Lalo: Cello Concerto in D Minor; Cello Sonata; Chants Russes for cello and piano. Maria Kliegel, cello; Bernd Glemser, piano; Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia conducted by Michael Halasz – Naxos 8.554469 (60 minutes).
Although Edward Lalo is one of France’s great 19th-century composers, he was of Spanish ancestry. Born in 1823 in Lille, the young Edward moved to Paris in 1839, where he studied music with some of the best teachers of the time.
However, it was only in the 1870s that Lalo began to come into his own as a composer, and this disc focuses on, maybe, the most substantial work to come out from this period: the Cello Concerto of 1877, a work that further consolidated his fame, having already written his Violin Concerto, Op. 20 and the immortal Symphonie Espagnole for Pablo de Sarasate.
The concerto combines virtuosity with a yearning intensity that has an unrelentingly passionate vein. The middle Intermezzo is particularly impressive, although the outer movements have many memorable moments.
The sonata dates from 1856, when Lalo was busy as a performer and composer of chamber music. Although essentially lyrical, the piece contains some truly exciting passages, particularly in the final Allegro, where the composer’s inspiration reaches fever pitch.
The Chantes Russes is a short transcription of the second movement of the Concerto Russe (also from the 1870s) for cello and piano, and this very short work, with its typical Russian flavour, manages to leave the listener yearning for more.
Herrmann: Jane Eyre (complete film score). Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adriano – Naxos 8.572718 (68 minutes).
Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975) is famous for his collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock, but in the 1940s the composer was the musical mainstay of 20th Century Fox, having written no fewer than 13 film scores for this eminent company.
When in 1942 20th Century Fox decided to bring Charlotte Brontë’s classic love story to the screen, the lead role of Rochester was given to Orson Welles. The actor’s domineering character soon enveloped the whole project, and in no time the remaining domains of the production soon fell under his control, music included. It was Welles who in fact recommended Herrmann to compose the score, apparently after Igor Stravinsky had turned down the offer.
Herrmann was at the time a successful composer, conductor and music adviser at CBS, and these credentials might have been the reasons why Welles chose this young musician. At the end of the day, Jane Eyre turned out to be a huge success (this version remains popular to this day), music included, and the score is still regarded as one of Herrmann’s best ever undertakings.
Jane Eyre was the composer’s fourth film score, and is the longest he ever wrote. Completed in 1943, it is one of his most sumptuous, romantic and at the same time eerily evocative.
Herrmann also incorporates a superb array of sonic effects, such as high winds, muted brass and celesta, all designed to deepen the colour of characterisation and capture the tragic element of this timeless love story. The music’s orchestration is brilliant and daring, and the constantly lyrical vein of the score helps create a strong imagery of the mysterious ambience pervading the story.
This recording restores, for the first time, cuts made during the recording or editing of the original film, so now Herrmann’s marvellous creation can be heard in its entirety.
Verdi: Complete Ballet Music from the Operas. Bourne-mouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by José Serebrier – Naxos 8.572818-19 (115 minutes).
With Giuseppe Verdi’s birth bicentenary this year (as is Wagner’s), one is to expect a glut of old and new recordings of his operas to be released in CD, DVD and Blu Ray. Indeed, by May this year, the C Major label will have made available all of the composer’s 26 stage-works in the latter medium.
This magnificent two-CD set contains all the ballets Verdi wrote to seven of his operas. Throughout his long career, he composed very little concert music, but the Paris Opera insisted that he create these ballets, since this was a requirement for works to be staged there.
Some of this music is regularly performed on its own or as part of ballets by famous choreographers such as I Quattro Stagioni from I Vespri Siciliani which has a life of its own. Otello’s short Ballabili used to make regular concert appearances, and the Aida dance scenes are easily recognisable as accompaniments for other media.
But some of the others, particularly those of Jerusalem (the French version of I Lombardi) are virtually unknown, except for the Witches’ Sabbath from Macbeth as this was periodically performed.
The Ballo della Regina from Don Carlo and the seven evocative pieces from Il Trovatore are hardly ever given a hearing, despite some very attractive tunes and masterly orchestration.
Irrespective of age and taste, this set is a must for young and old alike; a near two-hour extravaganza of gorgeous melodies and feet-tapping rhythms, compelling performances, excellent annotations and top-notch sound quality.
These CDs were made available for review by D’Amato Record Shop of 98/99 St John Street, Valletta.