It is a darling little series. The idea is to present early works of these composers, or reclaim music lost through time only to be rediscovered, or to provide alternate, since discarded overtures to operas and portions of famous works.
This sets each recording in the inessential listening category, yet they are invaluable to those who want the whole picture of a composer.
Of those Italian composers listed in my intro, Puccini sits in the unknown category for me; that is, I have never sought out his operas, and his contributions outside of that genre are minuscule. This makes Puccini's compositions and musical style all the more interesting to my ears, since I am generally unfamiliar with his music, aside from some choral numbers and arias.
I am sure the most interesting aspect of this particular recording for most will be Luciano Berio's completion of the finale to Turandot, an image of which appears on this recording's cover. Chailly led its premier in Amsterdam with many of these same singers, and so it is fitting he should place it on record here, even if the Verdi Symphony Orchestra is no Concertgebouw.
The speculative finale to Turandot is certainly the most 'modern' sounding on this recording, no doubt due to Berio's influence. I understand the usual adapted finale is rather conservative in nature, so this one must seem mightily divisive in approach.
Speaking of speculative, many of the other works featured, of which there is a total of 14 here, are completed by others, either through manuscripts or filling out from other sources. There is a nice mix of orchestral only, vocal, choral, and wind band numbers.
The bigger selections are the Motet for San Paolino, Salve Regina, and the solo cantata Cessato il suon dell'armi. I am not so hot on Joseph Calleja's bleating tenor in the latter, nor Chiara Taigi's heavier soprano in Salve Regina, but baritone Alberto Mastromarino fares well in the lengthy motet, and the chorus is excellent throughout their outings.
Many will be impressed to find a Requiem by Puccini, which I think I first heard on ASV in the 90s. Don't be! It is a lovely little 5-minute piece, most notable for the viola solo with chorus and organ, but it has never captured by imagination. Even more so now, the 25 second Ecce Sacerdos Magnus is extremely short, although the Vexilla Regis is a fun bit of choral music.
I do like all of the orchestral only works. Even though they are early compositions, they show a strong step beyond Verdi, whereas Verdi's early 'discoveries' were in a similar idiom of Rossini. The Prelude from Manon Lescaut has some wonderful pastoral sounds emanating from it, and the short wind ensemble pieces are boisterous and energetic, if not slight.
Works
Prelude for Orchestra (2.30)
Scherzo (4.57)
Manon Lescaut: Act II Prelude (4.28)
Cessato il suon dell'armi (7.26)
Scossa Elettrica (1.46)
Corazzata Sicilia (2.34)
Inno a Roma (3.24)
Ecce Sacerdos Magnus (0.25)
Salve Regina (4.41)
Adagetto in F Major (4.16)
Requiem (5.30)
Vexilla (3.38)
Motet for San Paolino (11.09)
Turandot: Act III Finale (23.13)
Soloists
Chiara Taigi, soprano
Eva Urbanova, soprano
Maria Fontosh, soprano
Bülent Bezdüz, tenor
Carlo Bosi, tenor
Dario Vollonté, tenor
Joseph Calleja, tenor
Alberto Mastromarino, baritone
Domenico Balzani, baritone
Mario Luperi, bass
Gabriele Mugnai, viola
Roberto de Thierry, organ
Performers
Verdi Symphony Chorus
Verdi Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Label: Decca
Year: 2004
Total Timing: 80.49
The success of this recording will depend on the listener's want to explore every nook and cranny of Puccini's output.
If so, the performers here are excellent, and if what is here isn't 100% Puccini, well... those involved are deeply committed to the composer.
Find more Puccini recordings HERE!
No comments:
Post a Comment