E T A Hoffmann Undine

[adriano]

@Alan again: Personally, I adore those Gilbert and Sullivan recordings with dialogues! I could not hear them without. And what about Offenbach??

[adriano]

@all: I once had a pirate live LP recording of Hoffmann's "Undine", conducted by Robert Heger (Bamberger Symphoniker), which I considered the best ever, featuring the fantastic Marcel Cordes and Max Proebstl. There is a CD reissue of this memorable 1959 performance on the CANTUS Historische Tondokumente CACD 5.0640 F which I am awaiting to receive in the mail next week. By then I will inform whethere there are spoken dialogues or not, since I cannot remember. Incidentally, this label has recently issued more real discoveries, like those historical Schreker broadcasts of "Der Ferne Klang" and "Die Gezeichneten" conducted by Winfred Zillig, which are reference interpretations!

[Derek Hughes]

I have a complete recording with the Jugendorchester Bamberg conducted by Hermann Dechant. I've listened to it many times, though not recently, and I'm afraid that, between hearings, I've never been able to remember a single phrase.

The libretto that comes with the CDs contains a lot of dialogue. The music seems to me a rather laboured exercise in technique, which cannot be said of Hoffmann's writings. One detail. The libretto is by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, who wrote the original novella. In the libretto, but not in the novella, Huldbrand's death is described as a 'Liebestod'. Are there any earlier uses of this term?

[Alan Howe]

You're right, of course. But one doesn't always have the luxury of trying out a number of recordings in order to find one with decent (preferably brief) spoken dialogue.

Gilbert & Sullivan is quite different, in my view. As is Offenbach. I can accept comic spoken dialogue, but the oh-so serious, oh-so ponderous dialogue featured in oh so-serious melodramas palls very quickly. No wonder later composers (than Hoffmann or Weber) dispensed with them. Mind you - although it's probably heresy to say so - Wagner's sung dialogue can be pretty enervating too.

[eschiss1]

I was under the impression that it picked up sticks and became its own separate genre with which "serious composers" only occasionally had something to do with, I suppose (Fibich, Liszt, Schoenberg if- and why not- one counts Pierrot Lunaire as a descendent, &c. There's an interesting article on "Melodrama" as a term and as a collection of genres @ Wikipedia-en... unless I'm brain-spun-dizzy as too often and that's not anywhere even vaguely near what we're talking about? Apologies... (I can accept vaguely near and need for course-correction ;^) , it's clear) )

[adriano]

- Yes, Derek, this Jugendorchester CD is still available. The fact that you note the term "Liebestod" in music is quite an interesting discovery of you :-) and needs further investigation. Or it mäy be a term in Middle Age literature: "Tristan" is an unfinished novel by Gottfried von Strassburg. Also "Wolfram von Eschenbach's "Parzival" has this motif, but I cannot prove right now whether "Liebestod" is being used in there too, since I am packing my bags for my forthcoming trip to Moscow :-)
Of course, "Undine's" (excellent) libretto is based on Fouqués own novella, which is consider a landmark of Romantic literature. Hoffmann knew from where to get a good libretto!
- Alan, and what about the original "Carmen" with spoken dialogues, which had been mutilated by those terrible accompagnati by Giraud? I known them very well, since during many years I used not only to coach and prompt them, but also played the cameo part of Lillas Pastia in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's magnificent Zurich production, which featured Baltsa, Carreras, Estes among others. When this production was sold to other Houses, I had been assigned to make a shortened (French) version of those French dialogues for American audiences.
Last but not least: don't miss to listen to Hoffmann's lovely chamber music and piano sonatas and to his Indian melodrama "Dirna" - also issued by cpo! I once had a Schwann LP with some sacred music (conducted by Bader?), maybe his "Miserere", which has also been produced later by cpo, coupled with his "Missa".

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Adriano. Best wishes for your trip to Moscow...

[eschiss1]

Adriano... The sacred music on the Koch LP was, I believe anyway (on thirdhand information), conducted by Lothar Zagrosek, while the music from Undine was conducted by Bader (see again Worldcat link already noted? - not positive though...)

[adriano]

Thanks Alan & eschiss1
Will be recording Brun's Second Symphony, coupled with his imposing and difficult Symphonic Prologue.

[Alan Howe]

Fabulous. I know the piece from the Lucerne recording on Gallo, but I'm naturally collecting your series, so I'll be buying it when it comes out. As I said, our very best wishes go with you to Moscow.

[adriano]

Hi everybody 
Back to Zurich, I could listen to that 1959 concert performance of E.T.A. Hoffmann's "Undine", issued on the LINE MUSIC Label in 2012. A note for completists: the Overture goes for 7:35 minutes. This is a performance without spoken dialogues, but works very well. I think there are no musical cuts. The performance and the singers are aboslutely top, Robert Heger is the ideal man for such repertoire. Technically, the sound is good.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for that, Adriano. How was your trip to Moscow?

[adriano]

It was great in Moscow as usual - and we nearly got crazy whilst recording Brun's terrifically difficult "Symphonischer Prolog". It's Brun's most demanding piece, besides, perhaps, his Eight Symphony (which I will record end of October). The sessions including the Second Symphony were more relaxed, though also in there, strings are put on stake. Hope my interpretation will be liked, compared to the two already available; in any case, I put in a bit more pepper, since Kitajenko, for example, still being beautifully lyrical, makes of the first movement an Adagio and the whole organics fall apart. The Gallo CD is very good - but - I bet you will discuss about it in here... We also shooted some video material with interviews about my Moscow activities, including a visit to the Scriabin Museum, where a nice director, looking rather like Madam Flora, demostrated me a model of Scriabin's color keyboard (a pity I can't enclose some stills in there). Every time I visit Moscow, everything is more expensive and less CD shops can be found. Imagine that in a "good" coffee shop with pastry, one pays 20-25 Euros for a cup of coffee, a croissant and a little fruit tart! In cheaper ones like Cafemania and Starbucks you pay around 15 Euros.

[Alan Howe]

Wow! That's dearer than London!
Great news about the Brun pieces.