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Review

Reviewed Work(s): Arcana; Amériques; Ionisation by Varèse, New York PO and Boulez
Review by: David Roberts
Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 120, No. 1631 (Jan., 1979), p. 45
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/957922
Accessed: 01-04-2017 19:57 UTC

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horn
horn respectively,
respectively,with
withpiano,
piano,
and
and both
both
written for for vital playing makes
written makes even
even Vierne's
Vierne's heaviest
heaviest chro- chro-
Miss
Miss Dobr6e)
Dobr6e)isisdispelled
dispelledbybyMayer's
Mayer's Raga
RagaMusic,
Music,
a a maticism sound
sound fresh.
fresh. II look
look forward
forward to to the
the rest
rest ofof
vivid
vivid and
and beautiful
beautifulre-creation
re-creationof of
thethe
spirit
spirit
of the
of the the symphonies
symphonies which
which are are to
to be
be recorded
recorded by by this
this
ragas,
ragas, and
andMorris
MorrisPert's
Pert'sequally
equallyexotic
exoticEoastrion
Eoastrion player. If, however,
however, youyou areare after
after evocative
evocative sound sound
which combines Eb clarinet with electronic sounds. rather than clarity,
clarity, you
you may
may well
well find
find when
when it it comes
comes
The performances are of a high order. Miss Dobree to no.3 that you
you prefer
prefer thethe Ely
Ely version,
version, whichwhich willwill
plays with a warm, rounded tone and unmannered transport you you nearer
nearer toto Notre
Notre Dame.
Dame.
phrasing, and her partners do likewise. The balance Guilmant, for
for all
all his
his former
former fame,
fame, is is something
something of of
and recordings are excellent. NIALL O'LOUGHLIN an organ back-bencher
back-bencher nowadays.
nowadays. Of Of thethe music
music
here (the sonata
sonata in
in D
D minor,
minor, in in its
its solo
solo version,
version, andand
four well-known
well-known pieces
pieces from
from hishis youth)
youth) it it would
would be be
VARESE Arcana; Ameriques; lonisation. New idle to pretend
pretend that
that parts
parts were
were other
other than than banal.
banal.
York PO/Boulez CBS 76520 (?4.39) But it is all craftsmanlike,
craftsmanlike, genial,
genial, andand at at times
times
If we disregard one song, Ameriques is Varese's
rousing, and Dr
Dr Jackson's
Jackson's famous
famous wizardry
wizardry will
will
earliest surviving work and it was his first composi-
certainly commend
commend it
it to
to the
the organ-lover
organ-lover who
who doesn't
doesn't
tion following his departure to the USA jib in
at the York Minster vox humana. The aural
1915.
The title, he said, was not to be understood as perspective of the sound is rather overdone. The
'purely geographic but as symbolic of discoveries- distant effects are just too distant, especially on the
new worlds on earth, in the sky, or in the minds of second side, and, as at Ely, one is aware of the
men'. All this accords with the picture of Varese complexity of recording a dispersed instrument in a
the futurist who was to abandon composition and large and resonant building. Fortunately, most
await the appearance of the electronic instruments organ-lovers are used to-and perhaps even enjoy-
he required. Arcana, his only other extant work for these facts of acoustical life. ANN BOND
full orchestra (both employ enormous forces) bears
a title that is equally allusive-an alchemical term
for 'the secrets of nature'-but which, taken together VIVALDI The Four Seasons. Holloway/La Grand
with the quotation from Paracelsus that prefixes the Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy/Malgoire
score, is indicative of a more important side to his CBS 76717K (?4.39)
personality: a love of mystery and the enigmatic VIVALDI Dixit Dominus RV597; Stabat mater
utterance. There is always the feeling with his music Rv621. Soloists/English Bach Festival Choir and
that something is going on that has an explanation Orchestra/Malgoire CBS 76682K (?4.39)
just out of reach. Why is there in both works the Malgoire's recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons,
obsessively detailed percussion writing that often ungenerously spread over a full two sides, is another
seems to be carrying on oblivious of what is happen- reminder that this perennial favourite has yet to
ing in the rest of the orchestra? What is the signi- appear in a reliable modern edition. The Ricordi,
ficance in Arcana of the oddly inconclusive climactic Eulenburg and Hawkes scores, which, on aural
passage set off between rests ? The puzzles, of course, evidence, are the basis of most recordings, contain
are part of the enduring fascination of his music and innumerable wrong notes, and the first two fail to
do not detract from the grandeur of his vision. These include the indubitably authentic obbligato cello
two monuments of the 20th-century orchestral part provided for the slow movement of the Winter
literature, together with the more frequently per- concerto, as Malgoire himself does. The violin
formed Ionisation for percussion ensemble, here parts in this recording are curiously balanced, the
receive superb performances from Boulez and the second violins sounding faint and distant. This
New York PO and are recorded with exemplary harms the music, because even when Vivaldi's
clarity. DAVID ROBERTS texture is non-contrapuntal a lot of voice-exchange
occurs in the violin parts, which presupposes parity
of volume. The solo playing from John Holloway is
VIERNE Symphony no.1. David first rate. Sanger
Vibrato is eschewed with no detrimental
MERIDIAN E 77011 effect on(?2.99)
intonation, and there is plenty of spon-
VIERNE Symphony no.3; 4taneous-sounding, pieces. Arthur though perhapsWillsrather unam-
SAGA 5456 bitious, (?1.75) ornamentation. Variations of tempo are
GUILMANT Sonata no.l; 4 pieces. Francis introduced intelligently in response to the pro-
Jackson ABBEY LPB 794 (?3.49) gramme. The ensemble ranges from the very good-
Organ records are sometimes too exclusively I have never aimed
heard so electric a storm at the end of
at the organ-lover. It is a good acid test to ask the Summer concerto-to the downright appalling:
whether they would appeal to a wider musical the ripieno strings are utterly at sixes and sevens
circle. Of the two Vierne symphonies recorded during the slow 3/8 sections in the first movement of
here, Sanger's would I think pass this test, Wills's the same concerto.
might not. True, Sanger at the Italian Church in Malgoire has a better band, a good choir, and a
Hatton Gardens has in his favour the splendid splendid team of solo singers for the great Dixit
west-gallery organ which speaks and functions as a Dominus RV597. The recording separates the two
musical unit: while Wills, who obviously loves the choirs and orchestras very effectively, making one
music and plays it with aplomb and conviction, has all the more aware how slender Vivaldi's interest in
not got the advantage of such straightforward antiphony was. In the massive 'Sicut erat in prin-
acoustics. (My review copy is not pressed properly, cipio' finale, for example, the voices combine in
either.) All in all, the musical impact of Sanger is counterpoint totally without regard for the spatial
stronger and more immediate, and his calm yet aspect. There are some odd tempos; Malgoire seems
45

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