Beethoven
Symphony No.4 in B flat, Op.60
Borodin
Prince Igor – Polovtsian Dances
Debussy orch. Büsser
Petite Suite
Debussy orch. Ansermet
Six épigraphes antiques
Dukas
Le péri – Fanfare & Poème dansé
Fauré
Masques et bergamasques – Suite
Pénélope – Prélude
Franck
Le chasseur maudit
Haydn
Symphony No.22 in E flat (Philosopher)
Honegger
Le Roi David – Dramatic Psalm
Pacific 231
Martin
Concerto for seven wind instruments, timpani, percussion and string orchestra
Ravel
Le tombeau de Couperin
Respighi
Fountains of Rome
Schumann orch. Glazunov et al
Carnaval
Sibelius
Symphony No.4 in A minor, Op.63
Stravinsky
Pulcinella – Suite
Plus pieces by Bach, Chabrier, Delibes, Liadov, Mendelssohn, Rimsky-Korsakov & Weber
L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Ernest Ansermet
Recorded in Victoria Hall, Geneva between 1953 and 1967
CD Number
DECCA ORIGINAL MASTERS
475 8140 (6 CDs)
Duration
7 hours 26 minutes
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Collectors over a certain age will have learnt plenty of repertoire through recordings by the Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet (1883-1969). It was the advent of Decca’s Full Frequency Range Recording (ffrr) in the late 1940s and early 1950s that put both Ansermet and Decca at the forefront of classical recordings and they became favourites of the hi-fi fraternity. Ansermet’s mono accounts of La boutique fantasque and Petrushka are landmarks in recording history.
During the 1950s and 60s, Ansermet made an extraordinary amount of LPs, mainly with his Suisse Romande Orchestra. He became especially famous for his interpretations of twentieth-century repertoire (though not the exponents of the twelve-note row) and the French repertoire, and he encouraged and became associated with many composers, including Bartók, Debussy, Honegger, Frank Martin and Stravinsky. He was a master conductor of ballet, an art learnt at a young age conducting performances for Diaghilev’s Ballets russes. His recorded repertoire later expanded to the central Germanic repertoire, and if here he drew more controversial results, he was never less than interesting. Technically, the sound of his Decca mono recordings remains impressive and the stereo recordings are astonishingly good.
The best of Ansermet’s recordings more than hold their own against modern versions, and the warmth and clarity of the sound still amazes, for which both Ansermet and Decca must take equal credit. If many of Ansermet’s recordings can be criticised for their lack of polish and sheer virtuoso brilliance, they (usually) make up for it in terms of character and musical substance.
This bargain box-set from Decca give a good idea of why Ansermet is held in such esteem. Naturally, there is a substantial amount of the French repertoire for which he was famous. Ansermet sparkles in the lighter repertoire: Chabrier’s Joyeuse Marche and Danse Slave are amongst the best performances of these works on disc. Just listen to the sense of exhilaration in the music-making, not achieved by mere speed: it is the rhythmic pulse which makes them so striking, along with the recording quality – the bass drum is captured here as only Decca knew how and the percussion in general is almost tangible. Decca provide similar brilliance in the ‘Tarantella’ from Rossiniana, the most entertaining movement from Respighi’s suite based on the music of Rossini; and Fontane di Roma is treated to beautifully balanced sound rather than out and out brilliance, and none the worse for that.
The Delibes items show Ansermet’s gift for ballet music (both his complete Coppélia and The Nutcracker are real classics). The Mazurka from Coppélia positively dances out of the speakers, whilst Les Chasseresses from Sylvia is rich in pageant and classical drama. We are summoned strikingly to attention with Dukas’s ‘Fanfare’ from Le Péri, and the ensuing ballet music is both lively and sharply characterised. A rarity on this disc is an orchestrated version (by Glazunov, amongst others) of Schumann’s Carnaval and works surprisingly well in its tapestry of rich nineteenth-century, colourful dress.
César Franck’s ominous hunting calls in Le chasseur maudit sound splendid in Ansermet’s 1961 performance, with the doom-laden work building up a fine sense of drama (what a wonderfully entertaining work this is!). The ‘curse’ section is particularly sinister sounding.
Ansermet’s classic version of Fauré’s Masques et Bergamasques, dating from 1961, finds the conductor on top form, with light and sensitive playing making the most of this delightful music. The Prélude to Fauré’s opera “Pénélope” is altogether more serious: it is a powerful piece of emotional writing, eloquent and haunting.
Ravel and Debussy are composers in which Ansermet often excelled (his recordings of La mer and Images are well worth hunting out, and his La valse is a classic). Whilst the works from these composers selected here are well done and distinctive, especially in terms of rhythmic nuance, the ensemble isn’t exactly the last work in brilliance. Still, the finely etched colours of Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin are well brought out and there is a cool beauty in the charming Petite Suite.
Ansermet’s extensive and innate understanding of orchestral sound is well displayed in his orchestration of Debussy’s Six épigraphes antiques. This was originally written as a piano duet but Ansermet’s orchestration fits the music perfectly. One could easily believe it is Debussy’s orchestration; it is all supremely atmospheric and imaginative, even a bit creepy at times (in ‘Pour un tombeau sans nom’, for example) and should be much better known. The mono sound is very good.
It is hard to imagine a more powerful performance of Honegger’s masterpiece, Pacific 231, than in Ansermet’s 1963 account: the opening tingles with excitement and every nuance of the score pulsates with energy, with Honegger’s steam-engine brought to startling life. The same composer’s “Le Roi David”, is a distinctive pageant offering very agreeable musical ideas in the composer’s distinctive soundworld. The performance is strong in character and with its distinguished French cast (Suzanne Danco is especially impressive), it is completely idiomatic. Notable too is the exceptionally vivid early stereo sound, dating from 1956. The brass fanfares, of which there are plenty in this score, ring out vibrantly, as does the bass drum, always a characteristic of an Ansermet recording.
Another Ansermet favourite, the Swiss composer, Frank Martin, is represented by his Concerto for Seven Wind Instruments, Timpani, Percussion and String Orchestra. It gave Decca a chance to show off its brilliance in capturing the ‘kitchen’ department, with the timpani and bass drum strokes vividly caught. The shifting emotions of the music, with its unusual colours and the angular quality of the melodic lines make for a highly rewarding and distinctive piece. Again, the woodwind playing is not the last word in distinction but the performance is concentrated and full of conviction. The well-pointed strings and the vivid trumpet-playing are memorable.
With his ear for colour, it is not surprising that Ansermet made some impressive LPs of Russian music. His Polovtsian Dances may not be in the Solti league of exhilaration, but the orchestra is lusty enough even if the chorus is a bit limp. Liadov’s Kikimora and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Dubinushka receive excellent performances, the former full of atmosphere and tension, the latter wonderfully relaxed and beguiling in its easy-going and jaunty approach.
Stravinsky’s Scherzo à la Russe, a relaxed reading, allows the textures to shine out – deliciously so in the quiet chamber-like section of the work. Pulcinella was one of Ansermet’s most successful Stravinsky recordings, not least because of the vividness of the 1956 stereo (!) recording. True, it sounds a little dry by today’s standards, but it has an intimate quality that is most attractive. Listen to the double basses in the ‘Vivo’ section and the rasp of the brass – crisp and vibrant. The gentleness of the following ‘Minuetto’ is quite melting and one even forgives the oboe player’s lack of polish.
Ansermet’s recordings of the central Germanic repertoire placed him alongside all the great conductors and orchestras – and his recordings were never greatly admired at the time of their release. However, for those on the Ansermet wavelength, they offer fascinating and fresh insight to this repertoire along with bags more character than informs a lot of today’s recordings.
Ansermet was a mathematician and there is a sense that his mathematical mind sometimes worked too hard in the Romantic repertoire. His Beethoven cycle is unfailingly interesting though, and his poised, direct approach to the music works well (the Ninth Symphony, with Joan Sutherland as one of the soloists, won praise). The Fourth Symphony, included in this set, with its mysterious opening, is almost chilling in its beauty here, and Ansermet warms up nicely in the main Allegro. The conductor’s always-reliable sense of phrasing makes the string playing especially enjoyable with the articulation in the finale particularly memorable.
The Weber overtures, The Ruler of the Spirits and Preciosa, are highly enjoyable, the latter with its sparkling ‘Turkish’ music section. One is almost tempted to say Ansermet’s account of Mendelssohn’s Ruy Blas Overture is the best-ever version, with its vivid sound and sense of drama. There is an earthy vigour in the playing which makes it totally memorable. (It is hoped that Ansermet’s fine accounts of Schumann’s Second Symphony and Manfred Overture might make it on to CD on an international footing; the Symphony has been available in Japan.)
Most unlikely repertoire for Ansermet is Bach but, actually, he was rather warm-hearted in this composer; listen to the vitality of the opening of Cantata 31: good, honest and enjoyable music-making and more fun than many period-performances. Ansermet’s Haydn is memorable too, mainly for its elegant phrasing. The finale is especially enjoyable with its hunting rhythms, all very lively but not at all forced.
Decca cannot be accused of putting the obvious in this box and the rarest item here is Ansermet’s account of Sibelius’s Fourth Symphony. This is perhaps not the most successful item here, not least because it is generally the most difficult of Sibelius’s symphonies to tackle. Those who know this work well will still get something out of this performance because Ansermet always has a way of illuminating strands of a score in an interesting way. The tubular bells in the finale, for example, are particularly memorable (albeit the composer seems to have wanted a glockenspiel). However, the tension notably sags in the slow movement and the performance lacks enough tension to hold the work together. However, the 1963 recording is outstanding.
Ansermet was the opposite of the flashy showman conductor: the excitement of listening to an Ansermet performance is more in the subtle nuances than overtly showy brilliance. It is also true that us collectors get a kick from the warm brilliance of the Decca sound, which still amazes in today’s iPod age. Most importantly, there is a character and virtue in the music-making enshrined on these six discs that makes them all the more cherishable.
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