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Presto News - 30th June 2008Reginald Goodall's revelatory 'Mastersingers' |
 Conductor Reginald Goodall is undoubtedly best known for his 1970s recordings of Wagner’s epic Ring cycle sung in English. But those now legendary recordings only came about as a result of the success the conductor had enjoyed back in early 1968 with the composer's popular comic opera (also sung in English) The Mastersingers. Despite some notable earlier successes (such as the première of Britten's Peter Grimes in 1945), by the 1960s Reginald Goodall’s career was somewhat in decline, and his conducting engagements had dwindled (although he remained very highly regarded as a vocal coach). He had fallen out of favour at the Royal Opera House and needed a good break in order to reverse his decline. That break came in 1968 when he was engaged by Saldler’s Wells Opera Company (the predecessor to ENO) to conduct a new English production of The Mastersingers. He was granted huge amounts of rehearsal time which meant he was able to coach the cast of young, mainly British singers right through from the preliminary rehearsals.  Reginald Goodall The performances were widely acclaimed and there was even a live broadcast on the BBC. However, that recording sadly disappeared into the archives and has since become one of the most talked about ‘lost’ performances. Finally however, a recording of that broadcast has been found. It has been re-mastered by Chandos and is being released today on the labels’ popular Opera in English series. So, what’s it like, and is it worth getting? Well, that probably depends on what you’re looking for. I should make clear from the start that the sound quality is generally quite poor, especially when compared to the remarkable achievement of the Ring cycle recorded less that ten years later, so really you have to view it more like an historical performance rather than one from the late 1960s. However, this is largely compensated for by the performance, which is both fascinating and in some places revelatory. The young cast (many of whom went on to star in that famous Ring Cycle) sing with a deep understanding of the score and real subtleties of colour and phrasing, led by the quite superb Norman Bailey who plays Hans Sachs. But overall what you would probably buy this set for is the conducting of Reginald Goodall, and particularly his slow and expansive reading of the score, for which he was so renowned. What hits you more than anything else is the scale on which he is thinking. He can hold things in reserve, literally for hours, and build a crescendo in a longer and harder way than you’ve ever heard before. Although I wouldn’t recommend this to someone as their first Meistersinger (that should really be in German, and of a better sound quality), for anyone who already knows and loves the opera this is hugely exciting. You hear things that you won’t have heard anywhere else, in any language, and you can't help but be impressed and moved by the immense depths of mood and meaning which Goodall extracts from the score.
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.jpg) Wagner: Die Meistersinger von NürnbergMargaret Curphey (soprano), Ann Robson (mezzo-soprano), Alberto Remedios (tenor), Gregory Dempsey (tenor), Norman Bailey (bass-baritone), Noel Mangin (bass), Derek Hammond Stroud (baritone) & Stafford Dean (bass) Sadlers Wells Chorus & Sadlers Wells Opera Orchestra, Reginald Goodall |
 Wagner: Der Ring des NibelungenRecorded 1975 and 1978, sung in EnglishEnglish National Opera / Sadlers Wells Opera, Reginald Goodall |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
New Releases30th June 2008 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Messiaen - Chamber WorksRobert Plane (clarinet), Gould Piano TrioDescribed by The Independent as ‘master musicians’, The Gould Piano Trio, one of the most exciting ensembles to emerge in recent years, is joined by clarinettist Robert Plane for this recording to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of France’s greatest composers - Olivier Messiaen. Messiaen’s wartime masterpiece, the outstanding Quartet for the End of Time was composed during the darkest days when he was a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. The particular instrumentation - piano, violin, cello and clarinet - was determined by these circumstances. The result is an uplifting and spiritual work and Messiaen’s most significant contribution to chamber music. Its premiere was one of the legendary premieres of the twentieth century for it took place in the camp theatre before 5000 fellow-prisoners. ‘Never have I been listened to with such attention and such understanding’, Messiaen later recalled. |
 Buxtehude - Vocal Works 3The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton KoopmanIn 2007 Ton Koopman completed a universally acclaimed set of recordings covering the complete cantatas of J. S. Bach, the last volume of which, (CC72222), recently received a BBC Music Magazine Award. With this latest release of Vocal Works, (Volume 3), he has now finished his series of recording of the works of Dieterich Buxtehude. As with the two previous volumes he directs the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir and several highly regarded soloists, amongst which are the soprano Johannette Zomer, the alto Bogna Bartosz, the tenor Jörg Dürmüller, and the bass Klaus Mertens. The 2CD set features arias, concertos and cantatas, including two substantial works, “Eins bitte ich vom Herrn“, BuxWV 24, and “Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr“, BuxWV 41. |
 York Bowen - Complete Works for Viola & PianoLawrence Power (viola) & Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano)This recent appraisal of Lawrence Power affirms his status as one of the foremost violists of today, the heir to the long and honoured tradition of Lionel Tertis and William Primrose. His unwavering musical eloquence and brilliant technical ability have consistently drawn the highest praise for all his recordings and performances. His renditions of viola concertos by Walton, Rubbra, Cecil Forsyth and York Bowen have been acclaimed as benchmark recordings. He now presents a fascinating double-album of York Bowen’s viola music: a selection that fully demonstrates the great artistry of the composer known as the ‘English Rachmaninov’. |
 Tippett: A Child of Our TimeIndra Thomas (soprano), Mihoko Fujimura (mezzo), Steve Davislim (tenor) & Matthew Rose (bass), London Symphony Chorus & London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin DavisAs with Berlioz and Sibelius, Sir Colin Davis has spent much of his career championing the music of Sir Michael Tippett. A contemporary of Benjamin Britten, Tippett wrote his oratorio A Child of Our Time as a response to Nazi oppression and it couples some of the 20th century's most creative orchestral and choral writing with spirituals. "phenomenally powerful ... the work's combination of immediate political invective and timeless spirituality remains unique and devastating. A great work, greatly performed" The Guardian (concert review) |
 Grieg - SongsKatarina Karnéus (mezzo-soprano) & Julius Drake (piano)Grieg’s sheer range as a song-writer - from the shortest settings, folk-like and immediate, to the depth of distinctive inspiration that runs through every bar of the major cycle Haugtussa - places him without question among the finest masters of the genre. These matchless examples of Scandinavian Romanticism are performed by the partnership of Swedish mezzo-soprano Katarina Karnéus and pianist Julius Drake, who drew great critical acclaim for their disc of Sibelius songs. |
 Messiaen: Livre du Saint-SacrementMichael Bonaventure (Rieger Organ of St Giles' Cathedral Edinburgh)The seeds for Messiaen's final organ work were sown during an inspirational trip to Israel in 1984. Over the course of the next twelve months, Messiaen found improvisation leading him back to composition after the exhausting labours that had produced his mighty opera Saint François d'Assise. The Livre du Saint Sacrement became Messiaen's grand farewell to his own instrument, and Michael Bonaventure performs it from memory here on the Rieger organ at St Giles' Cathedral, the true acoustic of which preserves the clarity of Messiaen's lines. |
 Beethoven - Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3Ronald Brautigam (piano), Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Andrew ParrottThis is the first disc in Ronald Brautigam’s Beethoven Piano Concertos cycle, part of his ongoing cycle to record all of Beethoven’s music for solo piano. Brautigam now takes on Beethoven’s complete works for piano and orchestra, choosing to do so on a modern piano and with a modern instrument orchestra: the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, internationally acclaimed for its many fine recordings on BIS. Conducting the series is Andrew Parrott and, together with the soloist, he brings all his expertise in period performance practice to bear in interpretations that in many ways are as fresh and revolutionary as those of the sonata cycle. As Ronald Brautigam explains in the liner notes: ‘I truly believe that what Beethoven wanted was chamber music rather than a battle between orchestra and soloist, and this makes for a wonderfully interactive set-up, where individual players have far more contact with the pianist than in a regular concert set-up’. |
 Haydn: The SeasonsChristiane Oelze (soprano), Scot Weir (tenor) & Peter Lika (bass), The Chamber Orchestra of Europe & RIAS Kammerchor, Sir Roger NorringtonFew other musical works have attained so much popularity from their images of nature and emotions than Haydn’s the Seasons. Sir Roger Norrington conducts, and he received great reviews from his performance of this at last years BBC Proms: “[Norrington’s pace was] measured, lending a grandeur and spaciousness to the big fugal choruses and responding acutely to the music’s integral colour and character.” The Telegraph |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 28th June 2008 |
Building a Library - Bach, J S: Mass in F major, BWV233 |
 First Choice(coupled with the three other Missae breves)Cantus Cölln, Konrad Junghänel |
Disc of the Week |
 Handel: Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, HWV46aRoberta Invernizzi (soprano), Kate Aldrich (mezzo-soprano), Martin Oro (countertenor) & Jörg Dürmüller (tenor), Academia Montis Regalis, Alessandro De Marchi |
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