BEETHOVEN: Mass in C Major, Op. 86; SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54 – Clara Ebers, soprano/Lore Fischer, alto/Franz Fehringer, tenor/Karl Wolfram, bass/Hermann Werner, organ/Cologne Radio Choir/Cologne Radio-Symphony Orchestra/Walter Gieseking, piano/Guenter Wand – Archipel ARPCD 0513, 72:08 [Distr. By Qualiton] ****:
Guenter Wand (1912-2002) established himself in Germany as a literalist conductor –some would complain “metronomic”– as a master of a wide repertory but whose taste in his later years concentrated on the Romantics and especially Bruckner. Wand’s work in Britain restricted itself to a narrower range than he had explored in Cologne (from 1939), and these 1951 (Schumann) and 1954 (Beethoven) Cologne performances do testify to a dynamic presence.
The Beethoven Mass in C Major (1807) represented a dismal failure at the time, since his patron Hungarian Prince Esterhazy II, did not appreciate the work. It lacks any solo arias, and the solo quartet and choral parts must suffice to provide needed contrasts of color, timbre, dynamics, and intensity. Beethoven follows Haydn’s example when it comes to polyphonic settings of “cum Sancto Spiritu” in the Gloria and “et vitam venturi” in the , the latter of which utilizes wide leaps for the voices, sometimes mixed with plainchant, so the stylistic amalgam represents a composer both struggling with a new medium and his own spiritual crises. The “osanna in excelsis” section of the Sanctus marks Beethoven as an individualist as well. Startling harmonic shifts again mark Beethoven as a deeply religious thinker who had to find his own way to musical expression of his personal faith. That the later Missa Solemnis overshadows this powerful Mass should not belittle its dramatic sincerity and directness of style.
Wand’s performance goes for the power in Beethoven’s vision, the Credo ripe with visceral force. The opening Kyrie, on the other hand, projects what Beethoven called “heartfelt resignation.” The middle “Christe eleison” moves to E with a sense of noble exaltation. Happily, the sound quality of the 1954 recording captures the colors of the woodwinds as they interact with the block sounds of the unison chorus, the deep tones of the violas and clarinet often reminiscent of Beethoven’s scoring for his Egmont music. When the orchestra rests or plays simple pizzicati, the solo quartet intones meditatively, only to have the full chorus respond in exclamations or protests of the will to believe. The descending motifs illustrate Jesus’ incarnation and passion endured under Pontius Pilate. The chordal progression moves upward, as Jesus becomes resurrected and ascends to glory. The A Major Sanctus opens with a sense of staid security, a chant dramatized only by the tympani riffs that underline its reverence. At “pleni sunt coeli” the music opens up energetically, contrapuntal and emphatically. The soloists then intone the Benedictus in F Major, in which alto Lore Fischer makes some impressive points. The melismas for each of the vocalists become rather punishing. The Osanna returns to A Major, another fugal affair–albeit brief–of aerial beauty.
The Agnus Dei casts a minor mode introspection close to the F Minor String Quartet in pathos. The “Miserere nobis” has Beethoven’s utilizing tempo and color contrasts, especially in the use of woodwinds. The “qui tollis peccata mundi” conveys literally a world of pain. The two females and then the male voices intone “Dona nobis pacem,” an ardent plea for Divine mercy. The almost operatic progression on “Miserere” finally softens so that the opening strains of the Kyrie return, Beethoven’s finding a sense of spiritual closure and consolation after a turbulent spiritual trial.
The 1951 Schumann Piano Concerto collaboration pairs Wand with virtuoso Walter Gieseking (1895-1956) , the supreme keyboard colorist of his time. His staccati find themselves immaculately articulated, and his legato playing remains a law unto itself. The microphone placement at this concert has the trumpets forward, and the strings cast a warm glow. Gieseking’s capacity for pearly nuance as well as sudden explosions of considerable power finds a splendid vehicle in the Schumann, which responds well in its repetition of every long phrase that Gieseking can shade at will. A potent cadenza leads to a richly vibrant coda for the first movement finale. The delicate, even prancing, figures of the three-part Intermezzo give way to a lush nocturne for the cello line, and Gieseking’s contribution weaves a spellbinding veil of delicate mystery. The concerto’s opening theme finds itself integrated into the triple-meter finale, which Gieseking takes at rather a breathless speed. The martial syncopated second theme likewise hustles, but the convergence of the themes in sonata-form imposes a plastic form on the skittish and fantastical nature of the impulses. Frankly, Wand’s tendency for correctness serves this whirlwind account rather well, a model of romantic excess and classical restraint having found a happy medium.
–Gary Lemco
Jean Martinon Vol. 28 – Symphonic works of Schumann, Paganini, Debussy – Yves St-Laurent
Excellent collection of mid-century recordings of conductor Martinon
