Britten Orchestral Works (CD Review)

by Ryan Ross

Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20; Spring Symphony, Op. 44; The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34. Elizabeth Watts, soprano; Alice Coote, mezzo-soprano; Allan Clayton, tenor; Tiffin Boys’ Choir, Tiffin Children’s Chorus; The Tiffin Girls’ School Choir; London Symphony Orchestra; Sir Simon Rattle, conductor. LSO Live LSO0830

I’ll begin with a confession (or disclosure, if you like): I’m an imperfect Simon Rattle-ite. I think the fawning nature with which the British press in particular treats him is overblown and under-earned. He may be British music’s “most powerful champion” (in the words of Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph, 11 January 2021), at least in a manner of speaking. But I find that he promotes some British composers (the edgier ones) much more enthusiastically than others, and he tends to ignore or barely touch works by worthy figures who desperately need high-profile advocacy. Rattle has only partially embraced Ralph Vaughan Williams (where is his complete symphonic cycle??) now that RVW is suddenly “cool” with the critics. But Rattle has entirely snubbed first-rate music by Bax, Moeran, and Rubbra, for example, leaving their advocacy to folks such as the late conductors Vernon Handley and David Lloyd-Jones. (The latter conductors by contrast spent their careers deserving more credit than they received.) 

On the other hand, if I’m honest, I just don’t think Rattle has much of that heart-on-sleeve emotional sensibility. And to the extent that this is why he has avoided certain works, I can’t blame him entirely. Indeed, with a few exceptions I find his recordings of “mainstream” Romantic fare lacking. Nonetheless, even tepid performances of something like the Arnold symphonies, for instance, would be a nice gesture. I feel certain that these works have the potential to “catch on” much better than the Birtwistle and Adès (etc.) that he seems to relish serving up to his connoisseur admirers at concerts. 

 

But there is a middle ground where I think Rattle is both at his conducting best AND deftly bridges opposite camps of taste. The music of Benjamin Britten resides here. Often too detached for the Easy Accessibility Crowd, and yet not usually “difficult” enough to be placed with the hardcore modernists, Britten’s music frustrates easy categorization. His unique ideas and syntax can take getting accustomed to and are best initially approached via his friendliest works. One, arguably two, of these appear on this disc of live performances (The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra and the Sinfonia da Requiem), with the other (the Spring Symphony) perhaps necessitating a few more listens for the full appreciation it merits. While he previously recorded fine outings of the first two compositions with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, this performance with the London Symphony (and accompanying vocalists) is Rattle’s first commitment of the Spring Symphony to disc. All meet and surpass previous efforts in what is a superb recording with extremely good sound. 

To the growing number of Sinfonia da Requiem recordings available, Rattle and the LSO add what is for me, together with Previn/LSO (HMW ASD 3154, re-released on EMI), the best yet. Here Rattle’s emotional restraint serves the music well. It is easy to overplay this work. But, perhaps paradoxically, what it really needs to achieve maximum effect is a careful touch by a conductor who will steer rather than smother it. When this is done, its delicate nuances and accumulating effects can be experienced properly. Rattle wisely concentrates on balance and sonority to this end. Everything is extremely well judged. Similarly, this Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra comes off wonderfully, even in a crowded recording field. It positively brims with color and exuberance. True, at between 17 and 18 minutes long it is not among the fastest out there (and certainly not as speedy as Britten’s own offering with the LSO on Decca 417 509-2). But again, I find Rattle’s relative restraint to be in service of the sonic details. The kids won’t (or shouldn’t) mind waiting just a minute or so longer for snack time afterward!

 

But maybe the disc’s real treasure is its Spring Symphony, which easily takes up the majority of space and traverses a rather different world. Made up of various texts about the eponymous season’s arrival, and featuring vivid contrasts (timbral, sonorial, etc.) between its many short movements, this composition will frustrate a puritanical conception of the symphony genre. Never mind; what we have here is the product of a first-rate musical imagination that offers up a cornucopia of sounds and associations. If ever it were the listener’s loss not to give a work a few dedicated listens before passing judgment, it’s here. And if all goes well once this is done, the effect of the whole can be quite spellbinding. Rattle, the LSO, and their terrific singers give about as effective an account as one could ask. All of the delicate little sensations of text and setting come through. A feast for the ears. 

While I have my reservations about the work of Simon Rattle, I can’t expect him to right all of the wrongs that persist in the concert hall, the history books, and people’s attitudes. Nor should I use my own biases to unduly blame him. If I continue to withhold the praise effused by others, I also must give credit where it is due. Elsewhere I have said that conductors should more often choose to record music that well suits their own character. Rattle meets this ideal better than some. And if I wish someone of his standing could help dislodge certain wonderful music from obscurity, I’m still happy to meet him in the middle for some fabulous Britten.