Description
SKU/Barcode: 3760014198021
One composer EMI could have included in its heralded -- and now lamentably long discontinued -- historic series Composers In Person was Arthur Honegger; he was one of the most frequently recorded modernist composers in the 78 rpm era. Honegger often led his own works on records, just as he usually led the studio orchestra in recording the 40 or so feature film soundtracks he composed. Unlike Milhaud and Stravinsky, Honegger was able to achieve consistent results as a conductor, though he did not always get orchestras that were up to the task of performing his music with precision. However, he left such a prolific output before the microphone that one would expect Honegger CD reissues to be pretty thick on the ground already, but no. To the rescue comes the Archives de la Discoth que de Radio France through the French label Alpha Productions, whose imaginatively named series P cheurs de perles is home to a new in May 2008 series of historical reissues, of which Arthur Honegger: Rugby is only the second installment. The 1930 recordings of Pacific 231 and Rugby featured here are also included on a Dutton Labs Honegger reissue from 2006, the only other CD devoted to Honegger's recordings; it is not all-Honegger, being filled out with works of Rabaud and Piern , as well. The resolution in the Dutton transfer is a little better than this one, particularly lower strings and percussion, barely audible here. However, the other selections are well worth experiencing; the 1947 (or 1949?) recording of Honegger conducting the Symphony No. 3, "Liturgique," is an engrossing, moving experience. This work was one of the very first to deal with the devastating consequences of World War II from a European perspective, and one feels as though right by Honegger's side, experiencing the distressing horrors of Fascist Europe and the widespread destruction that occurred in response to it. The disc is filled with recordings of Honegger songs to which the composer provided accompaniment, greatly variable in sound quality and performance. They range from Claire Croiza's transparent 1932 readings of two of the Trois Chansons de la Petite Sir ne to diseuse Madelaine Martinetti's shockingly casual delivery of Honegger's rather serious setting of Psalm 130, Mimaamaquin. The quality of the 78 rpm transfers is variable but generally honest and not very noisy; the biggest drawback is the condition of the notes and booklet, which omits Mimaamaquin from one of the track listings and is self-contradictory in its dating. While singers Claire Croiza and Eliette Schenneberg are singled out for their contributions, nothing is said about Martinetti or Dolores de Silvera other than that they were singers for the Paris Op ra; it would have been useful to know something more about them. Nevertheless, the recording of the "Liturgique" stands as testimony to Honegger's genuine sentiments regarding the Nazi period; a historical era that would have serious and complex ramifications in regard to his own career and posthumous reputation. The poorly copy-edited English liner notes rather dance around the issue that Honegger is subject to "a certain degree of neglect in France due to a particular ideology, one which is fortunately on the wane." What this means is that Honegger continued to work in France during the notorious, pro-German Vichy government of Marshall P tain, and his music was both celebrated and supported in France during this time. As a Swiss national with no Hebraic background, Honegger was not obliged to flee Europe as so many others were forced to, and a lingering scent of collaboration has cast a pall over his reputation ever since the Second World War ended. Making such recordings available once more helps set the record straight, and one is grateful to the Archives de la Discoth que de Radio France for taking the initiative in this package, despite its obvious drawbacks.
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