Customer Reviews

Haydn: Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons) [in German]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Modern audiences remain as enthusiastic about Haydn's Creation as his first audiences--who went wild in both London and Vienna--but we've lost our taste for his other masterpiece, The Seasons. For one thing, nobody considers James Thompson's faous poem great anymore; to modern tastes all this ecstatic nature paiting verges on the insipid, so it's fine to have it rendered in German (the words in English don't help a listener's appreciation).

On its own, Haydn's music is glorious, and Marriner turns in oe of the best versions ever made. true, he uses modern instruments but totally avoids the over-fed sound of Karajan and the scrawny tonality of many period groups. In addition, we get world-class soloists at their very best, plus a terrific chorus. The reviewer below must have cotton in his ears, because the recorded sound is fine, an asset to communicating this nimble, joyous performance. Sheer delight--this two-fer should go a long way to winning new friends for a neglected masterwork.

Haydn's "The Seasons" is wonderful music. Composed towards the end of Haydn's long and illustrious musical life, Haydn didn't hesitate to utilize thematic material from other works of his (including from his surprise symphony).

Haydn's choral music is lively and cheerful for the most part. One of the interesting aspects of Haydn is his ability to take the styles of the past and mold them into his own. The Seasons has alot of interesting polyphonic music interspersed with the homophony that one usually think of with Haydn.

As for this performance, I think Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields does good job. Unlike another reviewer, I tend to like Haydn better with modern instruments. The chorus does a good job and there are some real nice solo performances.

All in all, I really enjoyed this two disc set and give it a hearty recommendation.

The performance is beautiful but the recording is not the best. In particular, the theme of the hunt was marred by putting the microphone too close to the french horns, ruining the soundstage. The horns were mostly isolated to one channel, glued to one speaker. The sense of depth was thus totally lost. Otherwise the recording was good if not great.

I used babelfish (though it yielded some comical inaccuracies) to translate the text and I think it really helped me appreciate the development of the music. Otherwise it's simply some boring recitative with someone speaking followed by a chorus whose exuberance has no meaning. Knowing that they're celebrating the sunrise makes it more meaningful and very beautiful.

This is a fairly well done performance, sung in German. The sound is adequate, but not superb, as is the chorus. The soloists are quite good. I suspect the somewhat less the great sound quality affects the impact of the choir. The major negative, at least for some, is the use of modern instruments. The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is, of course, first rate, but Haydn sounds crisper with original instruments, to my ear. At some point, it would be nice to be able to compare this performance with another done by someone like Hogwood. All in all, an OK CD.