I'll write in greater depth once I get to know this recording better. It's very interesting, and a solid closer to Boulez's generally good cycle. The sound is surprisingly good for such a huge work. DG and Boulez chose to record this in the excellent acoustics of the Jesus Christus Kirche. But just from the photos included, you can tell that this was a bit of a tight fit - just like doing the "Resurrection" in the small confines of Wien's Musikverein. The end of Part 1 - the "Gloria" - is performed with the throttle wide open.
What's interesting here is Boulez's amazingly slow tempo, which he sustains all the way to the end of the "Gloria". Oddly enough, the end of Part 2 isn't played with the throttle quite so open. The organ is held in check slightly, and the various tam-tam smashes are almost inaudible (you can hear the cymbals, obviously). I believe that Boulez and DG were taking great strides to get the balances correct between the offstage and onstage brass. They also leave room for a solid crescendo on the very last measure, which is something they didn't even try to do on their Vienna "Resurrection" recording (as a result, the last chord just sat there like a lump). Maybe they read my complaints on that particular detail.
Back in Part 1, I like just how clearly you can hear Mahler's elaborate contrapuntal choral writing during the big fugue. In fact, vocal and choral parts are clearly delineated throughout the entire recording. Personally, I would have prefered for some of the vocal solos to have sounded further away (some performances have the soloists behind the orchestra - at the front of the chorus). But I also like how Boulez establishes his tempo ideas right from the very start of Part 1. He doesn't do the initial "Veni, veni creator spiritus" really fast like Solti (but not too slow either, like Chailly), but he doesn't do a huge slow-down for the second subject either: "imple superna gratia". He keeps all this secondary material flowing along (unlike Solti, who permits all the big fatsos from the Vienna opera to just wallow away in a vocal pig troff), thus minimizing tempo contrasts throughout part 1. Combine all this with a slow and grand "Gloria", and you end up with a different and interesting Part 1.
Much of Part 2 is a tad slow for me, particularly the passage for the three (and a half) penitant women towards the end. However, the orchestral detail behind the penitant women is beautifully captured. For me, the best stretch of Boulez's Part 2 begins with the first big tenor solo - "hochste herrscherin der Welt" - and stretches all the way until Gretchen's first big appearance some seven minutes later (Una Penitentium - same as Gretchen"). In fact, tenor Johan Botha is quite good in a heldentenor-ish way throughout Part 2.
Well, that's it for now. I'll have to live with this a bit more before yapping on and on. Initially, this doesn't seem quite as well integrated - or monumental at the sympony's concluding postlude - as the recent Antoni Wit one. However, much of the solo vocal work is clearly better. I like Wit's conclusion better, reinforced by very strong trombones. But Boulez's slow "Gloria" is thrilling in its own odd way as well. Perhaps he views that as being the more important ending.
Barry
Topic: initial response to Boulez M8 (Read 4806 times)