Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
The Bells, Op 35 (1913)
Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Falstaff, Symphonic Study in C minor, Op 68 (1913)
Mirjam Mesak (soprano); Pavel Petrov (tenor); Andrii Kymach (baritone)
Philharmonia Chorus
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko
rec. live, 11 April 2024 (The Bells) & 9 June 2024, Royal Festival Hall, London
Russian text and English translation included
Harmonia Mundi HMM902788 [73]

During his time as Principal Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (2006-2021), Vasily Petrenko made several notable recordings of the music of Rachmaninoff, including the piano concertos with Simon Trpčeski (review ~ review) and a version of the great Symphonic Dances which I rate as one of the finest I’ve ever heard (review). He also set down quite a lot of Elgar’s music, including both symphonies (review), a fine coupling of Sea Pictures and The Music Makers (review) and a disc which contained the ‘Enigma’ Variations and In the South, which I’ve not heard (review). So, he has a strong pedigree in the music of both composers; that made me keen to hear this unexpected pairing.

At first glance, there’s not a lot to connect the two works other than the year of composition. However, Vasily Petrenko explains in a booklet note that he and the RPO featured both of the composers in a concert series under the title ‘Icons Rediscovered’. He draws some parallels between the two composers and adds that the two works in question “are attempts to probe the spirit of a nation”. In support of this, he reminds us that for Rachmaninoff, “the sound of Orthodox church bells were the voice and soul of Russia” while Elgar was a great admirer of Shakespeare; he suggests that the Bard’s character, Sir John Falstaff, “embodies Englishness (in all its contradictions”. I should say that I have attempted to distil into one short paragraph Petrenko’s argument, which he develops over seven paragraphs; so, I’ve scarcely done him justice. Once you’ve read his full essay you may or may not agree with him but you can still enjoy these two performances for their own sake. Interestingly, though the two works have been paired on this CD, which is fair enough because you can listen to them separately, they were not paired on the same concert programme. The concert which included The Bells was attended by my Seen and Heard colleague, Chris Kettle, who was most enthusiastic (review).

Because this is a live performance of The Bells rather than one given in the studio, there’s a realistic concert hall perspective. I like that, though it meant that to get the proper impact from the choir’s opening outburst in ‘The Silver Sleigh Bells’ I had to increase the volume control by a notch or two. I most certainly don’t mention that as a criticism of the recorded sound; once I’d got the level adjusted, I thought the choir registered really well and not at the expense of the orchestra. Now is the time to say that the choral contribution is excellent throughout the work. Gavin Carr, the Chorus Master of the Philharmonia Chorus has clearly prepared his singers most effectively. For the choir, the highlight comes in the third movement, ‘The Loud Alarm Bells’; here, the Philharmonia Chorus acquit themselves admirably with singing that has punch, appropriate weight and excellent definition. They also contribute very well indeed in the other three movements.

I sometimes feel a bit sorry for the soloists in The Bells; each of them gets only one movement in which to shine and they have to sit silently through the rest of the performance. Here, each of the soloists makes the most of their opportunity. The Belarusian tenor, Pavel Petrov has a vibrant voice which he uses to just the right effect in ‘The Silver Sleigh Bells’. In ‘The Mellow Wedding Bells’, the spotlight falls on the Estonian soprano, Mirjam Mesak. She’s very expressive and offers committed singing. I think her voice is very well suited to this music. In the final movement, ‘The Mournful Iron Bells’, we hear the Ukrainian baritone, Andrii Kymach. He brings great intensity and presence to the solo part.

The orchestral contribution to this performance is very fine. The playing in the third movement is really exciting; chorus and orchestra deliver a gripping performance. In the second movement, the way the RPO delivers the dreamy, nostalgic opening tees up a beautiful account of the movement as a whole. In a similar fashion, the doleful cor anglais contribution to the opening pages of the final movement establishes an ideal ambience. This finale is dark and dramatic until the last couple of minutes when Petrenko and his orchestra bring just the right amount of warmth to the coda.

All these vocal and instrumental elements are drawn together with great skill and understanding by Vasiliy Petrenko. As I indicated at the start of this review, I’ve much admired his prowess as a Rachmaninoff conductor in the past; he doesn’t in any way disappoint here. It seems to me that he judges each movement expertly and consistently paces the music in an ideal fashion. There are several very fine recordings of The Bells, including those by Mariss Jansons (review) and, above all, a truly incandescent account by Evgeny Svetlanov (review). This Petrenko version can hold its head up high in such company.

Though I haven’t heard all of them, I have the impression from some comments I’ve read that Petrenko’s Elgar recordings have been a little bit uneven by comparison with his Rachmaninoff discs. I was very interested indeed, therefore, to hear him in Falstaff. This is one of the peaks of Elgar’s achievements as an orchestrator; in that regard, it’s fit to rank alongside In the South and the Second symphony. But there’s much more to Falstaff than orchestral brilliance; it’s a wonderful example of story-telling and characterisation in music. Though it’s a magnificent work, Falstaff doesn’t seem to have quite the same prominence as Elgar’s other major orchestral scores. I can only recall attending one live performance of the work and, furthermore, there haven’t been many new recordings in recent years; the only ones which spring to mind are those by Sir Mark Elder (review) and by Daniel Barenboim (review). I’m not quite sure why the piece is relatively neglected; perhaps this reflects the technical challenges it presents to orchestras and the interpretative challenges for conductors?  

It seems to me that Vasiliy Petrenko does the piece very well – and the RPO plays very well indeed for him. The opening episode, ‘Falstaff and Prince Henry’, is auspicious; the music is lively and well projected and the detail is sharp-edged. Petrenko presents ‘Eastcheap’ with plenty of vitality; the urban bustle is obvious. The longest section is ‘Gadshill – The Boar’s Head’. Here, there’s lots of light and shade; the performance is colourful and incident-packed. It’s in this section that we hear for the first time the principal bassoon (Richard Ion, I presume) portraying the tipsy Fat Knight (tr 7 from 6:24); the portrayal is witty and imaginative. The ‘Dream Interlude’ is atmospherically done, as is the second interlude, which comes much later in the piece. As Falstaff gathers himself from his slumbers, ‘Falstaff’s March’is played with plenty of brio and vigour. Later on, when Falstaff learns that Prince Hal has been proclaimed king, he hastens to set off for London, confident of preferment. In this episode, Petrenko and the orchestra invest the music with genuine excitement and eagerness. In ‘King Henry’s Progress’ we experience the panoply attending the new monarch as Falstaff looks on. Alas for Sir John; Prince Hal was happy to carouse with him but now King Henry has no use for a seedy old drinking companion. Elgar’s music masterfully illustrates Falstaff’s disbelief at his rejection and then the poignancy of his last days. Petrenko puts all this across successfully; we feel sorry for Sir John.  

I enjoyed this performance very much. I think Vasiliy Petrenko conveys the narrative sweep of the piece and, in addition, he’s across all the detail. Where it’s required, the RPO’s playing has all the swagger you could wish for, but they’re just as convincing in the subtler passages.

Both of the performances on this CD have been recorded very successfully by the engineers from Floating Earth. I couldn’t discern any extraneous audience noise; there’s no applause after either performance. 

Harmonia Mundi’s presentation has some good points and one glaring flaw. The booklet essay by Jean-Jacques Groleau is good and Petrenko’s comments are well worth reading, too; both of these essays are provided in English, French and German. I strongly approve of the decision to split Falstaff into eleven separate tracks; that’s really helpful. However, the text of The Bells is provided only in Russian and in an English translation (what about French and German listeners?) The greater problem is that unforgivably, the texts set by Rachmaninoff are in Cyrillic script; that’s useless to anyone who doesn’t read or speak Russian; why wasn’t a transliterated text provided?

This is an unusual coupling and, as I said earlier, I imagine most listeners will want to experience each piece separately – as I have done – but I think you’ll find that both works have been very well served.

John Quinn

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