Beethoven: Consecration of the House

 

Most will recognize The Consecration of the House as an overture from Beethoven. Fewer people are aware the overture is part of a longer incidental music work, one with solo vocalists and choir.

A little slighter is the incidental music to Leonore Prohaska, which includes a portion for glass harmonica, an invention of Benjamin Franklin's. Both works come with recitation.

This recording is probably the most fun I have had with the pairing of Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, a duo I don't search out too often.

A review from 2020

Beethoven’s Incidental Music is not extremely popular on record, but there is still a fair bit drawn from his music for theatrical plays that still gets played with some regularity. Here we have the incidental music to the Ruins of Athens, except this program contains the music from the later performance version of it: a new overture (Consecration of the House Overture) and an odd chorus or two thrown into the previously existing music from the first performance. We also have four brief numbers from Beethoven that accompanied the play based on the fascinating life of female soldier Leonore Prohaska. This recording led by Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic from the mid-90’s eschews all of the spoken German dialog that occurs between the music, but includes two extremely brief recitations that are meant to be accompanied by music.

Really, there is some great music in the Consecration version of the Ruins of Athens, although I am surprised that we don’t get a bonus of the original Ruins of Athens Overture. The Consecration of the House Overture is pompously big and bold and would fit right into a graduation ceremony, and ends up being quite different than the more subdued Ruins Overture. There are some real winners in the ensuing 50-minute, 10-movement incidental music: of course the famous Turkish March, a light, perky encore number, but also the Chorus of the Dervishes, a devilish, forwardly-looking Romantic German chorus that is immediately engaging, which is preceded by a marvelously trudging minor-keyed duet. The rest is a mix of chorus, orchestral, and solo voice work that is quite varied and most appealing.

The four numbers from Leonore Prohaska consists of a chorus for men, a soprano solo with harp, a short recitation accompanied by glass harmonica, and an orchestral funeral march, one of Beethoven’s preferred settings when he was in full-cranky mode. At 11 minutes, this is all pretty light stuff, but the opening a cappella men’s chorus is satisfyingly fresh, and it all fits into the program rather well.

Much of this music could have been throwaway bon-bons, but soloists Sylvia McNair and Bryn Terfel really elevate this performance. McNair’s suavely silky voice is always a delight, and much preferred over her heavier-voiced operatic colleagues, and Terfel’s soldiering baritone generates drama and interest in music that could easily have been a sleepwalk for these two fine singers. Luckily, we get involved singing from both. Equally, the Berlin Radio Chorus is fully on board with these rare choruses and it is a treasure to have them. The speaking portions total a whole 3 minutes, but these are also well done.

Claudio Abbado’s leadership with the Berlin Philharmonic never thrilled me; his years of youthful enthusiasm with the London Symphony Orchestra was followed by relative blandness in Berlin. Here though, he seems to be much less fussy with the music and is having genuine fun with this rarer Beethoven music. Furthermore, Berlin’s winds are on full display with Beethoven’s widely varied orchestral settings - listen to the stunning brass work at the penultimate conclusion of Athens. Abbado’s Consecration overture is swifter than most and Berlin is still big and bold enough in sound to impress. Add to that excellent sound from DG, and this recording is a surprisingly wonderful performance.

It only helps that there is relatively little to compare with this recording. Bernhard Klee performed this music in the 70’s with Berlin as well, although it can only be found in the large box of Volume 3 from Beethoven’s stage music, and I was never impressed with the sound in that performance. More recently, Leif Segerstam on Naxos has been traversing all of Beethoven's incidental music, and also performs the complete Ruins of Athens, plus its Consecration additions, but Segerstam includes all of the interstitial German dialog. So if you are looking for the truly complete version, at 80+ minutes, you will get it on Naxos, but Segerstam’s Finnish forces do not equal Berlin in any universe, even mid-90’s Berlin under Abbado, and Abbado generates more immediacy and energy than Segerstam’s rather deliberate pacing. Abbado also set down a pretty good set of Beethoven Overtures with the Vienna Philharmonic, also on DG.

This is a fun disc, and all of the texts and translations come with the physical media. I have no qualms saying that this is probably one of my favourite recordings from Claudio Abbado with the Berlin Philharmonic. Add to that excellent singing from top-drawer soloists and the Berlin Radio Chorus, this is a great sounding performance. Despite this music being relatively unknown Beethoven, I think it is worth seeking out, and if it is not completely essential listening, I am glad to have revisited this delightful music.

 

 

Works
Consecration of the House (51.12)
Leonore Prohaska (11.33)

Soloists
Sylvia McNair, soprano
Bryn Terfel, baritone
Karoline Eichhorn, narrator
Bruno Ganz, narrator

Marie-Pierre Langlamet, harp
Sascha Reckert, glass harmonica

Performers
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Claudio Abbado, conductor

Label: DGG
Year: 1996
Total Timing: 62.58

What is to be excited about here?

How about Sylvia McNair and Bryn Terfel together!

Should I mention Claudio Abbado and Berlin at their most fun together?

Would rare orchestral music by Beethoven be a draw?

Find more Beethoven recordings HERE!