, Scène V: 'Quittez Ces Jeux!'

1.11. Acte I, Scène V: Combat.../'Castor, Hélas!'

1.12. Acte I, Scène V: Bruit De Guerre

1.13. Acte II, Scène I: 'Que Tout Gémisse'

1.14. Acte II, Scène II: 'Tristes Apprêts, Pales Flambeaux'

1.15. Acte II, Scène III: 'Cruelle, En Quels Lieux Venez Vous?'

1.16. Acte II, Scène IV: Marche Fière.../'Peuples, Cessez De Soupirer'

1.17. Acte II, Scène IV: 'Que L'enfer Applaudisse À Ces Nouveaux Concerts'

1.18. Acte II, Scène V: 'Princesse, Une Telle Victoire'

1.19. Acte II, Scène V: Air Pour Les Athlètes. Marche Fière

1.20. Acte II, Scène VI: Air Gai

1.21. Acte II, Scène VI: 'Éclatez, Fières Trompettes'

1.22. Acte III, Scène I: 'Présent Des Dieux, Doux Charme Des Humains'

1.23. Acte III, Scène II: 'Le Souverain Des Dieux Va Paroitre En Ces Lieux'

1.24. Acte III, Scène III: Descente De Jupiter.../'Ma Voix, Puissant Maître Du Monde'

1.25. Acte III, Scène IV: Entrée D'Hébé Et Sa Suite

1.26. Acte III, Scène IV: 'Tout L'Eclat De L'Olimpe Est En Vain Ranimé'

1.27. Acte III, Scène IV: 'Qu'Hébé, De Fleurs Toujours Nouvelles'

1.28. Acte III, Scène IV: Sarabande.../'Voici Des Dieux L'azile Aimable'

1.29. Acte III, Scène IV: Air Gracieux.../'Que Nos Jeux Comblent Nos Vœux!'

1.30. Acte III, Scène IV: Gavotte I & II

1.31. Acte III, Scène IV: 'Quand Je Romps Vos Aimables Chaines'

2.1. Acte IV, Scène I: 'Esprits, Soutiens De Mon Pouvoir'/...Descente De Mercure

2.2. Acte IV, Scène II: 'Phoebé, Tu Fais De Vains Efforts'

2.3. Acte IV, Scène III: 'Rentrez Dans L'esclavage'

2.4. Acte IV, Scène III: Air Des Démons

2.5. Acte IV, Scène III: 'Brisons Tous Nos Fers'

2.6. Acte IV, Scène IV: 'O Ciel! Tout Cede À Sa Valeur!'

2.7. Acte IV, Scène V: 'Séjour De L'éternelle Paix'

2.8. Acte IV, Scène VI: 'Qu'il Soit Heureux Comme Nous'

2.9. Acte IV, Scène VI: Gavotte Gaye.../'Sur Les Ombres Fugitives'

2.10. Acte IV, Scène VI: Menuet.../'Dans Ces Doux Aziles'

2.11. Acte IV, Scène VI: Passepied I & II

2.12. Acte IV, Scène VI: 'Fuyez, Fuyez, Ombres Légère!'/Scène VII: 'Rassurez-vous Habitans Fortunez'

2.13. Acte IV, Scène VII: 'Oui, Je Cede Enfin À Tes Vœux'

2.14. Acte V, Scène I: Prélude Tendre.../'Le Ciel Est Donc Touché Des Plus Tendres Amours'

2.15. Acte V, Scène II: 'Mais J'entends Des Cris D'allegresse'

2.16. Acte V, Scène III: 'Peuples, Éloignez Vous'

2.17. Acte V, Scène III: Vite Tonerre.../'Qu'ai-je Entendu? Quel Bruit?'

2.18. Acte V, Scène III: 'Mais Le Bruit Cesse'

2.19. Acte V, Scène IV: 'Les Destins Sont Contens, Ton Sort Est Arrêté'

2.20. Acte V, Scène IV: 'Palais De Ma Grandeur Où Je Dicte Mes Loix'

2.21. Acte V, Scène IV: Chaconne

2.22. Acte V, Scène IV: 'Que Le Ciel, Que La Terre Et L'onde'

2.23. Acte V, Scène IV: 'Tendre Amour, Qu'il Est Doux De Porte Tes Chaînes'

flac/16-bit

Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Dead Death, Death Dead

Dark, foreboding 'doom noise' from American group Blue Sabbath Black Cheer. Heavy focus on atmosphere, ranging from sparse animal noises howling from the abyss to intense and direct grinding noise with excellent power electronics vocal work. Released jointly as an edition of five hundred copies on their own Gnarled Forest label and experimental label Troubleman Unlimited.

1. Borre Fen

2. Black Acid

3. Victim

4. Untitled

flac/16-bit (uploading)

Knurl - Scyamine

One of the best examples of Alan Bloor's equal parts intelligent and relentless style of analogue harsh noise, the sounds on this disc were "produced from an instrument created from found stainless steel". The variety and intensity of the sounds produced is engaging and impressive. Released on Phil Blankenship's Troniks sublabel PACrec, one of many early 21st century noise classics released on that label.

 

1. Aloplasm

2. Entrosyme

3. Exteroceptor

4. Perparaphy

5. Aesthesia

6. Scyamine

7. Panasomiasis

 

flac/16-bit

Knurl - Magnetomotive

Intense, intricate analogue harsh noise from Canadian Alan Bloor, released on American noise label Gameboy Records as an edition of one hundred CDrs in 2003.

 

1. Inflame

2. Enkephaline

3. Inflexation

4. Perforce

5. Sense-Datum

6. Epithelia

7. Nystagmus

mp3/192kbps