Heinrich Schütz' 'Weinachtshistorie' (The Christmas Story)

The first recording of the Wienachtshistorie (REB Editions 3 (1950))
conducted by musicologist (and editor of the 1949 G. Schirmer edition)
Arthur Mendel

First performed at the court of Dresden as part of the Vespers service on Christmas Day in 1660 when the composer was 75, the Weinachtshistorie (SWV 435) remains one of Schütz' best-known, best-loved, and most-often recorded works. Drawing on the most vibrant and innovative contemporary Italian models (the narrative oratorios and cantatas of Carissimi; the antiphonal works of Venetian composers including Schütz' teacher, Gabrielli, most evident in the angel's chorus) this wholly delightful little musical pageant is nonetheless unmistakably German--and Reformationist-- in spirit, a seemingly effortless synthesis of refined cosmopolitan musical sensibility and style and populist religiosity; the conception of a mature master-craftsman, fully confident in his individual art. A sensitive performance evokes a kind of lambent chiaroscuro tableaux-vivant with its rich, warmly colorful, highly expressive arias and marvelously dynamic choral sections.

A partial version of the score was first published in 1664 by Sebastian Knüpfer of Dresden. Three different, incomplete manuscripts remained extant. The first modern edition was prepared by the German musicologist Philipp Spitta in 1885. Arnold Sherring's version for Breitkopf und Härtel dates from 1909. Arthur Mendel's edition was published by G. Schirmer in 1949, a year before the first recording appeared under Mendel's direction (REB Editions 3 (1950)). Bärenreiter Verlag published Friederich Schoeneich's edition in 1955 and this is still probably the most familiar and widely performed version. As early-music scholarship advanced in the latter years of the twentieth century, more evidence-based ideas about the score and its performance were put forward in newer editions; Fritz Stein for Shott in 1985, Neil Jenkins' critical edition for Novello from 2004, and the 2014 edition from Carus Verlag (see #14 below).

There are subtle differences in all of these editions, particularly in regard to details in the opening choral section, which did not survive except in the part for instrumental bass with an indication of where the four-part chorus should make its entry. Thus, comparative listeners will note broad differences in the instrumental introduction and choral parts from one recording to another, though the bass-line and harmonic progressions remain the same. Creative re-voicings and some liberty with 

regard to precise details of orchestration of the five-part accompaniment are not 'wrong' from an authentically textual point of view, particularly as the composer himself left a bewildering puzzle for

future musicologists to solve.

Only the evangelist's part and the texts of the eight intermedia were published in 1664. In order to perform the work in its entirety, interested parties had to seek the composer's written consent before they could rent the complete score from the publisher. Further, the afterword to the 1664 edition states:

The fact that the Author has allowed the same to be printed has therefore contributed to the consideration, since he notes that apart from royal well-established ensembles, elsewhere his inventions would be difficult to achieve in a fitting manner . . .

The writer of the afterword (in all likelihood not the composer himself) goes on to suggest that potential performers either use pre-existing material for the intermedia, or hire out a composer of their own to set those parts of the text. The publisher went so far as to advise potential performers to re-write the recitative sections should it happen to suit their needs and musical capabilities. After its 1660 premiere, duly noted in a court diary, the work's performance history was largely shrouded in mystery, and still today, much to the chagrin of musicological professionals, questions surrounding the work and its authentic execution defy easy, definitive answers. Yet adventurous listeners are all the richer for this uncertainty, and creative performers will no doubt continue to delve the beauty and magic of this music for ages to come.

[NOTE: For parts of this article, I consulted and broadly paraphrased essays by Derek McCulloch (liner notes from Argo ZRG 671 (1971) (#2 below)) and Oliver Geisler (from Carus 83.257 (2014) (#14))]

a 70s-era LP re-issue of the 1959 stereo recording by Wilhelm Ehmann on the Cantate label

(see #1 below).

The following list is based on my personal collection. It is as comprehensive as I could make it at the time of compilation (December, 2015), though it is by no means exhaustive, nor is it meant as a definitive once-for-all statement on the discography. Intrepid collectors are encouraged to go beyond this list and seek out other versions, especially those on vinyl. In any case, I have endeavored to leave a brief comment with each listing. 

DISCOGRAPHY

1.
Cantate C 57614 (1995 re-issue)
Hans Joachim Rotzsch (tenor) (evangelist)
Herte Flebbe (soprano) (angel)
Hans-Olaf Hudemann (bass) (Harod)
Wilhelm Ehmann/Westphalian Kantorei

The first stereo recording of the Weinachtshistorie was made in 1959 employing the 1955 Schoeneich/Bärenreiter edition of the score, and while the sonics on this most recent re-issue definitely betray the record's age, Wilhelm Ehmann's groundbreaking, influential and very-tasteful 'modern instruments' interpretation still holds up quite nicely today. This recording was available for a time on a Musical Heritage Society LP, issued in 1971.

2.
London (Jubilee) 430-632-2 (1991 re-issue)
Decca (Double Decca) 289-452-188-2 (1996 re-issue)
Ian Partridge (tenor) (evangelist)
Felicity Palmer (soprano) (angel)
Eric Stannard (bass) (Herod)
Heinrich Schütz Choir
Philip Jones Brass Ensemble
Roger Norrington/Symphoniae Sacrae Chamber Ensemble

Recorded for Argo in 1971 (LP: ZRG 671), this endearing--and enduring-- performance emphasizes the lyrical charm and reverent grandeur of Schütz' best-known work. Reading from the 1955 Schoeneich/Bärenreiter edition, Norrington conducts a 'hybrid' ensemble of period and modern instruments, doubling and reinforcing some of the parts with a modern brass choir to achieve a kind of Gabrielli-esque effect, which works marvelously well overall. Tempi in the choral sections and various interludes are virtually identical to Wilhelm Ehmann's 1959 reading for Cantate, and are considerably more deliberate than in many more-recent period-instruments performances, while the recitatives are more briskly paced. Nonetheless, Ian Partidge's evangelist is songful and soulful as few others, with lovely, aptly expressive phrasing; Simon Preston's subtle, inventively improvised organ accompaniments add greatly to the interest of  these passages. The roster of first-rate soloists and players is a veritable who's-who of the best British early music specialists of the time, and the musicianship is impeccable throughout--not a single detail seems to have been overlooked. Both the 1991 London Jubilee and 1996 Double Decca re-issues are long out of circulation and not always easy to find nowadays.

3.
Carus 83.131 (1993 re-issue)
Adalbert Kraus (evangelist)
Ursula Bukel (angel)
Hartmut Hein (Herod)
Ulsamer Collegium
Günter Graulich/Collegium Musicum Rara, Stuttgart

This version was recorded in 1973 and has been re-issued a number of times, as recently as 2004. Graulich employs an edition prepared by Klaus Hoffman for this first 'original instruments' recording of the Weinachtshistorie. In retrospect, almost everything that was wrong with the nascent period-practice movement of the day is on full display here, from ragged ensemble playing and feeble half-starved string sonorities to vexed intonation issues. Ursula Bukel is melodramatically overbearing as the angel, while Adalbert Kraus is a somewhat ponderous evangelist. Hartmut Hein's rather bland Herod lacks sufficient regal presence and dark menace. The wise men's intermedium Wo ist der neugeborne König? is oddly accompanied by sour-sounding natural horns with the organ on 8- and 16-foot Krumhorn stops, which, in its weird little way, is jarringly effective. Nor was it probably the wisest creative choice to fill out the disc with a rather heavy-handed reading of Schütz' Musikalische Exequiem (funeral music). 

4.
Orfeo C 002 811 (1984)
Heiner Hopfner (tenor)
Rachel Yakar (soprano)
Harold Stamm (bass)
Munich Motet Choir
Hans Rudolf Zöbeley/Munich Residence Orchestra

This charming, relatively late 'modern instruments' reading of the Schoeneich edition is still well-worth seeking out. The singing is consistently excellent, and the unusual interpretive choice to double the strings with pipe organ lends the piece a warmly festive glow. The Wienachtshistorie is coupled with an energetically affecting, albeit rather old-fashioned sounding performance of the familiar Latin Magnificat SWV 468. 

5.
Erato ECD-88155 (1986)
Kurt Widmer (baritone) (evangelist)
Bernadette Degelin (soprano) (angel)
Dirk Van Croonenborgh (bass) (Herod)
Schola Cantorum Bruxelliensis
Louis Devos/Musica Polyphonica

The singing and playing are fine--but this performance is so poorly paced as to sap it of almost all excitement. The evangelist's recitatives seem interminable, and, other than in the relatively spritely choruses, the reading is characterized by a kind of weary inertia. By contrast, the motets that fill out the program are full of an infectious musical energy and verve--quite enjoyable, indeed.

6.
EMI 7 47633 2 (1987)
Nigel Rogers (tenor) (evangelist)
Emma Kirkby (soprano) (angel)
David Thomas (bass) (Herod)
Taverner Choir
Andrew Parrott/Taverner Consort and Players

An all-star cast of early-music specialists bring the Weinachtshistorie to vibrantly intimate life in this version prepared by Andrew Parrott "in conjunction" with Hugh Keyte. Nigel Rogers lends a consistently mellifluous sensitivity and quietly expressive dignity to the evangelist's part, while David Thomas is a dramatically powerful--and aptly sinister-- Herod. Emma Kirkby's angel is simply angelic! The seasonal motets by Michael Praetorius that fill out the program are given exciting, joyful brassy, full-throatedly marvelous readings.

7.
Hyperion CDA66368 (1990)
Helios CDH55310 (2007 re-issue)
John Mark Ainsley (tenor) (evangelist)
Ruth Holton (soprano) (angel)
Michael George (bass) (Herod)
Robert King/King's Consort

In spite of its oddly attenuated instrumental sound, this gorgeously sung rendition from 1990 remains one of the most satisfying performances in the catalog. John Mark Ainsley is simply sublime as the evangelist, lending beauty to every phrase. Ruth Holton may be a bit reedy and breathless as the angel, her voice at times possessing the color and depth of a boy soprano, but it seems to work quite well in context. Michael George brings just the right amount of dark dramatic weight to his Herod. Well worth seeking out.

8.
DG Archiv 289-463-046-2 (1999 re-issue)
Charles Daniels (tenor) (evangelist)
Susan Hemmington Jones (soprano) (angel)
Neal Davies (bass) (Herod)
Boy's Choir and Congregational Choir of Roskilde Cathedral
Paul McCreesh/Gabrielli Consort and Players

Employing a 'reconstruction' by Timothy Roberts, this rather dull, often-ham-fisted rendition disappoints as often as it pleases. The Wienachtshistorie is here incorporated into a liturgical re-enactment of a Christmas Vespers service at the Dresden court circa 1664. Though Charles Daniels acquits himself quite serviceably as the evangelist, the recorded sound is cavernous and distant, choral parts are sometimes lost altogether, and, by turns somber, detached, and overbearing, the music ultimately loses its sense of glowing intimacy and lyric charm. The singers practically bark out the final chorus. A rare disappointment from the usually very-reliable McCreesh. 

9.
Harmonia Mundi HMC 901310 (1992)
Harmonia-Mundi (Gold Series) HMX 2921310 (2011 re-issue)
Harmonia-Mundi HMA 1951310 (2014 re-issue)
Martin Hummel (tenor) (evangelist)
Sussane Ryden (angel)
Ulrich Messthaler (Herod) 
René Jacobs/Concerto Vocale

Beautifully sung and played with superb sound. Unfortunately, many of Jacobs' interpretive choices border on the bizarre, particularly some of the manic tempi in the various intermedia and the final chorus, which come dangerously close to flippant, cartoonish parody. That final chorus is stripped of all dignity, emotion, and meaning in its mad dash towards the finish line. Alas, what could well have been among the greatest versions on record, ultimately goes down as one of the biggest disappointments of the past seven decades. The filler material is no better.

10.
Naxos 8.553514 (1996)
Paul Agnew (tenor) (evangelist)
Anna Crooke (soprano) (angel)
Michael McCarthy (bass) (Herod)
Jeremey Summerly/Oxford Camerata

A pleasingly serviceable performance with fine singing and playing. This reading (again employing the ubiquitous Schoenich edition) harks back to Norrington's classic Argo reading from 1971, with very-similar tempi and overall interpretive approach in the choruses and intermedia. One might ask for a more consistent approach to the instrumental underscoring of the evangelist's part--the 'continuo' drops out for long stretches, leaving the tenor completely unaccomapnied; several chords are plunked down at the beginning of each phrase, and occasionally in conjunction with stresses in the text, but otherwise, the practice does not seem to follow a logical pattern, and the overall effect is at once confusing and rather dull. This notwithstanding, Summerly's is not a 'bad' version by any stretch of the imagination--especially considering Naxos' very attractive price.

11.
Deutsche Harmonia-Mundi 88697575832 (2009 re-issue)
Stephan Genz (baritone) (evangelist)
Elisabeth Scholl (soprano) (angel)
Harry Van der Kamp (bass) (Herod)
Sigiswald Kuijken/La Petite Bande vocal and instrumental ensemble

From 1999, this beautiful recording is a treasure--begging the question why Kuijken and his marvelous players never explored the works of Schütz and his contemporaries in greater depth.* The singing is gorgeous, the narrative unfailingly lyrical, clear and cogent, the tempi nigh-on to perfect, and the whole seems to take on a wondrously seraphic aura in memory. The filler material--all Christmas-related works by Schütz including truly-excellent readings of both the Latin and German Magnificats (SWV 468 and 494 respectively)-- is consistently first-rate.

(*) Kuijken and La Petite Bande recently recorded the Musikalische Exequiem SWV 279-281 (Accent ACC 24299 (2015))

12.
Hänssler Profil PH06028 (2009)
Bernhard Hirtreiter (tenor) (evangelist)
Mona Spägele (soprano) (angel)
Michael Schopper (bass) (Herod)
Munich Heinrich Schütz Ensemble
Wolfgang Kelber/Munich Monteverdi Orchestra

Another excellent reading, beautifully sung and warmly recorded. The choral sections are particularly fine. The generous filler material is quite wonderful, too, showcasing the superb Munich Heinrich Schütz Ensemble.

13
DaCappo 8.226058 (2009)
(also: DaCappo 8.204035 (4-disc set) (2011))
Adam Riis (tenor) (evangelist)
Else Torp (soprano) (angel)
Jakob Bloch Jespersen (bass) (Herod)
Paul Hillier/Ars Nova Copenhagen

A very serviceable--not great-- reading This performance lies somewhere in the interpretive middle halfway between Louis Devos' pedestrian 1986 reading for Erato (#5), and Rene Jacobs' caricatureish-ly frenetic performance for Harmonia Mundi (#9). While there's nothing technically 'wrong' with Hillier's take on the work, the performance seems a bit bland to my ears, especially where pacing and characterization are concerned; this in spite of some undeniably beautiful singing and more than adequate instrumental work. I note, especially, the accompaniment of the recitative passages, in which the ensemble seems to launch each phrase with a short chordal burst, only to leave the evangelist hanging in interminable stretches of naked a cappella space. It gets old--and rather boring-- quite quickly. 

14.
Carus 83.257 (2014)
Georg Poplutz (tenor)
Gerlinde Sämann (soprano)
Felix Schwandtke (bass)
Dresden Chamber Choir
Hans-Christophe Rademann/Dresden Baroque Orchestra

Gorgeously recorded, this intimately scintillating rendition of the 2014 Carus Verlag edition is the finest performance since Sigiswald Kuijken's marvelous 1999 reading for Deutsche Harmonia Mundi (#11). The disc is filled out with additional seasonal material, all impeccably sung and played. 

Sibelius at 150 (Part 4): Delving the Fourth

In his obituary for Sibelius, published in the December 1957 issue of The Gramophone, Harold Rutland wrote: "The Fourth Symphony, enigmatic though it may be at first hearing, probably contains the quintessence of the composer's genius."  With this I would wholeheartedly agree. The Fourth, in my estimation, is Sibelius' greatest and most inspired symphonic conception, albeit less-readily accessible to the average listener than many of his other more widely-celebrated works, sometimes bewildering and often difficult to comprehend. It is also the composer's most singularly personal statement on an orchestral scale.

Written between the spring of 1910 and February of 1911 following a prolonged period of stress about his health (a cancerous tumor of the throat for which Sibelius underwent a pair of risky operations), the Fourth is the composer's walk through the shadow of the valley of death. The music seems to rise up like Dante's path out of the Inferno through Purgatory, a dreary landscape of foreboding ice and glacier, oppressive lowering mists and impassable canyon walls. Yet, ultimately, taken as a whole, the Fourth suggests a journey from the gloom of existential despair towards something akin to hope.

This is not to say that the work requires a programatic interpretation to be approached or understood.
For all its outward austerity, the Fourth is actually quite straightforward in terms of structure and thematic organization. The motivic germ of the symphony--the idea from which all else grows and flows-- is the tri-tone interval, the so-called "diminished fifth." (A famous and familiar example of this interval is heard in the first two notes of Maria from Bernstein's West Side Story; the melodic leap from 'Ma' to 'ri' clearly spells out the tri-tone.) In Sibelius' Fourth, it is this interval, incorporated into a craggy four-note melodic figure (c, d, f-sharp, e) that we first hear, rising up from the deeps of divided double basses, celli, and bassoons. Once a listener gets this tangy tetrachord into her head, she will begin to notice it everywhere throughout the piece. The entire symphony is built on these first four notes, which, although constantly varied, rearranged, and disguised, form a principle of contunuity--a single, long, unbroken line-- that ties the whole work together.

Thus, structure proceeds from theme, which, in itself, puts this symphony outside the realm of the conventional. The problem for any would-be interpreter is how to reveal the development of this highly dissonant thematic material in a way that is also lyrical and musically satisfying. As such, it may be instructive to compare recordings by several great 20th century conductors who revisited the work several times over the course of their careers; Herbert von Karajan, Lorin Maazel, and Sir Colin Davis.

[EMI 7243 5 57754 0  5 (2004 re-issue)]

Herbert von Karajan

Karajan's classic mono recording for EMI dates from 1954, and was highly praised by the composer himself. The reading is darkly atmospheric, weighty, and dramatically paced, yet the conductor also emphasized the essential lyricism of the score. This counter-intuitive 'coving off' of the sharper edges without sacrificing transparent structural integrity or introspective depth may well be what Sibelius so admired in Karajan's performance.

The interpretive history of almost any 'new music' that survives long enough to become part of the standard repertory may be characterized by a growing sense of understanding, familiarity, and comfort on the part of performers and audiences alike. Premiere performances can often seem rough and unmusical, while subsequent exectuion becomes more refined, often to a point where the piece loses its original power to shock or surprise altogether. In 1954, the Fourth was little more than forty years old, and had a history of decidedly mixed critical response, yet Karajan revealed this symphony to be not only a great work, but a beautiful one.

[DG (Originals) 457-748-2 (n.d)]

Karajan returned to the score in 1968, recording the Fourth with the Berlin Philharmonic for Deutsche Gramophone. This later interpretation seems overly-prettified, emphasizing surface-deep beauties at the expense of structural lucidity. This is more of an impressionistic approach to the music, and though the performance has a certain dark allure, the all-important long-line is lost in the indulgence of the moment.

[Decca (London) 430 778-2 (1991 compilation)]

Lorin Maazel

Maazel's marvelous 1968 reading of the Fourth with the Vienna Philharmonic for Decca is one of the finest ever committed to disc, almost perfectly balancing structural clarity with lyric accessibility, and sheer visceral power. Few conductors have ever conveyed the opening movement's mood of disquiet and looming existential terror so effectively. Under Maazel's direction the score is realized both as a masterpiece of compositional architecture and a perpetually-intriguing post-romantic soundscape. (I have not heard Maazel's recordings with the Pittsburgh Symphony for Sony.)

[Philips (LP) 9500 143 (1977)]

Sir Colin Davis  

Seldom has there been a more lucid, purposeful performance than Davis' 1977 reading with the Boston Symphony for Philips. Demonstrating an all-too-rare understanding of the spatial aspects of the score, the conductor emphasizes lyricism without sacrificing structural clarity. Though it may lack the sheer dramatic impact of Maazel's performance, the long-line is here illuminated, not merely within each individual movement, but throughout the score as a whole. This approach pays dividends, especially in the slow third movement, which few interpreters have ever rendered with such engaging cogency.

[RCA (Red Seal) 09026-68183-2 (1996)] 

By contrast, Davis 1996 reading with the London Symphony for RCA is bewildering to say the least. More adventuresome but, to my ears, far-less musical than the 1977 Philips recording, Davis seems obsessed with spatial gimmickry and non-essential details of orchestration, such as the placement of the muted distantamento brass choir, or the use of chimes, glockenspiel, or both in the finale. This later reading strikes me as either the work of a genius or a mad man, and I have yet to decide which.

Sibelius at 150 (Part 3): Eugene Ormandy conducts Sibelius

Sony (Masters Series) 88875108582 (8-CD box set) (2015 compilation)
Eugene Ormandy conducts Sibelius
Isaac Stern (violin)
Dylana Jensen (violin)
Louis Rosenblatt (English Horn)
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Philadelphia Orchestra
Eugene Ormandy

Released in 2015, just in time for the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth on December 8, this very-welcome entry in Sony's on-going Masters series features most--not all-- of Ormandy's Sibelius
recordings made for Columbia/CBS in the 1950s and '60s and for RCA in the 1970s and '80s. The new 8-disc box set comprises all the material found on Sony Japan's 3-disc set from 2012 (Ormandy conducts Sibelius (SICC 1581-3)) along with the later RCA issues, offering, for the first time under one cover, a fascinating--and properly contextualized-- overview of the beloved maestro's interpretive evolution vis-á-vis some of the greatest and most-familiar music in the standard repertory.

Sony's packaging is the same by-now familiar bare-bones affair found throughout the Masters series. Each disc comes in its own sturdy cardboard sleeve with essential information on artists and recording dates. There are no liner notes and no accompanying booklet. Re-mastered in Sony's 24-bit high-resolution audio, the spruced up sonics are magnificent, giving these performances their due as seldom before. I was particularly impressed by the greatly-improved sound of the early-digital RCA recordings, which originally struck me (back on early-80s-era LPs) as rather underwhelming with harsh trebles, raucous basses, and bewilderingly muddy middle ranges. No more! Listen, particularly, to the surprisingly well-turned 1980 reading of the Violin Concerto with the young Dylana Jensen, a vital, probing, beautiful, richly-detailed recording that impresses on many levels.

A virtual treasure trove for the comparative listener, the set includes multiple recorded versions of several works to which Ormandy returned time and time again. There are two iterations of the Violin Concerto; Issac Stern's 1969 reading for CBS along with the 1980 Jensen rendition for RCA--though, rather surprisingly, not David Oistrakh's far-superior 1959 performance (available for a time on Sony Essential Classics, and more recently in the Sony Originals series (88697858162 (2011 re-issue)). Two readings each of the First Symphony (CBS, 1962; RCA, 1978), the Second (CBS, 1957; RCA, 1972), and Seventh (CBS, 1960; RCA, 1975); two complete readings of the Karelia Suite (CBS, 1968; RCA, 1975), two versions of The Swan of Tuonela (CBS 1960; RCA 1973), Valse Triste (CBS 1959; RCA 1973), and En Saga (CBS 1963; RCA 1975), as well as no fewer than three different versions of Finlandia (CBS, 1968; RCA, 1972, and the version with mixed chorus, recorded with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (in a rather prissy-sounding English translation) for CBS in 1959). In addition, the set includes Ormandy's very-fine stand-alone RCA renditions of the Fourth and Fifth symphonies (1978 and 1975 respectively), and tone poems Pohjola's Daughter and The Oceanides (both from 1976). These latter works, along with the Fourth and Seventh symphonies were released together on a highly-regarded album from 1983 (RCA 38124), subsequently re-issued by RCA Japan and later by Arkiv Music.

One comes away from these recordings with a sense that Ormandy approached these very-familiar works with a constant freshly-renewed, and often very different attitude, never settling on or sticking to one 'definitive' interpretation. The early CBS recordings of the Second and Seventh symphonies emphasize drama over introspection, coming off as passionate, powerfully driven, virtually explosive. No other conductor's interpretation of the Seventh is quite like Ormandy's 1960 reading--not even Ormandy himself in 1975, which feels, if not more 'conventional' by comparison, certainly more inward looking, autumnal and deliberate, yet still eminently musical at every turn. The classic 1957 recording of the Second (available for many years on CBS' budget imprint Odyssey, and later on CD in a commodious coupling with the Seventh as part of the Sony Essentials series) still trumps the 1972 RCA reading for drive and energy, though the later reading is highly detailed with its own moments of beauty and awe.

Wholeheartedly recommended!!!

Sibelius at 150 (Part 2): The Choral Music

Ondine ODE 1260-2D (2015)
Sibelius: Complete Works for Mixed Chorus
Heikki Seppanen/Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir


Released in the spring of 2015 in anticipation of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth on December 8th, this 2-disc set from the Finnish label Ondine features fine performances by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Heikki Seppanen in beautiful, up-to-date recorded sound. The album is packaged in a handsomely lithographed slipcase, accommodating a standard-width gate-folding jewel case, and a glossy 60-page booklet with complete texts including English translations, and an extended historical/biographical essay by Sakari Ylivuori.

Choral music was, more or less, a sideline for Sibelius, and this rather eclectic assemblage of music doesn’t represent a coherent “body of work” in the unmistakable way the symphonies and tone poems do. In any case, listeners expecting the same level of striking originality and formal innovation are bound to come away disappointed. What one gets here is, for the most part, a diverse mish-mosh of un-opused odds and ends, small-scale works commissioned for special occasions and events, a few tantalizingly brief pieces hardly more than gnomic fragments, with, here and there, the inspired curiosity. Throughout, one is struck by the fact that Sibelius’ most original and stylistically adventuresome contributions to the a cappella choral repertory were made in the early part of his career, before the turn of the 20th century, not, as one might expect, in the 1910s around the time of the 4th and 5th symphonies and the striking cantata for chorus and orchestra My Own Land Op. 92 from 1919, or the autumnal 1920s with awe-inspiring works such as the 7th Symphony, Tapiola and the incidental music for The Tempest.

The collection is book-ended by two of the composer’s “greatest hits”, Rakastava (The Lover) from 1893-98 at the beginning of the first disc, and, at the end of the second, two different choral versions of Finlandia from Opus 26 of 1899, in F major and A-flat major, both arranged in 1948. In between, listeners are treated to fascinating rarities like the Three Songs for American Schools from 1913—setting of English texts no less!— a charming trio of Christmas songs—surprisingly conservative for having been composed in the late 1920s—and three different arrangements of the tunefully Brahms-ian sarcred triptych Carminalia from 1898.

Language may, indeed, be a barrier to appreciation—though I think one could argue that a poor performance of a work in any language is just as daunting an obstacle. Badly enunciated English spoils Holst and Britten no more for an Anglophone than an unfamiliarity with German or Danish throws up a scrim in front of Brahms or Nielsen. Far more instructive and rewarding is a consideration of this repertory in the context of its musical time and stylistic milieu. One may discern the influences of Brahms and Bruckner, note stylistic or tonal similarities to contemporaries like Reger and Nielsen, or remark foreshadowings of the youthful Bartok.

I have yet to hear the recordings of this same repertory from the 2011 Sibelius Edition on Bis (Vol. 11 in the 13-album series), which presents the music in chronological order of composition, an arrangement that might well have benefited the Ondine program. I have had the opportunity to compare some of the alternate arrangements for chorus and orchestra (Sibelius Edition Vol. 3), as well as versions for male chorus performed by the magnificent YL Ensemble (The Voice of Sibelius (BIS CD-1433 (2008)). By and large I find the BIS performances more nuanced and subtle--listen especially to YL's magical reading of Raakastava-- and would highly recommend this latter disc as a companion to the Ondine album.

Sibelius at 150 (Part 5): My favorite performances

Today (December 8, 2015) marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). I personally regard Sibelius as one of the greatest composers who ever lived--he is certainly among my very favorites (at least if the sheer number of albums in my collection is anything to judge by). This little compilation reflects my own personal experience as a collector and my own very subjective opinions formed over the past forty years. It is not meant to be exhaustive or even authoritative. I have tried to list those records that have most impressed and moved me over the decades. In the end, my purpose here is twofold; to pay homage and to entertain. 

Complete Symphonies: Integral Sets 

(see overview here)

Colin Davis/Boston SO (Philips 1975-1977) (Decca 478-3696 (2010 re-issue))
Lorin Maazel/Vienna PO (1963-1968) (Decca 430-778-2 (1991) or 478 8451 (2015))
Neeme  Järvi/Gothenburg SO (1984-1986) (BIS CD-622/624 (1994 compilation))
Simon Rattle/City of Birmingham SO (EMI 1984-1987) (Warner 0825646198788 (2015 re-issue))
Osmo Vänskä/Lahti SO (BIS 1286/1288 (2001 compilation))

The Symphonies

(individual performances)

Symphony #1 in e minor Op. 39
Lorin Maazel/Vienna PO (1963) (Decca 430-778-2 (1991) or 478 8451 (2015))
C. Davis/London SO (RCA, 1994) (Sony 88765431352 (2013 compilation)
N. Järvi/Gothenburg SO (BIS CD-221 (1984))
Paavo Berglund/Bournemouth SO (EMI, 1974) (Warner 9 73600-2 (2013))

Symphony #2 in D major Op. 43
N. Järvi/Gothenburg SO (BIS CD-252 (1984))
Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra (CBS, 1957) (Sony 88875108582 (2015 compilation))
C. Davis/London SO (RCA, 1994) (Sony 88765431352 (2013 compilation)

Symphony #3 in C major Op. 52
Simon Rattle/City of Birmingham SO (EMI, 1985) (Warner 0825646198788 (2015 re-issue))
C. Davis/Boston SO (Philips, 1977) (Decca 478-3696 (2010 re-issue))
N. Järvi/Gothenburg SO (BIS CD- 228 (1984))
Leonard Bernstein/New York PO (CBS, 1965) (Sony 88875026142 (2015))

Symphony #4 in a minor Op. 63
C. Davis/Boston SO (Philips 1977) (Decca 478 3696 (2012 compilation)
Maazel/Vienna PO  (1968) (Decca 430-778-2 (1991) or 478 8451 (2015))
Vladimir Ashkenazy/Philharmonia Orchestra (1981) (Decca 473-590-2 (2003))

Symphony #5 in E-flat major Op. 82
Maazel/VPO (1966) (Decca 430-778-2 (1991) or 478 8451 (2015))
Vänskä/Lahti SO (BIS 1286/1288 (2001 compilation))
Bernstein/New York PO (CBS, 1961) (Sony 88875026142 (2015))

Symphony #6 in d minor Op. 104
Berglund/Bournemouth SO (EMI, 1973) Warner 9 73600-2 (2013))
Vänskä/Lahti SO (BIS 1286/1288 (2001 compilation))
Herbert von Karajan/Berlin PO (1968) (DG (Originals) 457 748-2 (n.d.))
C. Davis/Boston SO (Philips, 1977) (Decca 478-3696 (2010 re-issue))

Symphony #7 in C major Op. 105
Ormandy/Philadelphia (CBS, 1960) (Sony 88875108582 (2015 compilation))
Karajan/Berlin PO (1968) (DG (Originals) 457 748-2 (n.d.))
N. Järvi/Gothenburg SO (BIS CD-311 (1986))

The Violin Concerto

Concerto for Violin in d minor Op. 47
Jascha Heifetz/Walter Hendl/Chicago SO (1959) (RCA 82876 66372 2 (SACD re-master) (2005))
Pekka Kuusisto/Segerstam/Helsinki PO (Ondine ODE-878-2 (1996))
David Oistrakh/Ormandy/Philadelphia (1959) (Sony (Originals) 88697858162 (2011))
Dylana Jensen/Ormandy/Philadelphia (1980) (Sony 88875108582 (2015 compilation))

Other Works 

(arranged in order of publication)

Kullervo Op. 7
Vänskä/Lahti SO/Helsinki University Chorus  (BIS CD-1215 (2001)

En Saga Op. 9
Okko Kamu/Helsinki RSO (DG, 1973) (DG (Eloquence) 480 3297 (2010 compilation))
Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra (RCA, 1975) (Sony 88875108582 (2015 compilation))

Karelia Suite Op. 11
Kamu/Helsinki RSO (DG, 1976) (DG (Eloquence) 480 3297 (2010 compilation)
Segerstam/Helsinki PO (Ondine ODE-878-2 (1996))
N. Järvi/Gothenburg SO (1996) (DG 00289 477 6654 (2007))
Ormandy/Philadelphia (CBS, 1968) (Sony 88875108582 (2015 compilation))

Sonata for Piano in F major Op. 12
Erik T. Tawaststjerna (Finlandia 0927-41356-2 (2001 compilation))
David Rubinstein (Musicus M1002 (2007 re-issue from MHS (LP) 1218 (1971))

Rakastava (The Lover) Op. 14
(a) chorus with string orchestra
Vänskä/Lahti SO/YL Male Chorus (BIS CD-1433 (2008))
(b) string orchestra
C. Davis/LSO (RCA, 1994) (Sony 88765431352 (2013 compilation))
Neville Marriner/ASMF (Argo, 1978) (Decca 478-2759 (2011 compilation))

Lemminkäinen Suite  (Four Legends from the Kalevala) Op. 22
Kamu/Helsinki RSO (DG, 1976) (DG (Eloquence) 480 3297 (2010 compilation))
Segerstam/ Helsinki PO (Ondine ODE 852-2 (1996)) (see my review here)
N. Järvi/Gothenburg SO (BIS CD-

The Swan of Tuonela (from Op. 22)
Ormandy/Philadelphia (CBS, 1960) (Sony 88875108582 (2015 compilation))
C. Davis/Boston SO (Philips, 1976) (Decca 478 3696 (2012 compilation))
Karajan/Berlin PO (1965) (DG (Originals) 457 748-2 (n.d.))

The Maiden in the Tower (1896)
N. Järvi/Häggander/Hynnenin/Gothenburg SO (BIS CD-250 (1984))
P. Järvi/Kringellborn/Magee/Estonian National SO (Virgin 7243 5 45493 2 (2002))

Finlandia Op. 26
Segerstam/Helsinki PO and Men's Chorus (Ondine ODE 1075-2Q (2006))
Ormandy/Philadelphia (CBS,  ) (Sony 88875108582 (2015 compilation))
Bernstein/NYPO (CBS, 1965) (Sony 88875026142 (2015))

King Christian II (incidental suite) Op. 27
N. Järvi/Gothenburg SO (1996) (DG 00289 477 6654 (2007))

Origin of Fire Op. 32
Vänskä/Lahti SO/YL Male Chorus (BIS CD-1433 (2008))

Pelléas et Melisande (incidental suite) Op. 46
P. Järvi/Estonian National SO (Virgin 7243 5 45493 2 (2002))
Karajan/Berlin PO (DG 410 026-2 (1983))

Pohjola's Daughter Op. 49
John Barbirolli/Halle Orchestra (EMI, 1966) (Warner 50999 9 84706 2 4 (2000))
C. Davis/Boston SO (Philips 1981) (Decca 478 3696 (2012 compilation))

Belshazzar's Feast (incidental suite) Op. 51
N. Järvi/Gothenburg SO (BIS CD-359 (1987))
Segerstam/Helsinki PO (Ondine ODE-878-2 (1996))
Vänskä/Lahti SO/Lahti Chamber Choir et al. (BIS CD-735 (1995))

Night Ride and Sunrise Op. 55
N. Järvi/Gothenburg SO (BIS CD-311 (1986))
Segerstam/Helsinki PO (Ondine ODE-914-2 (1998))
Rattle/Philharmonia Orchestra (EMI, 1981) (Warner 0825646198788 (2015 re-issue))

Quartet for Strings in d minor Op. 56 'Voces Intimae'
Sibelius Academy Quartet (Finlandia 4509-95851-2 (1992 compilation))
Emerson Quartet (DG B0006340-02 (2006))

The Bard Op. 64
Kamu/Helsinki RSO (DG, 1973) (DG (Eloquence) 480 3297 (2010 compilation)

Luonnotar Op. 70 (Tone poem for soprano and orchestra)
Mari Anne Häggander/Jorma Panula/Gothenburg SO (BIS CD-270 (1985))
Phyllis Curtin/Bernstein/New York PO (CBS, 1965) (Sony 88875026142 (2015))
Soile Isokoski/N. Järvi/Gothenburg SO (1996) (DG 00289 477 6654 (2007))
Elisabeth Söderström/Ashkenazy/Philharmonia Orchestra (1981) (Decca 473-590-2 (2003))

The Oceanides Op. 73
Eugen Jochum/Bavarian RSO (DG, 1957) (DG (Eloquence) 480 3297 (2010 compilation)
Segerstam/Helsinki PO (Ondine ODE-914-2 (1998))

Jokamies (Everyman) Incidental Suite Op. 83
Vänskä/Lahti SO/Lahti Chamber Choir et al. (BIS CD-735 (1995))

My Own Land Op. 92 (cantata)
Vänskä/Lahti SO/Jubilate Choir (BIS CD-1906-08 (2007))

The Tempest (incidental suites) Op. 109
Marriner/Academy of St.Martin-in-the-Fields (Hänssler Classics CD 98-353 (2000))
Segerstam/Helsinki PO (Ondine ODE-914-2 (1998))

Tapiola Op. 112
Segerstam/Helsinki PO (Ondine ODE-852-2 (1996))
Colin Davis/Boston SO (Philips, 1977) (Decca 478 3696 (2012 compilation)

Masonic Ritual Music Op. 113 (1946)
Jaako Kuusisto/Lahti SO/YL Male Chorus et al. (BIS CD-1977 (2011))

Paavo Järvi conducts Bruckner's 6th

RCA (Red Seal) 88751 31262 (2015)
Bruckner: Symphony #6 in A major (Nowak Edition)
Paavo Järvi/Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra


This is a very fine performance, thoughtful and well-detailed. The Frankfurt Radio Symphony is more than equal to the demands of the score, with a full, rich, beautiful ensemble sound. RCA's digital sonics are at once warm and grandly sumptuous, aptly capturing the breadth and sweep of the score. Conductor Paavo Järvi leads the Nowak edition of Bruckner's often-overlooked 6th with unimpeachable musicality and steady assurance. Yet, for all its virtues, this reading offers no new insights into the music.

Comparison to some of the great performances of the past is inevitable:  Jochum (DG) emphasized the sheer innate drama of the music, offering a hyper-dynamic reading, shattering in its motive force,
while  Klemperer (EMI) delved the quieter philosophical depths of the score. Though almost at opposite ends of he spectrum in terms of phrasing and tempo, both conductors' brought a kind of inevitability--an undeniable personal presence--to their music-making. Haitink, leading the Concertgebouw, (Philips) emphasized a luminous lyricism, while Barenboim (DG), mustering the full power of the Chicago Symphony's legendary brass section, galvanizes the listener with a relentless sense of forward movement, gloriously elucidating the composer's long lines--especially in the slow second movement (while, alas, inexplicably seeming to "peter out" in the finale). Personally, I do not care for Karajan's rather ponderous reading of the Haase edition (DG). Likewise, I was disappointed by what I found to be Wand's uncharacteristically underwhelming rendition (RCA/Sony).

Placing Järvi in the context of this rich, longstanding legacy of performance, I came away not unsatisfied--though I certainly do not mean to damn with faint praise here. In attitude and sensibility, Järvi comes closest, I think, to Haitink, deemphasizing the raw drama of the score in favor of a more refined--though equally innate--lyricism. It may well be interesting to hear additional entries in this (I presume on-going) cycle.