BERLIOZ: L’enfance du Christ – Yann Beuron, Narrator/ Karen Cargill, Marie/ William Dazeley, Joseph/ Matthew Rose, Herod/ Peter Rose, Polydorus/ Tenebrae Choir/ London Symphony Orchestra/ Colin Davis, conductor – LSO Live

by | Nov 14, 2007 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews | 0 comments

BERLIOZ: L’enfance du Christ – Yann Beuron, Narrator/ Karen Cargill, Marie/ William Dazeley, Joseph/ Matthew Rose, Herod/ Peter Rose, Polydorus/ Tenebrae Choir/ London Symphony Orchestra/ Colin Davis, conductor – LSO Live multichannel SACD LSO0606 (2 discs), 96:34 **** [Distr. by Harmonia mundi]:

This is the latest in Sir Colin Davis’s traversal through the works of Hector Berlioz, his second, the first already setting the bar very high for many listeners (all on Philips, and most obtainable). Having compared a number of these recordings, I honestly can’t tell that his view of these pieces has changed much over the years, except in works like this one, where many of the pastoral and softer moments of Berliozian delicacy are taken with a little more repose and sensitivity, not that he lacked these things on Philips. It’s just that here it is more noticeable. Maybe being 80 years old adds to this, I don’t know.

But even his earlier recording comes in second to my favorite, that by Andre Cluytens on EMI double fforte (currently coupled with the best ever Romeo et Juliette selections by Guilini and the Chicago Symphony), a reading that is so authentic and full of Gallic pungency that it immediately sears itself into your soul. Everyone should have that recording (and at the price, everyone can). Cluytens treats the nativity story with reverence and a French sophistication, while Davis tells it dramatically and more from a purely musical stance. This is not a bad thing, for the Tenebrae Choir sings gorgeously, and the LSO is playing better than they have for 30 years. But listening to the famous chorus The Shepherd’s Farewell is telling; when the shepherds leave for Cluytens, he somehow manages to put a real distance between the front and back of the soundstage, so that they appear to be moving away, as if in a real farewell. Davis’s shepherds hang around for one last forte bolt. It works musically, but sort of defeats the purpose of Berlioz’s intentions.

But this is a minor quibble; no one still understands this music better than Sir Colin, and it is great to have a modern version of this, and on SACD. There is nothing new to report here in terms of the sound. If you like what the folks at LSO Live are doing, you will like this, and the other aural distinctions remain. Everything is very clear, somewhat forward, dry, and lacking in resonance. There is nice spatial separation among the speakers with most of the signal directed to the front three. The tonal opulence of these forces is significant, and I found the recording quite persuasive, the performance no less so. The soloists are all excellent, though that doesn’t matter in this work as much as some others, with the exception of the narrator. Nicolai Gedda takes that role in the Cluytens, and he is simply impossible to beat, as is Victoria de los Angeles. So I would suggest both recordings adorn your shelves, though the price and pure classical status of the Cluytens would make it the recording of choice if you have to choose. Audiophiles will want this, as will many others attracted to the unmistakable authority Colin Davis has in this music.

— Steven Ritter
 

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