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| Review:
It’s a pleasure to see BBC dipping into their archives for these and other performances. So a welcome then to a new line of archived recordings! I’ve owned these recordings for many years but must say that BBC’s copies are far better than mine. They are monaural but acoustically they are excellent for the most part. The Royal Albert Hall where the Grande Messe des Morts was performed is of course echoey as well as being noisy. Sounds of the underground, a man with a bad cough and door closings are clearly discernible but these serve only to remind us that this was a live performance. The brass choirs for the Tuba Mirium were placed in the boxes and in the rear of the balcony and even in monaural they pack plenty of wallop. Berlioz was a Beecham specialty of course and many of his EMI & Philips recordings attest to that. As one would imagine the doughty knight plays the music for all its worth. But more for content than for drama. Everyone plays up the Tuba Mirium of course and while Beecham looses none of the drama of that great piece his emphasis is more on sections such as the Lacrymosa and the Sanctus where the real greatness of the work resides. Richard Lewis is a standout tenor in his section of the Sanctus. There are not too many Grande Messe recording available these days. My understanding is that Colin Davis will soon oblige which is heartening for the piece does require the best in sound. I have never liked the Shaw recording which is essentially juiceless nor yet the Munch, which is, all juice with no pitch. So if you don’t mind the sound limitations this is the one to buy especially since BBC has got all 79 minutes of it on one CD. As to the concert it’s a treasure for several reasons. With the exception of G. F. Ghedini’s Musica da Concerto it encapsulates an entire Beecham concert. The missing piece is, by the by no great loss. To begin with who strides with such vigor or genuine dedication through God Save the Queen? The Mendelssohn was ever one of Beecham’s specialties. None do it half as well. The John Addison ballet is a lot of fun if you’ve never heard it. There is a xylophone section near the opening that requires a player with four arms. This multi-armed artist is named in the notes: Stephen Whittaker. Gads! Next is the Beethoven A major. Of course Beecham had recorded this for EMI but I am of the opinion that this is the better performance. It is a stunning contrast to the Furtwängler. A much faster clip – only about 33 minutes for the whole thing. And Beecham’s approach is difficult to describe. Certainly it is individual. His emphasis reminds me of Vincent d’Indy’s immortal tag for the work: “The apotheosis of the dance.” There follows three encores and two separate speeches by Beecham to an audience who can - with typical British reserve - only be labeled as receptive. Sir Thomas was well aware of himself not only as a virtuoso conductor but also as one of the great speechafiers of all time. Of course a good speechafier does not have to adhere strictly to the truth. Nor does Beecham here. In the second speech he says he must hurry off to do a TV bit so it will have to be a short encore. He says that his last TV bit was with Maria Callas and that she did all the talking and he never got a word in. He was speaking of a tripartite appearance of the lady, himself and Victor Borge on Edward R. Murrow’s program “Small World”. Callas certainly had plenty to say but then so did Tommy. It was Borge who hardly got a word in edgewise. At the end of the first hour the conversation fades out and Morrow – no mean talker himself – says, “I was unable to stop them from talking. We will pick up here next week.” which they did. Oddly enough Beecham got along wonderfully will Callas and not at all with Borge. What a man! The program notes by Graham Melville-Mason are excellent. |
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Berlioz: Grande Messe des Morts
