The competition in this repertoire can be summed up in one word: Martinon. Yes, there have been other good recordings of Le tragédie de Salomé, notably by Paray and Antonio de Almeida, and older collectors may recall Georges Tzipine’s version of Psalm 47 (with the incomparable soprano solo of Denise Duval), but aside from a not very interesting Erato digital effort, this newcomer really is the only disc that gives Martinon on EMI a run for its money in the two big works. It also offers a bonus in the form of the delightful Suite sans esprit de suite (“Suite without Consistency”), whose last movement, “Bronx”, offers Schmitt’s somewhat clunky but always affectionate take on jazz.
Happily, Thierry Fischer’s performances are quite different from Martinon’s. The latter is about three minutes quicker in each piece, and though the Martinon was very well recorded for its day, Fischer’s slightly slower tempos and stunning sonics capture the crushing power of both pieces so well that there’s no question of any lack of excitement.
In Psalm 47, I still prefer the lithe and winsome soprano of Martinon’s Andrea Guiot. Christine Buffle’s heavier timbre and slower vibrato lacks the sweetness and purity the music seems to demand, but for all that she sings well. More importantly, Fischer has the finer chorus, and at this tempo they can really spit out the words and mark the rhythm. Martinon’s singers, for all their obviously idiomatic French, turn the text into something of a blur.
As just mentioned, the magnificent engineering really counts in this brilliant but also very heavily scored music. The BBC National Orchestra plays with plenty of power; the strings really dig into Salomé’s concluding “Dance of Terror”, and the bass frequencies will rattle your foundations. I’m not giving up Martinon, to be sure, but finding it can be a problem (EMI Japan had it most recently), and to hear this music in all of its glittering, opulent splendor, this is the disc that I will turn to at least as frequently. And if you don’t know this music, here’s your chance to get acquainted with two very grand 20th century masterpieces. [7/2/2007]
