Sir Edward Elgar (1862-1934)
Elgar from the Archives Volume 3
The Kingdom, Op. 51 (1906)
Enigma Variations, Op. 36 (1898-99)
Heather Harper (soprano), Helen Watts (contralto), William Herbert (tenor), Gordon Clinton (baritone)
Croydon Philharmonic Society
BBC Symphony Orchestra (Kingdom), Concertgebouw Orchestra (Enigma)/Sir Adrian Boult
rec. live, 29 February 1940, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam (Enigma); 29 May 1957, Royal Festival Hall, London (Kingdom)
Reviewed from an AAC download: 44.1 kHz/24-bit
SOMM Ariadne 5048-2 [2 CDs: 120]
I am slightly in awe to read that ace producer, sound restorer and remastering guru Lani Spahr has drawn the performances on these fascinating discs from his own collection of some five thousand Elgar recordings – which suggests that there might be just a few more SOMM releases in the pipeline. This is Volume 3 of their series “Elgar from the Archives”, the first to feature the high priest of Elgar recordings, Sir Adrian Boult. Elgar’s music has inspired fine performances by many great conductors ever since the composer’s death, but it is hard not to feel that for many years Boult represented, perhaps alongside Barbirolli, a near-definitive insight into these great scores.
On this generous pair of discs, we have two works in very fine live historic performances. The caveat will always be that Boult also recorded these works commercially in studio conditions, so older/archival recordings such as these must be considered fascinating creative appendices alongside the well-known versions. A counter-argument says that the Boult of the concert hall could often be a little more impulsive and even theatrical than the more restrained studio conductor. That said, the timings of these performances are quite close to their studio equivalents.
Boult made the first complete commercial recording of The Kingdom in December 1968 at the Kingsway Hall, about eleven-and-a-half years after the Elgar Centenary Celebration performance at the Royal Festival Hall captured here. Apart from a broader 1957 account of the prelude, they are strikingly similar. But in that one example Boult exhibits his innate genius with Elgar. He has that remarkable talent to make his tempi feel right: his handling of Elgar’s long expressive lines, never forced or over-pointed, is simply inevitable.
An oustanding feature of this live performance is the sense of conviction. Players and singers are wholly committed; there is the genuine frisson of the concert hall. There are occasional blips of ensemble and attack, but the technical level of the performance is very high too. I have no idea how familiar The Kingdom was for choirs and orchestras in 1957 but there is no sense of caution or undue care here. It is interesting to read a Boult quote in the liner notes about the director of the Croydon Philharmonic Society who are the choir here: “especially in the works of Elgar [Kirby’s] word is final […] the true inheritor of the right style and tradition, coupled with the rare power of transmitting the spirit of this music”. So, alongside Boult is Kirby’s choir who sing with skill and attack, and there is a real sense of Elgarian style – something more elusive than is often thought.
Likewise, Boult’s old orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra led by Paul Beard, are galvanised into exciting playing. And that is before one considers the four soloists. Soprano Heather Harper was still in her twenties when she made this recording. It is already clear that she would be a performer of the first rank. Apart from the technical address, there is connection with the text and a real projection of character. Andrew Neill’s notes rightly point to her The sun goeth down as a highlight. Yet, to be fair, every line she sings commands attention. Helen Watts in the smaller contralto role was also only thirty. Tenor William Herbert was in his prime at forty, and baritone Gordon Clinton was forty-seven. Interestingly, it is only Clinton whose voice, to modern ears, has a certain ‘period’ sound – but there is still no doubting the authority of his singing.
Lani Spahr’s work is very good indeed. This performance was part of the BBC’s celebration of the centenary of Elgar’s birth when they broadcast all three of the major oratorios. The notes do not make clear what source Spahr used: original BBC master tape or off-air recording. I would assume the former because there is no carrier wave noise and no sense of broadcast compression. Although the source, I assume, is mono, Spahr manages to create an effective soundstage with the choir and soloists, so well-caught that the listener is soon immersed in the actual performance; questions of audio fallibility become marginalised.
I have to hold my hand up and say that The Kingdom does not grab me in the way that Gerontius does. My recent review of the fine new version on Signum by David Temple and the London Mozart Players quotes a letter to Boult from the great critic and writer Micheal Kennedy: “I admire parts of The Apostles & Kingdom nevertheless I still get fidgety with them, but with Gerontius never”. I share the sentiment but it has to be said that the performance here makes a compelling case. If I had to choose a single Boult version, I would stick with the EMI recording simply because it has the virtues of studio conditions, superior engineering and soloists at least the equal of these. Baritone John Shirley-Quirk for me represents the quintessential sound of this repertoire and genre.
The companion work on the second disc is equally valuable and fascinating. Just three months before the Nazis invaded neutral Holland in May 1940, Boult conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra in a broadcast concert that included the Enigma Variations presented here. I assume again that Spahr had access to the original broadcast tapes, even if the sound is more congested and harsher than in the other work. Yet the pitch is stable, the sound does not distort and one can hear a lot of the rich detail of Elgar’s great score. I was quite surprised to read that, by the time Boult came to conduct the orchestra in this work, it had already been performed some thirty times, starting with Mengelberg who introduced it in 1902.
Andrew Neill again notes that timings are close to Boult’s final studio recording with the LSO in 1970, another Kingsway Hall classic. That is essentially true, but the Concertgebouw performance feels more extreme with tempi in the fast variations No.3 R.B.T., No.7 Troyte and No.12 B.G.N., pressing forward to such a degree that even the virtuosic Concertgebouw scrabble to keep up. Conversely, Nimrod is wonderfully expansive. Boult’s unerring sense of pace ensures that he sustains the long-phrased lines even at this testing tempo. The Finale E.D.U is another shining example of Boult’s control of texture and tempo.
I was also struck by the very nature of the sound of the orchestra. Modern orchestras, obsessed with a blended sound, emphasise sheer tonal beauty over individual character. By that modern measure, the 1940s Concertgebouw can seem almost rough-toned. Yet repeated listening makes one realise that this differentiation between and within the orchestral sections guides the listener’s ear, pointing up the sheer skill of Elgar’s orchestration.
Lani Spahr has worked minor miracles with this restoration. The performance stands as something of a monument not just to the work but to conductor and orchestra. At the point of the Nazi invasion, there were eighteen Jewish members of the orchestra, all quite possibly playing on this recording. By March 1941, Jews were banned from orchestras across the country. The Concertgebouw players by chance fared better than members of other ensembles: fourteen survived the war ultimately to return to their posts. In an unintended way, this recording embodies friendship and memory, and acts as a rather powerful memorial to the artists who did not return to all the Dutch orchestras.
SOMM’s presentation is its usual excellent self. Texts for the oratorio are not included in the booklet but a QR code gives links to an online copy. Andrew Neill’s liner notes on the works and on these particular performances are informative and useful. As shining examples of Boult’s enduring devotion to Elgar and his works, these are treasurable interpretations. They do not replace the well-known studio versions but they are not intended to. Instead, they complement and reinforcing the stature of composer and conductor. Only 4098 recordings now remain in Lani Spahr’s archive – more please!
Nick Barnard
Previous review: Dominic Hartley
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