Berlioz

La damnation de Faust Karen Cargill (mezzo-soprano), Bryan Hymel (tenor), Christopher Purves, Gábor Bretz (bass); Tiffin Children’s Chorus; Guildhall School Singers; London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra/simon Rattle

LSO LSO0809 (hybrid CD/SACD)

125:68 mins

This recording of Berlioz’s ‘légend dramatique’ is a disappointment, all the more distressing since it is one of the first fruits of the new entente between Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra, which comes with such high hopes.

The problems, as I hear them, are threefold. First, the acoustic. It is beyond my powers to understand why the ambience here is so much more resonant than for Colin Davis’s 2000 recording with the same orchestra in the same hall, the Barbican. This resonance (a little over three seconds by my watch) regularly removes the snap and fizz which are such vital ingredients of this vivid and essentially dramatic work, as well as carrying the echo of one loud phrase over the next, quieter one.

Secondly, the casting of Faust and Marguerite. Bryan Hymel is a heroic tenor and the lyrical nature of this lead role is clearly a struggle for him, although he comes down to piano briefly, when the score explicitly instructs, to sing below mezzo forte for more than a few bars. Surely Faust needs at times to portray affection as well as fullblooded passion and despair? I find the edge to his voice wearing in bulk, as is Karen Cargill’s strong vibrato, ever stronger as she climbs in pitch. Christopher Purves is a silkily menacing Mephistopheles, but his intonation is suspect in some of the faster passages.

Finally, in the introduction to Part III the offstage trumpets are slightly behind the beat, and in bar seven of that to the ‘Roi de Thulé’ aria the woodwind chord is a whole quaver late. Given the quality and reputation of the musicians involved, I’m astonished as well as deeply disappointed.

Roger Nichols

PERFORMANCE ★★★

RECORDING ★★★