| Site review by Polly Nomial March 30, 2006
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Performance: Sonics (S/MC): / |
First, a brief summary of the contents of this disc and how it came to be recognised as an original composition by Mozart. The disc contains the arrangement that Mozart made of his opera Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail "The Abduction from the Seraglio" for wind octet (2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns and 2 bassoons). The music comprises approximately half of the full opera and the "extracts" are selected evenly from the complete work. Thus a balanced picture of the overall musical story is projected, although naturally, the words are silent but the emotional journey is still embodied in this arrangement. I won't go into the details that are disclosed in the notes but this piece does not appear in the Neue Mozart Ausgabe because of musilogical differences between the NMA and Bastiaan Blomhert (the discoverer, musical editor and also conductor of this disc). As a composition, it ranks up with the great octets and serenade for winds.
This is therefore a labour of love for Bastiaan Blomhert and he is afforded an appropriately beautiful recording and performance from Pentatone Classics and the Wind Ensemble of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Some performers and editors allow their passion of the music to get the better of them and the resultant readings are highly inflected (or "personalised" in another personality than that of the composer) and not recommendable for repeated listening. Fortunately, Blomhert resists this temptation and gives pure joy to my ears both in respect of tempo choice and phrasing.
The playing is wonderful (although HIP fans may find the sonorities a little too upholstered) and at no time does the demanding writing that Mozart frequently requires to represent the textures for just 8 instruments tax the ASMF unduly. The tuning is consistently spot-on and details are only highlighted because it makes musical sense, not for technical convenience. A potenially highly taxing number appears as early as track 3 ("Solche hergelauf'ne Laffen") but the scalic passages are played with great facility. Whilst this is a premiere recording, I cannot imagine it being significantly better played or directed for a long while to come.
The recording is also noteworthy for using London's Henry Wood Hall (the only other time that it has graced SACD in multi-channel to my knowledge is Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, Clarinet Quintet - Marriner/Marriner) and it is really very fine as a venue. Other chamber (or smaller orchestral recordings) should definitely consider using this hall - there is a wonderful bloom to the sound that is entirely natural and lacking from many venues used these days. The stereo and multichannel layers are both highly detailed with a perfectly judged amount of warmth that doesn't spill over into a resonant blur.
On all accounts, this is a wonderful anniversary gift to Mozart (and us) from Bastiaan Blomhert, ASMF Wind Ensemble and Pentatone. Thank you all for a most welcome addition to the recorded (as well as performing) catalogue.
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Copyright © 2006 John Broggio and SA-CD.net
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| Review by Darwin April 21, 2006 (5 of 5 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
The local opera company is staging the Abduction next month, so I was delighted with the timing of this release. It's interesting to compare this octet-sized "Greatest Hits" to recordings of the full opera, and amusing to speculate about why Mozart made specific choices in the reduction.
The plaintive first act arias from the separated lovers are well represented. It's easy to "hear" the missing vocal parts in your mind, and this makes for quite an immersive listening experience. It's understandable but too bad that Osmin's introductory (and hilariously sociopathic) rants are largely missing.
Performance:
Naturally, some aspects of the full-scale performance are simply not present in the Harmoniemusik. The ringing triangle, crashing cymbals and thumping percussion that meant "Eastern! Exotic!" to Mozart's Arabian Nights-loving audience are absent. Even so, my wife was humming the irresistable overture for several days after just one listening. In some cases, the differences can be downright amusing. In the first act, for example, at the moment when the lovesick Belmonte normally sighs "Is that her whisper?" he is responding to the distant, birdlike trill of a flute. When, in the Harmoniemusik, the flute becomes a bassoon, should we be tempted to speculate a bit about dear old Belmonte?
In short, most of the "moods" of the opera come through quite nicely in the ASMF's more than capable hands.
Sonics:
Simply stated: once again, Pentatone does not disappoint.
Concerns about the future of SACD are widespread and understandable, given the way the wind seems to be blowing lately. Nonetheless, it's worth taking a break from the sackcloth and ashes to realize that this is, in many ways, a golden age for home listening. I close my eyes, and the multichannel layer pushes down the walls and renovates my living room. The only things missing from a real concert experience are rattling programs, phlegmy coughs and crinkling toffee wrappers. Hmmm....
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