Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique; Rameau - Suite de Hippolyte et Aricie (2016)
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Harding
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 303 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 167 Mb | Artwork included
Genre: Classical | Label: Harmonia Mundi | # HMC902244 | Time: 01:10:51
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Harding
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 303 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 167 Mb | Artwork included
Genre: Classical | Label: Harmonia Mundi | # HMC902244 | Time: 01:10:51
A world might seem to divide the unbridled Romanticism of Berlioz from the highly controlled Late Baroque art of Rameau. However, separated by less than a century, the same passion links these two works that prove more similar than their stylistic divergence might suggest. There is the same audacity in orchestration, combined with an innate sense of drama that springs repeated rhythmic and harmonic surprises. The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra shows its versatility under Daniel Harding, who posses a matchless gift for establishing a dialogue between these two pioneering geniuses.
If you’re anything like me then Berlioz and Rameau will, at first glance, look like odd companions for a CD coupling. Who, after all, would think of coupling the high Baroque of Rameau with the arch-Romanticism of Berlioz? Even the booklet notes don’t seem convinced at times: the works were premiered almost exactly a century apart, and they are undeniably both innovative; but couldn’t you say that about hundreds of other pairings of works in the history of music?
On closer inspection, however, the coupling is actually fairly inspired, and hearing the two works together reminds you that Berlioz composed in an entirely different tradition to that of the Austro-Germans and Italians. Not for him the heritage of the symphony and concerto: instead he developed in the line of Tragédie Lyrique, and this disc does us the service of comparing two great French composers who, in their very different ways, set about redrawing the boundaries of the French music of their time. The Swedish RSO do a remarkably convincing job as a period band for Rameau, full of fizz in the faster movements of the Hippolyte suite, and wonderfully languid in the ‘Rondeau Air’, which is played truly gracieusement. There is just enough swagger in the ‘Airs des Matelots’ and lovely business to the Gavottes. Daniel Harding, too, surprises us all by proving himself remarkably adept at baroque phrasing.
There’s more to it than just that, though, and the key seems to lie in the really very surprising string tone that Harding draws from his Swedish orchestra in both works. They have an acidic edge in the Rameau, which reminds you of the period specialists, but Harding’s masterstroke is to carry this on into the Berlioz, creating an utterly distinctive soundworld for the Symphonie Fantastique. They are, in fact, the thing that gives this performance edge, sounding wonderfully wistful in the opening reverie, and you can hear a lot of the crossover in the acidic tone of the strings as the grief wells up just before Reveries became Passions. They certainly sound like they’re using less vibrato, and that also colours the first statement of the idée fixe, which is remarkable both in its crackling energy and its wiry precision. The first movement’s energetic climax has the quality of a manic dance before subsiding into almost ecclesiastical stillness in final bars, and there follows a lovely sway to the ball music, becoming busier but remaining delicate right to the end.
The pinched strings also bring unexpected colour to the ‘Scène aux Champs’, which I found very effective. It meant that the wistfulness of the opening was more pronounced and, when the passion exploded, it was more striking; and the timpani sounded great in the thunder at the end.
It is in the last two movements that the performance really takes off, though. The ‘March to the Scaffold’ is slower than you might expect, and Harding uses that as an excuse to revel in all the idiosyncrasies of both the Berlioz’s orchestration and his orchestra’s playing of it, with marvellously slippery basses and snarling ophicleides. The swirling of the violins around the horns at the march’s climax is thrilling, as is the frenzy of the final bars. The finale is the finest thing on the disc, however. Its dark heart is made even darker by the shuddering, dusky strings (again!) that cast a thrilling shadow over the opening. Harding milks every macabre drop out of the idée fixe’s demonic dance, setting off a swirling cauldron of energy that finally resolves itself into a dark-as-night rendition of the funeral bells and Dies Irae, and here the ophicleides make a huge difference, especially when set off against the gleaming trombones and piccolos. The fugue is tremendously exciting, again because of those strings, sounding tremendous in both their terror and their energy, and the red hot energy of the ending is both awesome and thrilling.
If I began listening to this disc unconvinced then I ended it as a convert. It’s a pairing that is fascinating on both a musical and an intellectual level and, if I might go first to Les Arts Florissants for the Rameau, then for a Symphonie Fantastique played on a modern symphony orchestra in digital sound, this is pretty near the
top of the pile.Review by Simon Thompson (RECORDING OF THE MONTH), MusicWeb-International.com
We usually think of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique in the context of the Romanticism burgeoning all around it at its 1830 premiere. Conductor Daniel Harding instead suggests, brilliantly, that we hear it as part of an ongoing French tradition exemplified only a century earlier by the swagger of the high baroque. Rameau’s suite of dances from Hippolyte et Aricie is an exuberant upbeat to a performance of the Symphonie that delights in the raw sonic capabilities of the orchestra. Harding’s own Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra are stylish in both. There’s some brazen playing to enjoy – the low brass in March to the Scaffold sound like a foghorn – but the impression of a lack of refinement is deceptive: the balance and pace are always tautly in check. Another Symphonie Fantastique, by the Concertgebouw, under Daniele Gatti, is released this month, but next to Harding’s it sounds grey.Review by Erica Jeal, The Guardian
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Daniel Harding, conductor
rec. 7-10 October 2015, Berwaldhallen, Stockholm
Tracklist:
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Hippolyte et Aricie, suite d’orchestre
01. I. Ouverture (2:49)
02. II. Air en rondeau pour les amours. Gracieusement (2:04)
03. III. Marche (0:51)
04. IV. Marche. Gracieusement (1:52)
05. V. Premier air des Furies. Gravement (1:46)
06. VI. Premier deuxième air des Matelots. Gravement - Pesamment - Vivement (2:10)
07. VII. Premier rigaudon en tambourin. Très vite (0:31)
08. VIII. Deuxième air Chasseurs (et des Chasseresses) en rondeau (1:55)
09. IX . Première deuxième gavottes. Vite (1:53)
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Symphonie fantastique, Op.14
10. I. Rêveries - Passions (14:43)
11. II. Un bal (6:27)
12. III. Scène aux champs (16:25)
13. IV. Marche au supplice (7:12)
14. V. Songe d'une nuit de sabbat (10:13)
Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23. June 2015
EAC extraction logfile from 4. May 2017, 1:22
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding / Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique; Rameau - Hippolyte et Aricie
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==== Log checksum 390400821150F0A748B7B959296AFD8C3BB08E2A98A2A2DFC8E2BFB3479A272A ====
EAC extraction logfile from 4. May 2017, 1:22
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding / Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique; Rameau - Hippolyte et Aricie
Used drive : PLDS DVD-RW DU8A6SH Adapter: 1 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "Date=%year%" -T "Genre=%genre%" %source%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 2:49.03 | 0 | 12677
2 | 2:49.03 | 2:04.09 | 12678 | 21986
3 | 4:53.12 | 0:51.08 | 21987 | 25819
4 | 5:44.20 | 1:51.43 | 25820 | 34187
5 | 7:35.63 | 1:45.50 | 34188 | 42112
6 | 9:21.38 | 2:09.54 | 42113 | 51841
7 | 11:31.17 | 0:31.21 | 51842 | 54187
8 | 12:02.38 | 1:54.56 | 54188 | 62793
9 | 13:57.19 | 1:53.06 | 62794 | 71274
10 | 15:50.25 | 14:43.36 | 71275 | 137535
11 | 30:33.61 | 6:26.74 | 137536 | 166559
12 | 37:00.60 | 16:25.30 | 166560 | 240464
13 | 53:26.15 | 7:11.59 | 240465 | 272848
14 | 60:37.74 | 10:13.10 | 272849 | 318833
Range status and errors
Selected range
Filename C:\temp\Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique - Swedish RSO, Harding\Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique; Rameau - Hippolyte et Aricie.wav
Peak level 95.3 %
Extraction speed 4.0 X
Range quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 4B7BAD48
Copy CRC 4B7BAD48
Copy OK
No errors occurred
AccurateRip summary
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==== Log checksum 390400821150F0A748B7B959296AFD8C3BB08E2A98A2A2DFC8E2BFB3479A272A ====
foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2017-05-07 20:53:18
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding / Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique; Rameau - Hippolyte et Aricie
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR13 -8.03 dB -24.58 dB 2:49 01-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - I. Ouverture
DR13 -10.60 dB -28.53 dB 2:04 02-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - II. Air en rondeau pour les amours. Gracieusement
DR13 -7.09 dB -23.62 dB 0:51 03-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - III. Marche
DR13 -12.45 dB -29.07 dB 1:52 04-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - IV. Marche. Gracieusement
DR12 -8.30 dB -21.82 dB 1:46 05-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - V. Premier air des Furies. Gravement
DR14 -5.88 dB -23.56 dB 2:10 06-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - VI. Premier deuxième air des Matelots. Gravemen…
DR11 -3.07 dB -21.17 dB 0:31 07-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - VII. Premier rigaudon en tambourin. Très vite
DR14 -7.79 dB -27.50 dB 1:55 08-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - VIII. Deuxième air des Chasseurs chasseresses e…
DR11 -9.30 dB -24.58 dB 1:53 09-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - IX . Première deuxième gavottes. Vite
DR16 -0.47 dB -22.93 dB 14:43 10-Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique - I. Rêveries - Passions
DR14 -3.06 dB -23.88 dB 6:27 11-Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique - II. Un bal
DR17 -1.54 dB -26.30 dB 16:25 12-Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique - III. Scène aux champs
DR13 -0.42 dB -18.05 dB 7:12 13-Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique - IV. Marche au supplice
DR13 -0.42 dB -18.41 dB 10:13 14-Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique - V. Songe d'une nuit de sabbat
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Number of tracks: 14
Official DR value: DR13
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 589 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================
log date: 2017-05-07 20:53:18
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding / Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique; Rameau - Hippolyte et Aricie
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR13 -8.03 dB -24.58 dB 2:49 01-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - I. Ouverture
DR13 -10.60 dB -28.53 dB 2:04 02-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - II. Air en rondeau pour les amours. Gracieusement
DR13 -7.09 dB -23.62 dB 0:51 03-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - III. Marche
DR13 -12.45 dB -29.07 dB 1:52 04-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - IV. Marche. Gracieusement
DR12 -8.30 dB -21.82 dB 1:46 05-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - V. Premier air des Furies. Gravement
DR14 -5.88 dB -23.56 dB 2:10 06-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - VI. Premier deuxième air des Matelots. Gravemen…
DR11 -3.07 dB -21.17 dB 0:31 07-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - VII. Premier rigaudon en tambourin. Très vite
DR14 -7.79 dB -27.50 dB 1:55 08-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - VIII. Deuxième air des Chasseurs chasseresses e…
DR11 -9.30 dB -24.58 dB 1:53 09-Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie - IX . Première deuxième gavottes. Vite
DR16 -0.47 dB -22.93 dB 14:43 10-Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique - I. Rêveries - Passions
DR14 -3.06 dB -23.88 dB 6:27 11-Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique - II. Un bal
DR17 -1.54 dB -26.30 dB 16:25 12-Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique - III. Scène aux champs
DR13 -0.42 dB -18.05 dB 7:12 13-Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique - IV. Marche au supplice
DR13 -0.42 dB -18.41 dB 10:13 14-Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique - V. Songe d'une nuit de sabbat
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Number of tracks: 14
Official DR value: DR13
Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 589 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================