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International Record Review - (10//2014)
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Archiv
 4792050

Code-barres / Barcode : 0028947920502 (ID424)

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To relaunch its prestigious Archiv Produktion series, DG invited the Spanish conductor Pablo Heras‑Casado to return to his roots in period performance and direct a programme of works associated with the Spanish court of Ferdinand VI (who reigned from 1746 to 1759). Heras‑Casado, who now specializes in grand opera and edgy modernism, has long been a proponent of the neglected operas and theatrical entertainments which once entertained Spain's royal circles in the mid­-eighteenth century. But many scores were destroyed in a palace fire in the nineteenth century, so for this project the help of the French musicologist Olivier Fourés was enlisted to trawl for interesting new material with some measure of success since the majority of pieces recorded here are presented as 'world premiere recordings'.

The man responsible for raising the profile of Spanish music at the courts of Philip V and Ferdinand VI was none other than Carlo Broschi ‑ popularly known as Farinelli ‑ perhaps the most famous castrato singer of the Baroque. Castrati were notably inventive when it came to pension planning and organizing a safe and well‑funded old age. In 1737, not yet past his peak, Farinelli thought it prudent to swap a life of international operatic stardom for the quiet, but well‑paid, role of musical comforter to the depressive Philip V. Until the King's death in 1746 Farinelli sang arias for him every night. When Ferdinand VI succeeded to the throne, Farinelli was given the wider role of artistic director of the theatres at the two main royal palaces, and it's this phase of Farinelli's career which is celebrated here. Drawing on his unrivalled Italian contacts, in the space of 12 years Farinelli the impresario transformed Madrid from a musical backwater into one of the foremost centres of opera in Europe, attracting the finest composers, librettists and singers from Europe, whilst also encouraging the development of the home‑grown, Spanish theatrical tradition. This is the focus for the present recording, which, the booklet tells us, 'is designed to reflect [Farinelli's] achievement as an impresario and its galvanizing effect on music in Spain'.

So it's a surprise, then, that what we actually get here is not an operatic experience but an orchestral programme, with just two short arias offering a little contrast. Even so, we might still have expected something which is firmly rooted in Farinelli's years at Ferdinand's court. But despite Heras­ Casado's and Fourés's avowed research interests, neither of them contributes explanatory essays to the booklet ‑ leaving Michael Church floundering to link the music together convincingly.

Overall, the programme planning and documentation is marked by a distinct lack of the kind of scholarly detail and accuracy which once distinguished Archiv releases. Not a single opera referred to in the track listing or the text is given a date (and if you check up, you'll find several of the works fall outside Farinelli's term of office); several pieces have been rather crudely shoehorned into the programme (Emanuel Bach had no connection to the Spanish court at all), and other composers whose works really were performed in Madrid (like Francesco Corradini and Juan Marcolini) are left unintroduced and unexplained; even José de Nebra (1702‑68) gets barely a sentence despite the claim that he's 'one of the finest Spanish composers of all time'. Ultimately, the links here between much of the music and Farinelli's work as impresario for Ferdinand VI are only tenuously established at best.

However, the performances by Concerto Köln are thoroughly convincing and compelling. The Overture to Nicola Conforto's opera La festa cinese (which was heard in Madrid in 1751 ‑ I checked) positively explodes with Italian galant energy in the outer movements and decorative chinoiserie in the middle. Nicola Porpora ‑Farinelli's singing teacher ‑ is represented by the brassy Overture to Carlo il calvo (1738), which Concerto Köln dispatches with swashbuckling glee: really, the horns and trumpets positively fight it out. And it's this sort of bustling excitement ‑ much ado about nothing ‑ which characterizes all six overtures included here (telling us more about the genesis of the early symphony than Farinelli's achievements). The dramatic opening gestures of Bach's Sinfonia in E minor are given with a percussive edge and black‑and‑white contrasts of dynamics, while Heras‑Casado carefully draws out the abundance of motives which serve as a rich source of development. It's not explained why the symphony has been given the subtitle 'Fandango' here ‑ it's new to me and is certainly not derived from the original printed edition overseen by the composer himself. Authentic Spanish styles can be heard in what I assume is incidental music culled from works by Corradini and Nebra, the former with plenty of percussion and janissary orchestration.

The two vocal items stand out. American countertenor Bejun Mehta sings to himself in a multi‑tracked comic Fandango duet by Nebra, and the players enter into the spirit wielding castanets and sliding on their strings. Best of all is a work which can definitely be linked with Farinelli (albeit in the pre‑impresario days): the aria 'Alto Giove', taken from Porpora's Polifemo (1735), was one which the castrato sang on a regular basis to the melancholy Philip V. Melita's floating, ethereal head‑voice is exquisite, with long arching phrases and delicately woven embroidery, effortlessly supported by a vast lung capacity and a quiet, understated intensity. Despite the somewhat misleading title and vaguely addressed,~ premise for the programme, there are plenty,of unexpected delights and first‑rate performances throughout.

 
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