I
first heard John Antill’s Corroboree
on the car radio whilst driving in the beautiful East Lothian countryside. In
spite of the disparity between my pastoral surroundings and the vibrant ‘lurid primitivism’
of the music, I found that this score was challenging, captivating and quite
frankly a masterpiece. I could not understand then, nor can I now, how this
music is virtually unknown: it seems unbelievable that the ballet itself is not
in the repertoire of the major companies.
Antill
based his music on a live Corroboree which he had witnessed as a child at
Botany Bay. He made subsequent researches into Aboriginal music over many
years, finally producing his score in 1944. The present work was first heard in
a concert version conducted by Eugene Goossens two years later. It was first danced
as a complete ballet on 3 July 1950 with the composer conducting the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra with the National Theatre Ballet.
There
is a rival version of Corroboree
which demands our attention: James Judd conducting the New Zealand Symphony
Orchestra on Naxos 8.570241. This has
the advantage of being the complete score of the ballet, with two additional
movements, ‘Spirit of the Wind’ and ‘Rising Sun’. Additionally, cuts made to
the other movements are restored. In fact, Judd’s reading nearly doubles the
length of the work. Also included on
this Naxos disc is Anthill’s Outback
Overture. Yet the privilege to own Sir Eugene Goossens’ interpretation of
this music is too good to miss. It succeeds in balancing a thoughtful reading
of the many quieter passages with the pulsating, primitive energy of the driven
movements that leaves the listener exhausted and not a little scared at the end
of the ‘Procession of the Totems’.
Certainly, Goossens account makes it clear why Corroboree was regarded as a ‘defining’ moment in the
self-awareness of Australian music. It is a conceit to categorise this music as
an Australian Rite of Spring – Antill
has actually accurately captured the ‘essence’ of a real live Corroboree, even
if he uses ‘Western’ musical syntax to express it. Yet, for the listener who
has not heard the work, the Stravinsky allusion is a good rule of thumb.
The
liner notes for Corroboree are
extensive, giving a detailed plot of the ballet as well as the composer’s own
analysis of the recorded movements.
I
do not know much about the Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera or his music.
However, based on this present performance of the Panambi ballet suite, it is hard not to be seriously impressed.
Especially when one realises that this score is his Op.1! Everest has presented
the Suite which represents about a quarter of the entire ballet.
The
composer was only twenty years old when he wrote Panambi which is based on a South American Indian legend. The Suite was first heard on 27 November 1937
in Buenos Aires. The entire ballet was performed some three years later.
The
suite reveals the composer’s skill at synthesising a variety of musical styles,
including impressionism in ‘Moonlight on the Parana’ and a ‘sophisticated
primitivism’ in the ‘Dance of the Warriors’ and the ‘Invocation of the Powerful
Spirits’. This present recording by Sir Eugene Goossens is a perfect
introduction to Ginastera’s stunning ballet score: for those who wish to hear
the entire 40 minute work, it is available on Naxos 8.557582 with Gisele
Ben-Dor conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.
Alberto
Ginastera is one of a long line of Latin American composers including Villa
Lobos from Brazil and the Mexicans Carlos Chavez and Silvestre Reveultas who
demand our attention, yet are surprisingly rarely heard in the United Kingdom.
The
listener must not be concerned with the apparent lack of minutes on this disc:
it is a budget CD selling at under £6. The production is exactly as it was in
1958. Apart from the unavoidable fact that these are ballet suites and not the
entire works, there is nothing I can fault in this exciting re-release from
Everest. The sound is unbelievable for nearly sixty years of age, Sir Eugene’s
conducting is masterly and the orchestral playing of these exacting works is
superb.
Track Listing:-
John ANTILL (1904-1986) Corroboree: Suite from the Ballet (1946)
Alberto GINASTERA (1916-1983) Panambi- Ballet Suite Op.1 (1934-7)
London
Symphony Orchestra/Sir Eugene Goossens
Rec.
Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London August 1958
EVEREST
SDBR 3003
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.
Just listened to the LP again after many years. Totally riveting. Goosens could be sloppy at times but not here -- and great conviction too. The clarity and depth of the sound is remarkable. I always wondered over the years how the Everest and Mercury discs would fare over the longer term, but the natural balance and range of this sound is outstanding and actually makes me prefer it to the 'closer' Mercury's.
ReplyDelete