Beethoven Philharmonie / Thomas Rösner VOICES

VOICES

Chen Reiss / Academy of Ancient Music / Richard Egarr IMMORTAL BELOVED

                                                           IMMORTAL BELOVED

Stuttgarter Philharmoniker / Gabriel Feltz GUSTAV MAHLER Sinfonie Nr. 2

Gabriel Feltz and the Stuttgart Philharmonic have previously recorded six of Gustav Mahler's symphonies for Dreyer-Gaido, suggesting the eventual issue of a complete cycle. This 2019 release of the Symphony No. 2 in C minor ("Resurrection"), is likely to be a highlight of such a set, because Feltz and his musicians have taken great pains to bring the score to life while also observing its finest details, particularly in articulation and dynamics, which is no mean feat. Feltz favors brisk tempos, particularly in the violent first movement and the sardonic Scherzo, creating moments of apocalyptic terror that perfectly balance with the quietly elegant Andante moderato, the sublime Wunderhorn song for mezzo-soprano, "Urlicht," and the expansive finale with its choral setting of lines from Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock's ode, Die Auferstehung. To call this symphony a long stretch is perhaps the simplest way to describe it, and only the most dedicated conductors can make it hold together over the course of its 90-plus minutes. Feltz takes into account the underlying unity of the work and lets it tell its story of a hero's death and funeral rites, memories of his life, and his ultimate resurrection on Judgment Day. On its face, the symphony is musically quite eclectic and varied in styles, yet this performance brings it together as a whole, so the trajectory is clear and concentrated, unlike some older traditional performances that draw the mystical second half out too long and deprive it of its drama. Dreyer-Gaido has split the symphony evenly over two discs, so Mahler's intended break between the first and second movements is a casualty, though sticklers for historical accuracy can still hit the pause button. Highly recommended. (Blair Sanderson)

Chen Reiss LIAISONS Arias by MOZART - HAYDN - CIMAROSA - SALIERI

It seems that there is a trend today for seeking out rare, even previously unrecorded material, for recital discs instead of issuing yet another collection of standard arias. This is a very appealing trend.
On this disc there are only two numbers that can be labelled standard arias: Susanna’s Deh vieni, non tardar (tr. 2) and Despina’s Una donna a quindici anni (tr. 10). Mozart’s concert arias are performed and have seen a number of recordings but they can’t be regarded as standards and definitely not the ones recorded here. Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto is occasionally performed but recordings are few and far between. The Cetra recording from 1951 with Alda Noni, Giulietta Simionato, Cesare Valletti and Sesto Bruscantini is sonically dated but vocally splendid; an EMI recording from 1956 boasts a cast including Graziella Sciutti, Eugenia Ratti, Ebe Stignani, Luigi Alva and Franco Calabrese; in 1978 Deutsche Grammophon produced a real winner with Daniel Barenboim conducting and Arlene Augér, Julia Varady, Julia Hamari, Ryland Davies, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Alberto Rinaldi in the six roles. There is also a DVD recorded at the Schwetzinger Festspiele in 1986, that I reviewed a handful of years ago. On Arts Music there is a 1991 recording featuring Gloria Banditelli, William Mateuzzi and Petteri Salomaa and finally Dynamic released a version in 2008 where Alberto Rinaldi again is featured. Those two last mentioned I haven’t heard. Though Haydn composed more than a dozen operas this music is little known, even though there are excellent recordings of many of them on Hungaroton and Philips. Salieri is represented here with an aria from Armida (tr. 1) which a world premiere recording, and a superb sinfonia. In other words there is a lot of un-hackneyed music here and this could be a recommendation in itself, whatever the quality of the singing.
The singing would in itself have been wholly recommendable even if the programme had consisted of only old war-horses. I hadn’t heard Chen Reiss before but a quick check tells me that she has issued two albums before and also takes part in the film and sound-track album Perfume. Though I was eager to listen to the rarities here, I still started with Susanna’s Deh vieni.’ What a voice!’ I wrote on my pad. It’s beautiful and beauty of tone can provide satisfying listening, also when the interpretation is bland. Chen Reiss’s interpretation is anything but bland. It is a true reading of Susanna’s emotions in this exquisite aria. The young woman stands out as a warm, unsentimental, three-dimensional character. This is a singer with both voice and soul.
Returning to track one I could note that Ms Reiss also is technically well endowed. She executes Salieri’s heavily embellished aria with admirable fluency. Mozart’s early Voi avete un cor fedele is a grand aria with a slow, very beautiful opening and then a fast, dramatic section. The relatively small orchestra – 14 strings – is splendid and in the Cimarosa overture they show their paces with crisp and assured playing, giving a rousing reading of this etarnally fresh music. Carolina’s aria from the same opera is another highlight. Chen Reiss surpasses Alda Noni’s (Cetra) reading with a fuller, rounder tone than the somewhat acidulous Noni and challenges even Arlene Augér (DG).
Every time I listen to something by Haydn that I haven’t heard before I am so fascinated by how seemingly effortlessly he manages to ‘shake grains of gold out of his sleeve’. These three arias are further examples of his inexhaustible supply of memorable melodic inventions. The Salieri overture is another gem – surprisingly, or is it? Both he and Cimarosa were held in high esteem during their lifetime and such popularity is not achieved without some mastery. They were not merely competent ‘music workers’. Those workers never got into the history books, which Salieri and Cimarosa did.
Chen Reiss sings Una donna a quindici anni with that glint in the eye that is Despina’s hallmark, and there is no drawback in hearing a voice that is fuller and rounder than the traditional thin-voiced soubrette. The other Mozart arias are also marvellously sung and it should be observed that Un moto di gioia is the aria written for Susanna for the Vienna revival of Le nozze di Figaro in August 1789. It is shorter and not so deeply penetrating as Deh vieni but it is charming even so.
Chen Reiss is certainly a name to remember and the disc is thus doubly welcome: for the interesting and un-hackneyed programme and for the marvellous singing. I only wish that Onyx had included more music. There was room for another 20 minutes playing time. (Göran Forsling)