Herzogenberg's Columbus from CPO

[JeremyMHolmes]

On its way:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/heinrich-von-herzogenberg-columbus/hnum/7971819

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for that heads-up!

[khorovod]

Sounds very intriguing! One for the Christmas list, for sure!

[kolaboy]

And just in time for Columbus Day...

[Alan Howe]

Not a great work, this. Its main interest is to demonstrate the direction the composer's music was taking before his decision to follow Brahms-style classicism. Otherwise, although it has plenty of meaty drama, it's rather a case of huff and puff to little memorable effect. Mind you, the huff and puff can be quite exciting - and loud! But there's very little melodic content that truly engages the ear - which is definitely not true of Herzogenberg's later music.

A brave undertaking, but not one I shall be returning to with any great regularity, I think.

[Alan Howe]

There's a very good contribution from tenor Michael Schade, however. I wonder why he was attracted to the work? The Columbus, Andrè Schuen, is also rather fine. This makes for a rather exciting duet in track 3 of CD2 where the work finally rouses itself to somewhat greater heights.

Overall, though, the impression is of The Flying Dutchman without the tunes...

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks for the reviews, Alan. Not being Herzogenberg's greatest fan at the best of times, I'll give this one a miss.

[Alan Howe]

It's memorable for its idiom - and for the intriguing thought that Herzogenberg would have been a very different, probably more individual composer if he hadn't aligned himself so tightly to Brahms. Not that I don't like the later Herzogenberg. I actually do!

[Mark Thomas]

Although immune to the charms of much of Herzogenberg's music, I do enjoy the Wagnerisms of his Odysseus, which post-dates Columbus by a couple of years. Perhaps I'll wait until the download is available and take a punt....

[Alan Howe]

Oh, on that level you'll enjoy it, I'm sure. I certainly did; I just don't think it's a great work.

[John Boyer]

Alan, what did you think of the recording itself, as opposed to the music?  I just listened to it and didn't like it at all.  The soloists are far too loud compared to the orchestra and chorus -- the first entry of Markus Butter sent me scrambling to turn the volume down -- while the sound is deadly dry, devoid of reverberation, which is fatal to choral music.

The one good thing that happened as a result of my encounter was being reminded of Die Geburt Christi, which I returned to and found quite beautiful in an austere, J.S. Bach sort of way.  I have the Hanssler set, though I am curious how it compares to the CPO.

[Alan Howe]

Re. Columbus, John: I can't remember. I'll get back to you...

[Alan Howe]

I'm listening to it now, having realised it had slid from where it should have been under letter 'h' into a neighbouring stack of CDs of composers from later in the alphabet!

I don't find the overall sound-picture excessively dry myself, although I too would have preferred more reverberation. However, the soloists are indeed too close for comfort. There's plenty of 'punch' to the sound, though.

The piece itself is a fascinating study in the composer's early (1870) engagement with the progressives of his day - I'm actually enjoying it far more than I did the first time round (the danger, I suppose, of making snap judgments).

[John Boyer]

I have pulled my share of discs from the give-away pile and placed them permanently back on the shelf after a second or third hearing changed my opinion.  This was the case with "Die Geburt Christi", which I suddenly adore. 

We used to have a member here who found this bewildering.  He said he formed a permanent opinion, good or bad, on first hearing and never wavered.  He found comments about "growing to like something" or similar changes of opinion incomprehensible. 

Oh well.

[Alan Howe]

That's so not according to my experience. Except in the case of Rubinstein's Moses