Customer Reviews

Orff: Carmina Burana

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

 

 

The good news is that the soloists are great and the playing is superb. But the bad news supersede the good ones.
Nothing wrong with fast tempi, but this one is simply rushed. Based on Sir Rattles recordings, I think he is more marketing hype than a true great conductor. And his recent Mahler 8th simply proves the point.
But the issue that frustrates me the most is not Sir Simon but EMI. Why is a company as important as this one still recording miserably after all these years? Carmina should be a sound blockbuster, but EMI refuses to improve the bass and give the ambience a broad span. Try a DECCA/London recording (from any year!) and you will hear what I mean. All these missed opportunities are mind boggling. Even small, independent companies (God bless them) have recorded better Carminas than this one.

The first time I heard this recording, I was startled at the fast tempos, particularly in the opening O Fortuna. But with repeated listenings this quickly grew on me. The choral singing throughout is top notch and the soloists leave nothing to be desired either. This is definately one of Simon Rattles better efforts. There is a breathless urgency to this interpretation that I find refreshing, better than both Levines and Dutois' version I previously owned. Since owning this recording the piece has taken on new meaning to me, become a real favorite.

A note! This is not Deutsche Grammophon bass heavy EQ that makes you feel as though you are standing in the middle of the orchestra. This is however a very good recording, a little weak on bass, but still very very good. Does EMI need some improvement? Yes. Does that detract from this recording? Barely. This disc is all about performance. Period.

The impression here is a recording of Carmina Burana that is true to the spirit of the music and more importantly to the text of the piece. Carmina Burana is steamy, risky, and nearly bawdy music. This recording reflects the passions, emotions and abandon that is real in the music. Sampling this recording won't do, you simply have to buy it, bring it home and turn down the lights, turn up the volume and listen to the whole thing to appreciate it.

Rattle's rendition of Orff's scenic cantata doesn't compare to the renditions from Jochum, Dutoit, Muti, and Welser-Most. Some of the speeds are a bit too fast (even faster than Jochum's choice of pacing), and the sound quality is below average (the bass sound is heard incorrectly). The orchestra and choir sound good, but it doesn't make up for the dreadful soloists. Pass.

I would not have minded to review this disappointing recording but for the fact that I recently got another EMI and Rattle's recording (Shastokovitch's 1st and 14th Symphonies), of which the same problem surfaces.
I know nothing about sound engineering, but EMI should account for some thing if in both recordings the listeners are being 'tortured' in their poor accoustics.
Well, the performances themselves should not be so lowly rated. Considering the soloists - Gerhaher, Lee here, and Mattila, Quasthoff there - they certainly are top-notch.
Can some one enlighten me on this aspect?

This rendition is a very close to the concert my daughter sang with her college choir; it brought back a lot of memories for her as the concert was in NYC.