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RECORD KEEPING | A Hidden, "Shimmering" Gem by Dvořák

By Paul E. Robinson on June 27, 2017

Dvořák: The Spectre’s Bride Op. 69. Simona Saturova, sop., Pavol Breslik, ten., Adam Plachetka, bass. Wiener Singakademie, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/Cornelius Meister. Capriccio Records 5315. Total Time: 78:00.
Dvořák: The Spectre’s Bride Op. 69. Simona Saturova, soprano; Pavol Breslik, tenor; Adam Plachetka, bass. Wiener Singakademie; ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/Cornelius Meister, conductor. Capriccio Records 5315. Total Time: 78:00.

Dvořák is surely one of the most beloved of all composers. His New World Symphony is probably played and recorded more often than any other orchestral piece. But there are still many of his major works that are all but unknown. Apart from Rusalka which has enjoyed numerous productions in recent years, his other nine operas are rarely performed outside the Czech Republic. And who has attended a performance of The Spectre’s Bride, the oratorio featured on this new recording? At its performance in England in 1885, by an orchestra of 150 and a choir of 400, it was greeted with enormous enthusiasm. Somehow it fell by the wayside over the years, but fans of the New World Symphony and other Dvořák masterpieces should welcome the opportunity to explore its beauty as revealed in this Viennese performance.

The Spectre’s Bride is often called an oratorio, but it should really be regarded as a symphonic poem with voices. All his life, Dvořák was attracted to the poetry of Karel Jaromir Erben (1811-1870) and in his later years he composed a series of symphonic poems based on the poems The Water Goblin, The Noon Witch, The Golden Spinning Wheel and The Wild Dove. The Spectre’s Bride tells the story of a young girl longing for the return of her beloved who is traveling abroad. At night she is woken up by a Spectre pretending to be her absent lover, and who abducts her from her home towards a graveyard. She manages to escape and is ultimately rescued by churchgoers.

This is clearly a horror story and one might expect Dvořák to come up with appropriate scary music. There are some terrifying moments in the piece, but on the whole Dvořák chooses to emphasize the girl’s steadfast love and salvation. There are three soloists: a soprano plays the part of the young girl, a tenor the Spectre, and a bass acts as storyteller or narrator.

One of the highlights is No. 13, a lovely duet for soprano and tenor, mostly quiet with highly effective orchestral colouring. No. 18 is one of Dvořák’s great soprano arias, ranking right up there with “Song to the Moon” from Rusalka. No. 17, a movement for bass and chorus is very powerful as the narrator describes the movement in which the girl takes refuge in a house and the Spectre of death knocks repeatedly and menacingly on the door, to the words “buch, buch, buch” (bang, bang, bang). The work is nicely unified by means of a falling fifth figure introduced in the opening bars and then repeated in the quiet ending. Dvořák was always an effective orchestrator but he seldom showed much interest in unusual instruments. But in No. 15 he adds a shimmering tamtam to provide just the unearthly suggestion of terror he needs.

Each of the soloists is excellent with Plachetka as the narrator being exceptionally strong. Cornelius Meister leads a fully committed performance with his fine chorus and orchestra.

For more RECORD KEEPING, see HERE.

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