Classical Music

Capriccio Encore is a series of re-releases of the most famous recordings from Capriccio’s back catalogue, fully re-mastered and competitively priced. The legendary recordings of artists such as Sandor Végh, Ton Koopman, Sir Neville Marriner and the Vienna Boys’ Choir also contain repertoire highlights that have a particularly special appeal, from the baroque to the present day. This Encore release's highlight is Luigi Cherubini's Coronation Mass Krönungsmesse, performed by Kölner Rundfunkchor and Capella Coloniensis.

In the second half of 18th century, keyboard music in Tuscany was flourishing. Many composers wrote music for both the fortepiano and the harpsichord: the former, which was invented just before the turn of the 18th century in Florence by harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731), rose to an incredible degree of popularity in the last decades of the century at the expense of the latter, which experienced the last moments of its glorious history. At any rate, it was by no means uncommon that composers published music intended to be played on either instrument, as almost all keyboard pieces written in Tuscany during the 1780s were explicitly addressed per il clavicembalo o fortepiano (for the harpsichord or piano).

The Florence-born composer Luigi Cherubini (1760–1842) published his Sei Sonate per il Cimbalo around 1780; they are currently believed to be the first published work by the composer, although he had written operas and religious music prior to the publication of this work. The style of these sonatas is not too far from the musical fashion of the time: they all consist of two movements, the first in sonata-form, the second a rondò where the second theme is typically characterized by highly virtuosic writing. All six sonatas follow this strict formal code, however, Cherubini manages to create a surprising variety in the themes and their development. Each sonata could, in fact, depict a different stock character from the commedia dell’Arte, with their strict formal codification employed in a theatrical way thanks to the perfect balance of ideas set out each time. Even the bass seems to be adjusted depending on the mood of the theme – Cherubini employs Murky bass, Alberti bass and even counterpoint. The harmonic closeness between the key signatures of each sonata gives further cohesion to the whole set.

After careful consideration, Simone El Oufir Pierini found the fortepiano to be the best instrument to play these works on, although in the printed edition it was explicitly said that they should be played on the harpsichord. The piano, a new instrument, was highly favoured by the new Tuscan court, and the potential of this new instrument was sought out with keen interest by composers. The employment of the fortepiano for these sonatas hopefully sheds new light on these pieces, written by one of the most influential composers of the time.

Cherubini’s Les Abencérages, premiered in 1813, heralds the spectacle and extravagance of Romantic grand opera. From the Alhambra gardens to the battlefield, the action skillfully intertwines political conspiracies with a love story. Underpinned by the energy and timbres of period instruments, this recording demonstrates the work’s modernity and its musical qualities. Anaïs Constans valiantly tackles the demanding role of Noraïme, while Edgaras Montvidas displays his lyric tenor voice in a series of sublime airs whose beauty was already hinted at by none other than Roberto Alagna in a recital disc released in 2003. Around this couple, a plethoric cast of soloists (Dolié, Sargsyan, Williams, Martin, Lavoie, etc.) achieves the same high standards of French diction and style. The Hungarian conductor György Vashegyi, flanked by the Purcell Choir and Orfeo Orchestra, reveals here another key milestone of French Romantic opera.

REVIEWS:

Unstaged in Paris for over two centuries Les Abencérages, a kind of ‘missing link’ in the history of French opera, has been disinterred by Bru Zane. The overture with its two warring themes – romantic passion versus battlefield chivalry – announce a changed sensibility where the political is properly personal.

György Vashegyi and the Orfeo Orchestra find Beethoven – drums and trumpets and driving rhythms – in Cherubini’s score, and hints at the start of Act III of the Romanticism to come with Mendelssohn. While Étienne de Jouy’s libretto is set in the exotic Alhambra of late-15th century Moorish Grenada, its spectacle and masterly use of the chorus suggests the coming French Grand Opéra. Its story presents two warring factions within the last Spanish caliphate ready to be reconciled through the warrior Almazor’s marriage to Princess Norïme. That is until the villainous Vizier Alémar starts to plot!

Cherubini’s vocal line is free of Italian decorative thrills. Anaïs Constans handles Norïme’s high tessitura with grace, and Edgaras Montvidas’s Almanzor is a worthy heir to Louis Nourrit, the tenor who created the role in 1813. His farewell when exiled from Grenada having ‘lost’ the kingdom’s sacred standard on the battlefield is properly affecting.

Yet it’s the Purcell Choir who steal the vocal honours, with magnificent singing by the women in Act I as they prepare for the wedding, and the men rattling their vocal sabres handsomely as the plot thickens in Act II. For all that, the musical history is perhaps more striking than the opera itself.

-- BBC Music Magazine

Cherubini: Ali-Baba, ou Les quarante voleurs (1963)

The Italian composer Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) isn’t much remembered today, though a not inconsiderable number of recordings are making known his instrumental, vocal and, most significantly, his operatic works that, historically, carry the most weight and are his most significant contribution to music. Long before re-discovery however, came this 1960 Elisa, a two-act opéra comique that had its premiere in Paris in 1794, a time of much turmoil in that city. An all-Italian cast, conductor, orchestra and locale feature here, with Gabriela Tucci and Gianni Raimondi assuming the lead roles.

CHERUBINI Symphony in D. Overtures: Médée; Faniska; Lodoïska • Piero Bellugi, cond; Sanremo SO • NAXOS 8.557908 (56:07)


The orchestra of San Remo, a small town just east of Monaco, is one of Italy’s finest: brilliant, if not subtle; and displaying a varied palette. This performance of Cherubini’s only symphony is big and potent. In a work we normally hear as a last remnant of the Classical era, Bellugi points ahead toward the Romantic. Although one misses the tightly disciplined readings of Toscanini, Cantelli, and—best of all—Donato Renzetti (currently on Arts Music 47102, see Fanfare 20:2), the grand style and delicious colors of this performance make it a strong competitor. Naxos’s recorded sound is fresh and up close; strings are spread widely across the soundstage, woodwind solos are spotlighted, and a highly reverberant ambience clouds the tutti at or above f . Nevertheless, it is hard not to love this recording, which frees Cherubini from his dry-as-dust reputation, making him sound much like the free-spirited Arriaga.


Bellugi’s romantic style suits the opera overtures equally well. Although labeled a comedy because it has a happy ending, the fiery Lodoïska is no less dramatic than the more famous Médée . All three of these operas were produced in Vienna from 1802 to 1806, and they had great influence on Fidelio. Lodoïska and Faniska are both “rescue operas,” the latter sharing its librettist with Beethoven’s masterpiece. Along with the C-Minor Requiem, these were the works that made Beethoven (in a moment of false modesty?) name Cherubini the greatest living composer. In two tightly packed pages, Keith Anderson’s program notes explore corners of Cherubini’s life which I had not previously encountered. He led a charmed life in dangerous times, obtaining and losing the favors of reigning powers from royalty to Napoleon, slipping away to the countryside when the politics got rough.


All in all, a winning disc.


FANFARE: James H. North

In the post-war gramophone record era, the great conductor Arturo Toscanini was the first to record the work on February 19, 1950. Carlo Maria Giulini followed him only two years later and conducted Cherubini's Requiem in C Minor in his first studio recording. It is that which is presented on CD here for the first time.

Although a contemporary of Mozart, Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) lived to the age of 81, which means he experienced the fullness of the stylistic changes now known as Romanticism that captured the creative imagination of composers from Beethoven and Schubert to Brahms and Berlioz. Nevertheless, his Requiem in C minor, written for a belated memorial funeral service for the executed Louis XVI (the performance was at Paris' church of St. Denis in January, 1817), in style, tone, and texture has Mozart written all over it.

Anyone familiar with Mozart's D minor Requiem will immediately be drawn to the similarities with Cherubini's work (although no biographical references make any mention of a Mozart/Cherubini connection), particularly its dark color, richly exploited minor-key harmonic palette, and (like Mozart) melodic/dramatic elements suited to a first-rate opera composer (which Cherubini was). Even some of the thematic material is uncannily Mozartean.

But equally notable are the work's many more "modern" features, such as the surprising tam-tam crash just before the Dies irae, and the subsequent choral movement that to the keen observer may be closer to a refugee from Orff's Carmina burana or a 20th-century film score than to a movement from an early 19th-century setting of a sacred funereal text.

No matter how you look at it, Cherubini's music is equal to the final creative gasp of Mozart, or to the more labored choral efforts of Beethoven (he regarded Cherubini as the greatest living composer--after himself--and requested this Requiem at his own funeral). Frieder Bernius and his excellent choir and orchestra present the finest rendition of the C minor Requiem yet recorded--signified by taut ensemble and scintillating harmonies and vibrant, dynamic textures that confirm Cherubini's solid, successful communion of text and musical ideas.

Highlights include the entire Offertorium sequence, but especially the sensitive expression of the lovely passages of the Hostias, along with the energetic and texturally well-delineated fugues and finely articulated orchestral playing. Unlike Mozart's work Cherubini's contains no solo vocal parts, and we don't miss them (not to disparage the former's masterful creations)--the entire piece is no more than 45 minutes long, and every bar seems efficiently, purposefully written.

My only complaint--other than the sound that very occasionally obscures inner detail of the choral parts--is the insertion of the Tractus "Absolve, Domine" (nevertheless beautifully sung by the Gregorian chant experts Schola Gregoriana Tübingen) just before the Dies irae, thus negating the stunning effect of the brass signal and tam-tam crash following the subdued ending of the Gradual. There's no explanation of this insertion in the notes, although there is a pointed reference to the dramatic effect of the brass/tam-tam transition directly from the Gradual to the Dies irae.

However, if these are our only criticisms we are indeed fortunate; this is a marvelous performance of a shamefully neglected work. When you hear how beautiful and finely crafted it is you can only ask, if we can so readily perform a non-authentic, incomplete work by Mozart without a shrug, what's wrong with a totally authentic masterpiece by a reputable and highly talented contemporary--and you don't even need to hire a soloist? Listen to this and you will be converted. Highly recommended.

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Cherubini: Requiem No. 1 - Marche Funebre

CHERUBINI Missa Solemnis No. 2 in d • Hans Rudolf Zöbeley, cond; Monika Wiebe (sop); Helena Jungwirth (alt); Rodrigo Orrego (tenor); Wolf Matthias Friedrich (bs); Munich S & Motet Ch • PROFIL PH11060 (66:10 Text and Translation)

Luigi Cherubini (1760–1842) spanned the era of the first Vienna school, composing operas when young and Masses when old. He was to some extent a one-hit wonder: His 1816 Requiem in C Minor is a masterpiece, one that Beethoven asked to have played at his own funeral. Medée was popularized by Maria Callas (in an Italian version, as Medea ) in the 20th century, and it hangs around for that association, but Cherubini’s finest opera is Les Deux Journées , a “rescue drama” so filled with gorgeous music that Beethoven stole much of it for Fidelio . There are many other fine Cherubini works (none more so than this Mass), but none of them are individual enough to have carved a place in the repertory. On the surface, he seems a shadow hovering through the period, outshone by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. So it was, but his music does have an easily recognizable, highly personal characteristic, a hint of modality seldom found among his three great peers. Many performances play down that character, choosing to emphasize the similarities with Beethoven; this is unfortunate, as it often produces second-rate Beethoven (which we don’t need) rather than first-rate Cherubini.

All of which leads to Riccardo Muti’s lifelong devotion to the composer. He has recorded one opera ( Lodoïska ), five Masses (one twice, on CD and DVD), and both Requiems over a span of three decades. For many of them, there is no alternative recording; for others, the competition comes mostly from semiprofessional groups—rightly called amateurs, for their love of the music. Muti’s way has undeniable attractions: top orchestras, soloists, and choruses; fine EMI recorded sound, with a master hand at the tiller. None of them can be criticized, but they tend to embody the Cherubini-as-Beethoven syndrome, so alternate views are always welcome. In Fanfare 25:4, I praised Muti’s recording of this D-Minor Mass as a shelf-clearer (my highest compliment), claiming that three earlier recordings, Newell Jenkins on Vanguard, this 1992 one (then on a Calig disc), and that by Hemuth Rilling on Hännsler Classics, “demonstrated the strengths of the work, but each had minor failings of its own and left this listener unsatisified.”

I don’t remember my exact objections to the Calig disc, but this time around I like the performance very much. It has a warm joy that contrasts with Muti’s cool intensity. Both choruses are large ones; Hans Rudolf Zöbeley’s choristers sing their hearts out; so do Muti’s when the mood strikes them (or him). Soloists are seldom important in Cherubini Masses; Zöbeley’s are recorded up close and are strong enough to make the most of that; Muti’s are more distant and make less of an impression. Both are all-Munich productions; neither the Munich Symphony nor the Bavarian Radio Orchestra plays particularly well (a surprise in any Muti recording), and the recorded sound is a bit bloated and unclear on both CDs. Both have the Latin text; Muti’s EMI disc (5 57166 2; there has been a reissue I haven’t seen) has an English translation as well. Despite similar tempos, the Zöbeley runs 13 minutes less than the Muti, three minutes of that in each of three sections of the Gloria. There might be times when I would prefer a 66-minute Cherubini Mass to a 79-minute one, but PC requires a nod to Muti. You should find this a most rewarding Mass no matter which recording you hear; I can’t offer a compelling reason to buy a second one or to switch allegiances.

FANFARE: James H. North

Also available on Blu-ray

Three years after the creation of Médée, Krzysztof Warlikowski and Christophe Rousset were together again at La Monnaie for the revival of one memorable production whose staging reinforces the violence, tension and cruelty of this tragedy.

Whilst this work by Cherubini is considered part of the 'opéra-comique' genre, it is only due to the presence of spoken dialogue, which has been modernised here in the Polish stage director's interpretation.

Written in 1797, Cherubini's faithful version of Euripides' ancient tragedy is one of the most savage and powerful works of the opera repertoire, relating the cruel vengeance of a wounded woman for whom infanticide seems to be the only solution to her humiliation in love. As a continuation of Gluck's music, Cherubini's work is of boundless emotion, at once a refined, terrifying and desperate portent of a tragic outcome.

The cast : Nadja Michael as Médée, Kurt Streit as Jason, Christianne Stotijn as Néris Médée’s slave, Vincent Le Texier as King Créon and Hendrickje Van Kerckhove as Dircé Créon’s daughter. Christophe Rousset is conducted Les Talens Lyriques and the Chœurs de la Monnaie.

Director: Stéphane Metge
Length: 138 min - Image: Color, 16/9, NTSC
Audio: PCM Stereo, DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: French / English / German / Dutch
No. of Discs: 2

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Three years after the creation of Médée, Krzysztof Warlikowski and Christophe Rousset were together again at La Monnaie for the revival of one memorable production whose staging reinforces the violence, tension and cruelty of this tragedy.

Whilst this work by Cherubini is considered part of the 'opéra-comique' genre, it is only due to the presence of spoken dialogue, which has been modernised here in the Polish stage director's interpretation.

Written in 1797, Cherubini's faithful version of Euripides' ancient tragedy is one of the most savage and powerful works of the opera repertoire, relating the cruel vengeance of a wounded woman for whom infanticide seems to be the only solution to her humiliation in love. As a continuation of Gluck's music, Cherubini's work is of boundless emotion, at once a refined, terrifying and desperate portent of a tragic outcome.

The cast : Nadja Michael as Médée, Kurt Streit as Jason, Christianne Stotijn as Néris Médée’s slave, Vincent Le Texier as King Créon and Hendrickje Van Kerckhove as Dircé Créon’s daughter. Christophe Rousset is conducted Les Talens Lyriques and the Chœurs de la Monnaie.

Director: Stéphane Metge
Length: 138 min - Image: Color, 16/9, NTSC
Audio: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: French / English / German / Dutch

Myto’s release of Luigi Cherubini’s operatic masterpiece Medea from a live recording documenting a 1961 La Scala staged production with a cast including Jon Vickers, Maria Callas, Giulietta Simionato and Nicolai Ghiaurov is a most welcome one. Another important feature of this performance is that it highlights the brilliant conducting of American Thomas Schippers, who succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 47, prematurely ending a career whose loss was especially felt in opera orchestral pits around the world.

Maria Callas first performed Cherubini's Medea in 1953 and then again in the 1953-4 La Scala season with Leonard Bernstein. She continued to perform Medea during the 1950s and 1960s, most famously in Dallas and in London in 1959 conducted by Nicola Rescigno and featuring the young Jon Vickers.

This recording of the performance on 30 June 1959 at the Royal Opera House received rave reviews. The Times wrote of the first night (June 17), 'It is this play of conflicting, oscillating, burning feelings that is the core of the opera … and it is this fluctuation which Callas can convey with unique art.' George Mayer in the American Record Guide wrote, 'Callas builds her performance into one powerful line of increasing tension. It is the kind of performance which spoils one for anything less from the opera stage.' Callas has a very strong supporting cast of Jon Vickers (Giasone), Fiorenza Cossotto (Neris) and Nicola Zaccaria (Creonte).

Other versions of the Covent Garden Medea exist but ICA Classics have very carefully remastered some new tapes which have produced excellent sound for their period.