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Bernstein: Mass - Järvi

Bernstein: Mass - Järvi

Chandos  CHSA 5070 (2 discs)

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Vocal


Leonard Bernstein: Mass

Chorus sine nomine
Tölzer Knabenchor
Absolute Ensemble
Company of Music
Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich
Kristjan Järvi

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Review by John Miller - February 5, 2009

Bernstein’s ‘Mass - A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers’ of 1971 was his response to an invitation for a memorial to John F Kennedy on the occasion of the inauguration of Washington’s JFK Center. In typical fashion, he contrived this drama about a Mass performance from the Latin texts of the Ordinary and Proper, interwoven with a libretto of his own with passages by Steven Schwartz (whose ‘Godspell’ was opening at the time) and Paul Simon. The music embraced a huge number of styles, from classical (severe serialism, avant garde, medieval, romantic, operatic) to Broadway, Jazz, Pop and Rock. The forces required were enormous (see list and narrative summary in my review of the Nagano version http://sa-cd.net/addreview.php?title=2476) and many of his critics were vituperative in their condemnations. Audiences, however, adored it, and still do. From being instantly dismissed, it is now recognised as a seminal piece in the development of American music. It enabled new generations of composers to mix musics of radically different styles in their own works, and was a significant influence on Broadway shows too.

Bernstein wrote under the shades of Charles Ives (lover of cacophony produced by clashing instrumental and vocal groups), his Jewish religion and his own West Side Story, among many other influences. He used the Catholic Mass as a framework for a drama in which a young man from a street crowd becomes a Celebrant and is asked to hold a service. He is often interrupted and beset by the onlookers who constantly harass him with their selfish complaints about God (arguing with God is an ancient Jewish tradition), until, having uttered the words of Consecration, he collapses mentally and physically under the burden, casts down the monstrance and chalice and desecrates the altar. In the ensuing confusion, a boy soloist and the Boy’s Chorus still the crowd and lead the adult chorus members in reaffirming their faith in a great Chorale, before embracing one another and bringing the Touch of Peace into the audience. Interestingly, Bernstein’s daughter Nina has commented that the character of the Celebrant in many ways reflected her father’s struggle with the trappings of celebrity and the ever-increasing burden of expectations which it brought, often blighting his life.

It would seem that Kristjan Järvi, younger brother of Paavo, has the right credentials for a fine interpretation of Mass. He resided in the USA since childhood, studied at the Manhatten Institute, has an international conducting and teaching career, and founded the Absolute Ensemble who feature on this disc. The Ensemble is an 18-piece electro-acoustic ensemble of selected young musicians that fuses classical, jazz, rock and funk. Their aim is to challenge the rigid perceptions of what constitutes serious music, which is what Bernstein aspired to with Mass.

The Chandos recording took place in February 2006 at the Festspiel Haus, St Pölten, Austria. The Tonkünstler-Orchester is the State orchestra of Lower Austria, and they are joined by the Vienna-based Company of Music as specialist chorus, the famous Tölzer Knabenchor provide the Boy’s Chorus and Chorus sine nomine are one of the principal choirs in Austria.

The role of Celebrant was clearly intended by Bernstein to be a ‘Young Man’. Alan Titus, still a student at the Juilliard, was 26 when he took the role for Bernstein, but since then recorded Celebrants seem to have become middle-aged. Nagano has the late Jerry Hadley at 51. Järvi employs Randall Scarlata, a middle-aged baritone rather than a tenor. Scarlata, of Austrian origin, also studied at the Juilliard and is mainly based in America. His American accent is thankfully idiomatic if non-specific.

The Chandos engineers and Kristjan Järvi appear to have studied the shortcomings of the previous Nagano SACD, for the problems of balance between voices, classical instruments and amplified instruments are largely solved. The recording is demonstration-worthy in its huge dynamic range, clarity and consistency in providing a layered grouping of vocalists and instrumental groups all within the fine acoustic of the Festspiel Haus. The sound is exactly as you would expect from the hall’s portrayal in the booklet’s photograph, showing the steeply-raked ranks of performers. The principal singers are close enough to register all details of their performances, but they never get obscured by the instrumentalists.

The engineers have also ensured that the soloists on the opening quadraphic tapes which sound from the four corners are much more immediate than with Nagano’s recording, so that the words are clearly audible. Indeed, all the tape insertions marry much more smoothly with their musical surroundings and the hall ambience.

In addition, the Chandos mix has produced a surround experience which is quite immersive, bringing the listener to the heart of the performance. The music of the Street Chorus and musicians, the marching and kazoo bands as well as the orchestral Meditations are seamlessly integrated into the ongoing dynamic of the drama. Covering so many different vocal and instrumental types, the DSD sound is rather like having a whole set of demonstration records all rolled into the 2 disc set. Perhaps the electronic organs are a little disappointing, but they drew attention to themselves far too much on the Nagano disc.

Evidently fully prepared, Järvi’s firm grip on the pacing of tension and relaxation as the drama unfolds is compelling, rivalling Bernstein’s own. The set pieces of jubilation at the Gloria and Offertory are truly joyful, yet the three orchestral Meditations have still centres with richly nuanced playing. The mechanically metric rhythms of the Credo are implacable and perfectly articulated. His Street musicians render tight playing and crisp ensemble, with rhythms which lift the listener. Exchanges between the jazz, blues, pop and rock soloists go better than with Nagano, as Järvi’s singers have more natural voices and distinct individual timbres than Nagano’s. One oddity is that in the Epistle, where texts are read by various characters, there are excisions in the words – Another Young Man says “Nothing will make me change” (my mind), and a whole sentence is missing from A Young Girl’s lines. Possibly these are editing errors, for there seems to be no sensible reason for removing the passages deliberately.

Randall Scarlata proves to be a very fine Celebrant. His somewhat darker voice than the other tenors who have recorded the role might diminish the illusion of his youth somewhat, but it adds to his authority. He begins slightly tentatively, with some unsteadiness of tone in the long-held notes at the end of phrases, but quickly hits his stride. His interpretation of what is in effect an operatic mad scene (XVI Fraction: ”Things get broken”) is both chilling and gripping. He takes a few minutes longer than other recorded Celebrants, but the vocal acting is a tour de force. It digs deeper than Bernstein’s Titus does and is far less melodramatic than the sometimes inconsistent Jerry Hadley for Nagano. The Chandos engineers help with an astonishingly intimate eavesdropping on the Celebrant’s self-conversations as the burden of his office overcomes him. They also tastefully add sound effects of his breaking the altar vessels and hurling the consecrated host and wine to the floor. Unlike Harmonia Mundi, they also provide all the detailed stage descriptions in the booklet along with the text so that we may follow and visualise the action.

Every published composition has to withstand new interpretations, some of which may even improve on what the composer intended. Bernstein’s Mass is a unique document of its time in the 1970s, with a populace at odds with the Government over a war, politicians at low esteem and the ongoing crisis of faith spreading. Järvi and his huge cast sound as though the sentiments that brought this work to posterity might also resonate in our times too, and this perhaps engendered their evident commitment. Järvi, his musicians and engineers have provided us with a Mass for the 21st Century. Bernstein’s set from 1971, recorded in the Kennedy Centre, is of course an indispensable document. And if Nagano’s SACD version resembles a mature claret, Järvi offers us a sparkling bottle of Beaujolais Noveau.

Strongly recommended as a fascinating and fun listening experience. Don’t miss Mass!

Copyright © 2009 John Miller and HRAudio.net

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