Oceanides, Op. 73; Night Ride and Sunrise, Op. 55; WAGNER:
Lohengrin–Prelude, Act I; Prelude, Act III; Parsifal–Prelude, Act I ;
Good Friday Music – Berlin Philharmonic (Lohengrin)/ Bavarian
Radio-Symphony Orchestra/Eugen Jochum
DGG 289 477 5484 67:06 (Distrib. Universal)****:
Relatively rare Sibelius performances from DGG, inscribed November 13
and 27, 1955 by Munich-trained Eugen Jochum (1902-1987), whose personal
commitment to Catholicism and humanism kept his sanity intact through
the insane period of National Socialism. Jochum’s was a romantic,
sensuous sound, intellectual yet athletically robust. His musical god
was indeed Wagner, and Jochum appeared at Bayreuth regularly after WW
II to lead inspired performances of Lohengrin, Tristan, and Parsifal.
The resuscitation of his Sibelius recordings is only partial, since he
inscribed Belshazar’s Feast Incidental Music as well. The reading of
The Tempest is appropriately windy and gloomy, a virtual soundtrack for
The Old Dark House of James Whale. The Oceanides is a sea piece whose
elusive character becomes increasingly disturbed. The Night Ride and
Sunrise uses familiar, galloping figures and modal brass and
contrabassoon to effect a Lisztian atmosphere that has caught the
attention of other conductors besides Jochum, like Boult and
Sanderling. The textures are what capture one’s fancy, alternating from
deep basses to airy, pizzicato figures in wind and strings, over brass
pedal points whose sound is a pure distillation of Tannhauser and
Parsifal.
The Wagner excerpts derive from 1951 (Lohengrin) and 1957 (Parsifal)
sessions, in which the Lohengrin Act I Prelude is string velvet in the
Furtwaengler mold, haunted and mystical. After a blazing Act III
Prelude with BPO horns front and center, the Parsifal Act I Prelude
strings and winds with the BRSO lull us with pious grandeur, not so far
from the exalted mystery in Furtwaengler’s 1938 epic reading. I am
reminded just how many debts to Tristan’s harmony Parsifal pays, while
the Good Friday Music more than once hearkens to Tannhauser. Glossy,
rich orchestral textures throughout, vehement articulation on this Good
Friday, in fine sound. Resplendent Wagner from a veteran who wears the
Bayreuth School tie.
–Gary Lemco
