Haydn’s The Seasons in Dresden had an basically sunlit disposition – Seen and Heard Worldwide

Germany Dresden Music Pageant 2024 [11] – Haydn, The Seasons (Die Jahreszeiten): Lina Johnson (soprano, Hanne), Tilman Lichdi (tenor, Lukas), Matthias Winckhler (bass-baritone, Simon), La Capella Nacional de Catalunya, Le Live performance des Nations / Jordi Savall (conductor). Kulturpalast Dresden, 30.5.2024. (MC)

Jordi Savall is a conductor and viol participant that I’ve tended to affiliate with the ensemble Hespèrion XX and their intensive work with historic music. This Kulturpalast live performance is typical of Savall’s physique of labor with Le Live performance des Nations a interval instrument orchestra he fashioned in 1989. Le Live performance des Nations performs music from the baroque period to the romantic period (1600 to 1900). As director of Le Live performance des Nations, Jordi Savall selected to carry out Haydn’s secular oratorio The Seasons (Die Jahreszeiten).

Together with his oratorio The Seasons Haydn was making an attempt to recapture the nice success he had with The Creation three years earlier. Premiered in 1801 at Vienna, The Seasons was one among Haydn’s last large-scale works. Oratorios normally use sacred topics for textual content akin to from the Outdated Testomony of the Bible nevertheless The Seasons has a secular textual content by Baron Gottfried van Swieten organized from Scotsman James Thomson’s epic poem ‘The Seasons’ (1730). With Swieten’s textual content to The Seasons Haydn created a paean to nature that works within the method of affectionately designed and nicely differentiated frescoes of Spring, Summer season, Autumn and Winter.

On the Kulturpalast Jordi Savall walked rigorously throughout the stage to the rostrum with assistance from a stick. His conducting of his three soloists, the singers of La Capella Nacional de Catalunya and the Gamers of Le Live performance des Nations was a relentless delight and the response he obtained was persistently first-rate. The primary of Savall’s three well-chosen soloists Tilman Lichdi as Lukas displayed his vivid and clear toned tenor with assurance. As Hanne soprano Lina Johnson excelled notably for her supply of the textual content and the purity and smoothness of her enticing voice. The third soloist bass-baritone Matthias Winckhler as Simon was in praiseworthy voice particularly his beneficial projection of the textual content and pleasing expression.

Some twenty-strong the combined refrain La Capella Nacional de Catalunya had been impeccably ready making a powerful impression, offering superb singing that was notably nicely unified. Utilizing interval devices there was always alert and vibrant enjoying from Le Live performance des Nations. There was no scarcity of drama when required, along with some notable solo contributions particularly the horn and oboe.

In 2009 I attended a efficiency of The Seasons on the Philharmonie Berlin with Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. It was a most creditable efficiency certainly, but I couldn’t completely join with the work, as my consideration wasn’t held. Right here on the Kulturpalast with Jordi Savall and his well-chosen forces The Seasons couldn’t have obtained a finer efficiency, it actually was prime drawer, but as with the Rattle/Berlin account from 2009, I didn’t completely have interaction with the work. There have been many kinds of semi-staging and absolutely staged productions of The Seasons. Standing out was Ran Arthur Braun’s spectacular manufacturing on the 2017 Birgitta Pageant in Tallinn which included video projections, troupes of ballet dancers and acrobats however that kind of presentation goes too far for me.

Nonetheless, regardless of the issue I’ve participating with The Seasons Jordi Savall carried out a efficiency that did enchant, via its splendour and its basically sunlit disposition.

Michael Cookson