Thursday, December 3, 2009

REVIEW: OPERANEWS MARTIN: LE VIN HERBÉ with Bicolano Baritone Jonathan Zaens




MARTIN: LE VIN HERBÉ Piau, Böhnert, Bartsch, Wiedemann; Davislim, Buhrmann, de la Paz Zaens, Hartmann; RIAS Kammerchor, Scharoun-Ensemble, Reuss. Text and translation. Harmonia Mundi HMC 901935-36 (2)RAVISHING REFINEMENTDaniel Reuss leads a deluxe performance of Martin's Le Vin Herbé, a mesmerizing take on the Tristan legend.
Piau, Böhnert, Bartsch, Wiedemann; Davislim, Buhrmann, de la Paz Zaens, Hartmann

If the idea of an aurally ravishing but decidedly non-Wagnerian telling of the Tristan legend interests you, then Frank Martin's mesmerizing dramatic oratorio, Le Vin Herbé (1940), is a must-hear, especially in this deluxe new recording from Harmonia Mundi, sensitively conducted by Daniel Reuss. In adapting the tale, Martin (1890–1974) used as his starting point Le Roman de Tristan et Iseut (1900), whose author, Joseph Bédier, in turn used sources for the original Celtic myth that actually predate Gottfried von Strassburg's thirteenth-century Tristan, which was Wagner's primary source. This deliberate attempt by Martin to get as close as possible to the ethos of the original material resulted in a mysteriously iridescent score that is a unique synthesis of the ancient and the modern. It's couched in Martin's characteristically shimmering, highly chromatic style, which uses the twelve-tone system, but only to the extent that it suits his expressive purposes. Since his building blocks are triads and their derivations, the resulting music hovers tantalizingly on the porous, shifting border between tonality and atonality, massaging the ear with its lushness. In the mix, we can hear both the French (mostly Debussy) and the German (early, pre-atonal Schoenberg) influences on the Swiss composer, but Martin's synthesis is among the most distinctive and attractive of all twentieth-century composers.

Recording Excerpts:
Act II, Scene 4: "Dans le fourréclos de ronces"
Act I, Scene 2: "La nef tranchantles vagues profondes"
Act II, Scene 4: "Celui qui par belle courtoisie m'a donné cet anneau d'or"
In direct contravention of Wagner, Martin emphasizes restraint, evoking discreet (as opposed to outsized) passions from a primordial world unlike our own. In addition, as befits an oratorio, much of the story is told via narration, delivered by both soloists and chorus (here, the superb RIAS Kammerchor). This contributes further to a framework for the story that is somewhat detached and historical but no less moving. In this recording, the soloists, chorus and instrumentalists all seem perfectly attuned to Martin's blend of sumptuous harmonic language and subtlety of expression. Soprano Sandrine Piau (Iseut) and tenor Steve Davislim (Tristan) have the vocal control and musicianship to caress their vocal lines, even the high-lying, forte passages. In Iseut's scene in Part III, when her emotions are as storm-tossed as the ship in which she sails, Piau sustains her cushiony vocal shimmer even as she yearns and frets. Davislim is particularly fine in Tristan's agitated Part II soliloquy, during which he grapples with his conflicting emotions upon discovering that King Mark has come upon him and Iseut asleep in the forest but refrained from slaying them. Soprano Jutta Böhnert cleanly conveys Brangane's anguish and despair without a hint of shrillness, and bass-baritone Jonathan E. de la Paz Zaens has an appealing lightness in his upper range, which serves him well in King Mark's aria. As Iseut's mother (and the first soloist to appear in the piece), mezzo Ulrike Bartsch sets the artistic tone perfectly: her admonition to Brangane regarding the potion is fervent and lyrical, yet refined. Reuss provides leisurely pacing in the choral passages, giving the listener every chance to savor those well-worth-savoring sonorities, but the conductor also knows how to whip up the adrenaline level when necessary, without sacrificing a jot of accuracy from the ace instrumentalists of Scharoun-Ensemble.


JOSHUA ROSENBLUM Copyright © OPERA NEWS 2009

No comments:

Post a Comment