infotext:
The irrepressible power of pre-Columbian myths, reborn in a modern language. Stephen Asbury brings the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln to a boil when Alberto Ginastera in his late work "Popol Vuh" (1975-83) tells the story of the creation of the Mayas. The dramatic "Cantata para América Mágica" (1960), based on words by Mercedes de Toro, is about the human voice in this vanished culture. The protagonist Rayanne Dupuis intones prayers, love and farewell songs, surrounded by a colorful, dazzling sound apparatus: the percussion ensemble of the Cologne University of Music, dem Set S and the Bugallo Williams Piano Duo.
program:
Popol Vuh Op. 44 (1975–1983) 25:16
La creación del mundo maya The Creation of the Mayan World
for orchestra
[01] I La noche de los tiempos 06:35
The Night of Times · The Everlasting Night · La nuit des temps
[02] II The nacimiento de la tierra 04:30
The Birth of the Earth The Birth of the Earth La naissance de la terre
[03] III El despertar de la naturaleza 04:55
The awakening of nature · Nature Wakes · L'éveil de la nature
[04] IV The grit of creation 00:40
The cry of creation · The cry of creation · Le cri de la creation
[05] V La gran lluvia 02:43
The Great Rain · The Grand Rain · La grande pluie
[06] VI La ceremonia magica del maíz 02:39
The Magic Ceremony of Indian Corn The Magic Ceremony of Indian Corn La cérémonie magique du maïs
[07] VII El sol, la luna, las estrellas 03:14
The sun, the moon, the stars The Sun, the Moon, the Stars Le soleil, la lune, les étoiles
Cantata para America Magica Op. 27 (1960) 24:18
for dramatic soprano and percussion orchestra
on poems by Mercedes de Toro after ancient pre-Columbian manuscripts
[08] I Preludio y canto a la aurora 04:56
Prelude and Song of Dawn Prelude and Song of Dawn Prélude et chant à l'aurore
[09] II Nocturno y canto de amor 03:59
Nocturne und Liebesgesang · Nocturne and Love Song · Nocturne et chant d'amour
[10] III Canto para la partida de los guerreros 02:08
Song for the Warriors' Departure Chant pour le départ des guerriers
[11] IV Interludio fantastic 03:51
Fantastic Interlude · Fantastic Interlude · Interlude fantastique
[12] V Canto de agonía y desolación 05:36
Song of Agony and Desolation · Chant d'agonie et de désolation
[13] VI Canto de la profecía 03:49
Prophetic Song · Song of Prophecy · Chant de la prophétie
total time: 49:46
WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne
Rayanne Dupuissoprano
Ensemble_S (Norbert Kramer · Arnold Marinissen · Stephan Meier · Adam Weisman)
Percussion ensemble of the Cologne University of Music
(Sjoerd Ceelen Jelle Overheul Rik van Wijgerden Wouter de Winne
Carlos Tarcha Benjamin Schmidt Paul Altmann Frank Lorenz Feliks Zakurin
Hana Yoo · Cezara Dafina Pop, percussion · Yumi Kimachi, celesta)
Stephan Meier, rehearsals · Prof. Carlos Tarcha, director
Stephen Asbury, conductor
Press:
I first encountered Popol Vuh on a Naxos CD from Gisèle Ben-Dor and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, which was warmly received by Hubert Culot. That well-filled disc includes Ginastera's ballet Estancia, The Danza final of which is the most exhilarating music I know; played with idiomatic vitality and verve by the London Symphony Orchestra it's a pick-me-up that will also give your woofers a workout. The latter applies to parts of Popol Vuh, an account of the Mayan creation transcribed by a 16th-century Dominican missionary; which is one reason why I was so looking forward to this Neos SACD.
Conductor Stefan Asbury is new to me, although his online profile confirms he has appeared with some of the world's major orchestras. He's also known for innovative programming, as this pairing of Popol Vuh and the otherwise unrecorded Cantata para America Magica demonstrates. I suspect Popol Vuh, described as Ginastera's Rite of Spring, will have the broadest appeal, given its exotic scoring and raw primitivism. Unfinished when the composer died in 1983 it remains a solid and compelling piece, very different from the easy exuberance of his earlier works, the ballets Estancia and panambi in particular.
The Everlasting Night is characterized by dark strings and slow, primordial stirrings in the rest of the orchestra, all of which is superbly caught by the Neos engineers. The growing brass - not so prominent on the Naxos recording - are especially impressive, and the weird timp figures in The Birth of the Earth are thoroughly unsettling too. That said it's the explosive, atavistic rhythms that are most reminiscent of The coronation, although Ginastera uses his bass drum and percussion sparingly.
There's some evocative writing in Nature Awakens which, along with The Grand Rain, manages to avoid the usual colouristic clichés.
Indeed, there's an economy and originality of utterance here that's most attractive, and the detailed, well-balanced sonics - individual instruments are convincingly arrayed on a wide, deep soundstage - underlines that. One senses also that Asbury isn't one to surrender control, even in the powerful, punctuating rhythms of The Magic Ceremony of the Indian Corn and the orchestral supernovae of The Sun, the Moon, the Stars. As much as I enjoy Ben-Dor's excellent performance - it's a decent recording and the disc offers a number of other well-played Ginastera pieces - Asbury's Popol Vuh is now my first choice; As a bonus the Neos sound is first rate on both the RBCD and stereo Super Audio layers.
For all its felicities, the cantata - a collection of poems by Mercedes de Toro, based on pre-Colombian manuscripts - is compromised by the distractingly wide vibrato of soprano Rayanne Dupuis. She struggles to stay on the note and is audibly taxed by the fast, impassioned writing of the Song for the Warriors' Departure. The piano duo and various percussion groups are excellent though, and as before they are well recorded. The gurgle and shimmer of the instrumental Fantastic interlude is a sonic delight, and although Dupuis is more ingratiating in the quieter moments of the Song of Agony and Desolation she seems a little too distant in the conclusion Song of Prophecy.
This disc is worth acquiring for Popol Vuh, but the variable soloist in the cantata and the very short playing time might deter some listeners. In terms of bang for your buck Ben-Dor's collection is still very desirable, not least for her intoxicating accounts of panambi, Estancia and Ollantay. What a pity that Neos blot their copybook with a double-gatefold Digipak; after just a couple of hours it's already looking creased and scuffed.
Popol Vuh gets a first-rate performance; the cantata is not so fortunate.
Dan Morgan
no. 6/2012
20.03.2010
02/2010
