Messiaen Saint-François d'Assise - tableaux Nos 3,6-8
There is much to admire in this early, live performance of extracts from Messiaen’s opera recorded in the composer’s presence
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Olivier Messiaen
Genre:
Opera
Label: Orfeo d'or
Magazine Review Date: 1/2001
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 140
Catalogue Number: C485982I
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Saint François d'Assise, Movement: Tableau 3: Le baiser au lépreux |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
(Arnold) Schoenberg Choir Austrian Radio Chorus Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Saint François, Baritone Dominique Kim, Ondes martenot Gerald Fromme, Percussion Gilles Cachemaille, Frère Léon, Baritone Hans Krasser, Percussion Jeanne Loriod, Ondes martenot Keiko Fromme, Percussion Kenneth Riegel, Le Lépreux, Tenor Lothar Zagrosek, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer Rachel Yakar, L'Ange, Soprano Robert Tear, Frère Massée, Tenor Sebastian Vittucci, Frère Bernard Valérie Hartmann-Claverie, Ondes martenot Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra |
| Saint François d'Assise, Movement: Tableau 6: Le préche aux oiseaux |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
(Arnold) Schoenberg Choir Austrian Radio Chorus Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Saint François, Baritone Dominique Kim, Ondes martenot Gerald Fromme, Percussion Gilles Cachemaille, Frère Léon, Baritone Hans Krasser, Percussion Jeanne Loriod, Ondes martenot Keiko Fromme, Percussion Kenneth Riegel, Le Lépreux, Tenor Lothar Zagrosek, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer Rachel Yakar, L'Ange, Soprano Robert Tear, Frère Massée, Tenor Sebastian Vittucci, Frère Bernard Valérie Hartmann-Claverie, Ondes martenot Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra |
| Saint François d'Assise, Movement: Tableau 7: Les stigmates |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
(Arnold) Schoenberg Choir Austrian Radio Chorus Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Saint François, Baritone Dominique Kim, Ondes martenot Gerald Fromme, Percussion Gilles Cachemaille, Frère Léon, Baritone Hans Krasser, Percussion Jeanne Loriod, Ondes martenot Keiko Fromme, Percussion Kenneth Riegel, Le Lépreux, Tenor Lothar Zagrosek, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer Rachel Yakar, L'Ange, Soprano Robert Tear, Frère Massée, Tenor Sebastian Vittucci, Frère Bernard Valérie Hartmann-Claverie, Ondes martenot Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra |
| Saint François d'Assise, Movement: Tableau 8: La mort et la nouvelle vie |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
(Arnold) Schoenberg Choir Austrian Radio Chorus Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Saint François, Baritone Dominique Kim, Ondes martenot Gerald Fromme, Percussion Gilles Cachemaille, Frère Léon, Baritone Hans Krasser, Percussion Jeanne Loriod, Ondes martenot Keiko Fromme, Percussion Kenneth Riegel, Le Lépreux, Tenor Lothar Zagrosek, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer Rachel Yakar, L'Ange, Soprano Robert Tear, Frère Massée, Tenor Sebastian Vittucci, Frère Bernard Valérie Hartmann-Claverie, Ondes martenot Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra |
Author: Arnold Whittall
It may be paradoxical, but it’s a good general rule that, the less theatrical an opera, the more a recording of it will benefit from the atmosphere that goes with live staging. So, although no one can plausibly claim that Messiaen’s Saint Francois d’Assise is the epitome of fast-moving, eventful music drama, it’s possible to be gripped from beginning to end by the extraordinary presence and intensity of the 1998 Salzburg Festival recording conducted with marvellous flair and authority by Kent Nagano.
The 1985 concert performance of four of the opera’s eight scenes was a very different affair, and this analogue recording cannot compete in technical quality with DG’s sumptuously well- balanced sound. There was, nevertheless, a strong sense of occasion, given the composer’s presence for the first hearing of part of his most grandly conceived work after the Paris premiere run of 1983. That sense of occasion is perhaps most palpable in the seventh Tableau, ‘The Stigmata’, whose content is probably less appealing to non-believers than that of Tableau 6 (‘St Francis preaching to the birds’) but which, in this performance, achieves extraordinary impact through the tonal strength of the chorus. This strength was obviously much easier to sustain in an unstaged, shortened version of the opera. Similarly, Lothar Zagrosek could safely adopt broader tempos – most notably in the final, extravagantly resplendent chorale – when his singers were fresher than Nagano’s.
This mention of the chorus does not mean that there are not considerable strengths among the solo singers. In his 60th year Fischer-Dieskau was still in excellent vocal health, but was never able to project a French text as naturally and fluently as Jose van Dam, and van Dam’s uniquely authoritative assumption of the title-role (he also sang in the premiere, issued on Cybelia, 12/88 – nla) is still superbly ‘present’ and moving on the DG set. Kenneth Riegel was no less commanding as the leper in the Paris performances, and he repeats his searing account in Tableau 3 here. Like Riegel, the two other main principals, Robert Tear and Rachel Yakar, are easily the equals of their DG rivals.
The analogue origins of the Orfeo recording are still clear. Yet although the strings sound dry – even tentative in places – the prominent brass and percussion, topped off by the avian squawks of the ondes martenot (the same three players as for Nagano) ensure that the music’s inherent tensions come alive. This set is strongly recommended as a supplement to the DG, and as the record of an important stage in the performance history of one of the later 20th century’s most individual operas. The text is provided in French only, but there is a reasonably informative English synopsis.'
The 1985 concert performance of four of the opera’s eight scenes was a very different affair, and this analogue recording cannot compete in technical quality with DG’s sumptuously well- balanced sound. There was, nevertheless, a strong sense of occasion, given the composer’s presence for the first hearing of part of his most grandly conceived work after the Paris premiere run of 1983. That sense of occasion is perhaps most palpable in the seventh Tableau, ‘The Stigmata’, whose content is probably less appealing to non-believers than that of Tableau 6 (‘St Francis preaching to the birds’) but which, in this performance, achieves extraordinary impact through the tonal strength of the chorus. This strength was obviously much easier to sustain in an unstaged, shortened version of the opera. Similarly, Lothar Zagrosek could safely adopt broader tempos – most notably in the final, extravagantly resplendent chorale – when his singers were fresher than Nagano’s.
This mention of the chorus does not mean that there are not considerable strengths among the solo singers. In his 60th year Fischer-Dieskau was still in excellent vocal health, but was never able to project a French text as naturally and fluently as Jose van Dam, and van Dam’s uniquely authoritative assumption of the title-role (he also sang in the premiere, issued on Cybelia, 12/88 – nla) is still superbly ‘present’ and moving on the DG set. Kenneth Riegel was no less commanding as the leper in the Paris performances, and he repeats his searing account in Tableau 3 here. Like Riegel, the two other main principals, Robert Tear and Rachel Yakar, are easily the equals of their DG rivals.
The analogue origins of the Orfeo recording are still clear. Yet although the strings sound dry – even tentative in places – the prominent brass and percussion, topped off by the avian squawks of the ondes martenot (the same three players as for Nagano) ensure that the music’s inherent tensions come alive. This set is strongly recommended as a supplement to the DG, and as the record of an important stage in the performance history of one of the later 20th century’s most individual operas. The text is provided in French only, but there is a reasonably informative English synopsis.'
Messiaen Saint-François d'Assise - tableaux Nos 3,6-8
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