LSO, John Eliot Gardiner - Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No.5 'Reformation'; Overtures (2015)

Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the London Symphony Orchestra join forces once again in the latest instalment of their exploration of Mendelssohn’s symphonies.

Mendelssohn’s Symphony No 5, commonly known as the ‘Reformation’ Symphony, was written in 1830 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Augsberg confession – a seminal event in the Protestant Reformation. Allusions to the symphony’s title and inspiration can be heard throughout the music itself; the Dresden Amen is cited by the strings in the first movement whilst the finale is based on Martin Luther’s well-known chorale Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (‘A Mighty Fortress is Our God’).

Coupled with this are two of Mendelssohn’s overtures, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage and Ruy Blas, both of which were inspired by literary works. Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, based on two short poems by Goethe, depicts the journey of sailors at sea with a still adagio opening ultimately giving way to a triumphant homecoming. Completing the album, the overture Ruy Blas was commissioned by the Leipzig Theatre as an overture to Victor Hugo’s tragic drama of the same name.

I welcomed warmly John Eliot Gardiner’s LSO recording of Mendelssohn’s Scottish symphony and said that I couldn’t wait for the next instalment in his series. Here it is, and it isn’t disappointing. In fact, it showcases Gardiner’s forensic method of working and his very good relationship with the LSO.

The two overtures are extremely successful. Ruy Blas is bitingly dramatic. Its brooding, ominous opening speaks clearly to the mood of Hugo’s drama with its suspensions and eerie chords, and the allegro that follows is characterised by febrile, agitated strings that compel the whole drama forward, even in the major key second theme. Calm Sea, on the other hand, opens with a brilliant depiction of musical stasis. The vibratoless strings, with a particularly resonant bass line, underline the sense of nothing whatever happening, the ship stuck in the middle of its vast, imprisoning ocean, and it manages to convey its own sense of drama, for all the stillness. You can then feel the wind catching the sails as the flute enters at 3:18, and from this point on the overture builds up a head of steam that it never loses, the thundering timpani helping the ship into harbour. Perhaps that lack of vibrato slightly underplays the elation of the final pages, but it’s nevertheless very satisfying.

That same string tone lends a sense of pregnant expectation to the beginning of the Reformation symphony. Those massive brass notes that ring out from 1:21 onwards are intoned with seriousness, even portent, suggesting that something big is about to happen. The appearance of the Dresden Amen seems to heighten this, rather than soothe it, and the ensuing Allegro is full of thrust and parry, underlining the musical argument through clean orchestral textures and Gardiner’s legendary ear for detail. It’s very exciting, and the strength of the symphonic argument is formidable. There is a skittish, heel-kicking feel to the Scherzo, while the third movement, again, gains much of its soul from the colour of the LSO string sound. The finale then moves consistently forward with a progress that feels, if not inevitable, then unarguable. The Lutheran chorale theme is used as a unifying factor rather than an obsessive totem, and I loved the way Gardiner points up the colour of the treatment that each section of the orchestra gives it. The blaze of the final peroration is thrilling, and Gardiner manages to give the impression that it shouldn’t really sound any other way.

The BD-A is impressive, too, with very good surround sound, but there’s no film this time, just the audio. That leads me to my only criticism: the playing time for the discs is pretty stingy. At only 47 minutes, they could easily have included a substantial extra item. It’s really only the inclusion of the Blu-ray that allows any argument that this set is good value for money, and even then that’s pushing it.

Review by Simon Thompson, MusicWeb International

John Eliot Gardiner has recorded Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5, Op. 107 ("Reformation"), before, but only in a later revision that has generally been held to be inferior. So fans of Gardiner will be pleased to have this recording of the usual version, recorded live in 2014 at the Barbican Hall as part of the London Symphony's LSO Live series. The work is actually the second of the mature Mendelssohn's five symphonies; Mendelssohn wrote it in 1829 and 1830, in the flush of his enthusiasm for Bach, and struggled with it for some years afterward, so it was published last. Gardiner's historical-performance-influenced, rather dry reading of the symphony catches this enthusiasm; the weight of the work shifts to the last movement and its portentous intoning of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." Elsewhere Gardiner takes quick tempos and deploys vibrato in the strings, who are standing up, only sparingly. The proceedings can be viewed in action on an accompanying Blu-Ray disc, and listeners interested in the application of historical-performance principles to early Romantic repertory should generally be attracted by this release. Others may find it a bit plain, especially in the Ruy Blas and Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage overtures, the former recorded separately from the other works on the album. Those make up a rather skimpy total of just over 47 minutes of music. Recommended for Gardiner fans.

Review by James Manheim, Allmusic.com