Dvorak: Stabat Mater, Op. 58; Psalm, Op. 79. Several soloists, The Washington Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Robert Shafer – Naxos 8.555301-02 (91 minutes).
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) is rightly considered to be one of the pillars of Czech 19th-century music, because together with Smetana, Janacek and Martinu he forms part of that elite group that laid the foundations of a national school still flourishing to this day.
Dvorak’s fame rests mainly on his symphonic and chamber works, but I doubt whether many are aware of his extensive operatic and sacred repertoire. Indeed, one of his great ambitions was to become an operatic composer, and this spurred him to write 10 such works, all of them brilliant and highly dramatic, but only Rusalka has remained in the repertoire.
In the sacred genre Dvorak composed three great masterpieces: a Requiem Mass, the Mass in D and the work under review, not to mention the national oratorio St Ludmilla, about the Christianisation of Bohemia.
Scored for four soloists, chorus and a large orchestra, the Stabat Mater was begun in February 1876 and completed in November of the following year. The Prague premiere in December 1880 was an overwhelming success, and the work soon established itself as one of the composer’s greatest choral compositions.
In England in particular, this 90-minute masterpiece enjoyed a huge popularity, and was performed by many choral societies soon after its London premiere in 1883.
Dvorak’s composition has some stiff competition, especially from Pergolesi, Rossini, Verdi and Poulenc, but this is a Stabat Mater for all ages. The work truly captures the existential and eschatological elements of humankind in the most sublime and profound form, and the spiritual suffering that each one of us has to experience is portrayed in music that is evocatively painful yet sweetly cleansing. A sad contemplation indeed, but with a strong ray of hope at the end culminating in a great hymn to the glory of Paradise.
Shafer and his forces ooze out every drop of drama from the famous text, and their searing performance is every bit as memorable as anything that has been recorded before.
Beethoven: Egmont: Incidental Music, Op. 84; Two Marches in F; Ah Perfido, Op. 65. Madeleine Pierard, soprano; New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Judd – Naxos 8.557264 (55 minutes).
For a composer famous for his symphonic, chamber and instrumental music, one might be a little surprised to find out that Beethoven harboured a great love for the theatre and wrote some important works for the stage.
As early as 1791, when he was only 21, Beethoven had already put in a contribution for Count Waldstein’s Ritterballet, and 10 years later he provided a score for the Viennese production of Salvatore Vigano’s ballet The Creatures of Prometheus. In 1804 he started composition on his only opera Fidelio, which only reached its final form in 1814 after years of tinkering and two major revisions, and the overture Coriolan was written in 1807 to complement Collin’s play.
The incidental music to Egmont was commissioned by the Royal Imperial Court Theatre in Vienna, after it was decided to mount Goethe’s play for the 1809-1810 season. By now, the composer was at the height of his powers, and he turned out a score full of inspirational and at the same time poignant moments that capture the moods of the tragedy with a masterful insight.
In keeping with Beethoven’s penchant for indecision, the score was not finished for the opening night on May 24, 1810, but many of the numbers were instant hits, particularly the stirring overture and Clara’s suicide scene.
The play, charting the tragic course of Count Egmont’s rebellion against the Spanish occupation of the Netherlands and his ill-fated love for Clara, remains as fresh as ever, and one could easily put it into perspective in today’s context of global turmoil. With Beethoven’s music to go with it, Egmont is a potent statement for true freedom and justice.
Two very short marches and the dramatic scena ed aria Ah Perfido, written some 10 years earlier, complement one of Beethoven’s most effective theatrical creations.
James Judd and his New Zealand forces’ performances are as dramatically exciting as they are rousingly vigorous, and the tension of the story is transmitted with just the right pace throughout. A fine Beethoven issue in top-drawer sound and presentation despite the rather lean playing time which could have been bolstered by one of the master’s many overtures.
These CDs were made available for review by D’Amato Record Shop of 98/99 St John Street, Valletta.