Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fine Performance of Major 20th Century Choral Work, June 12, 2004
"The Epic of Gilgamesh" (1954-55) is a magnificent piece for 4 soloists, chorus and orchestra, one of the "undiscovered masterpieces" of 20th century choral music. The score shows Martinu at the height of his mature powers, responding at every turn to his chosen text - excerpts from the ancient Babylonian tale of the hero Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu - with music of tremendous power, imagination and directness.
Martinu set an English translation by R. Campbell Thompson, written in deliberately "archaic" language which emphasizes its mystery and distance from the present day; the composer even preserved places where the text trails off in mid-sentence, indicating a gap in the surviving tablets. Part One starts with a text in praise of Gilgamesh, then tells how the primitive innocent, Enkidu, is seduced by a courtesan, thus severing his natural connection with his animal companions, and how Enkidu comes to the city and engages Gilgamesh in one-on-one combat. Part Two tells of the death of Enkidu - now Gilgamesh's beloved friend - and Part Three of Gilgamesh's search for immortality, and his questioning of Enkidu, raised from the earth at Gilgamesh's request by his father, the Moon God Enlil.
These episodes are shrewdly chosen to give Martinu a chance to write a wide range of music, all orchestrated with this composer's customary brilliance: from the warm pastoral idyll of Enkidu's initial life, through the sensuality of his seduction, to the violence of his duel with Gilgamesh; then the sober, compassionate contemplation of Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh's anguish at his loss and the discovery of his own mortality, to the truly otherworldly chill of Enkidu's return, with his unvarying answer to each of Gilgamesh's questions: "I saw, I saw..." This is one of many riveting passages in a score of uniformly high quality and interest.
Both available recordings of "The Epic of Gilgamesh" are sung in the Czech translation by Ferdinand Pujman. Both are very good performances. This one, dating from 1989, was first issued on Marco Polo; Naxos has improved the booklet materials by adding the complete Czech text (Marco Polo had only the English) and a complete list of tracks. Zdenek Kosler leads the Slovak Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra in dynamic fashion, with a capable quartet of soloists - baritone Ivan Kusnjer (Gilgamesh) particularly good - and a strong actor, Milan Karpisek, for the half dozen short patches of spoken narration. I also like the sound, very much what you might expect to hear in an actual concert hall, with the chorus clearly behind the orchestra but very present, plenty of air around all the voices, and the speaker's voice well integrated into the overall sound picture.
The other available version [Supraphon 11 1824-2 211] presents a sharp contrast in interpretation and sound: Jiri Belohlavek directs more expansively, and the 1976 analog recording - warm, close - really plunges the listener into the midst of the orchestra. I can't really recommend one over the other - each one reveals different aspects of a rich work -but I do recommend that you give one of these recordings a try.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Worthwwhile, December 6, 2003
This is a hard to find CD of this rarely performed piece. The text of this oratorio is written in Czech, certainly an obstacle to performance in most of the world. The music is quite powerful and for individuals familiar with Martinu's better known orchestral pieces, rather different. Martinu appeared to have aimed for a somewhat mystical impression and the quality of the music is very different from the French influenced and neoclassical quality of much of his earlier music. I found this work repays careful listening and is well worth hunting down. The chorus, orchestra, and soloists give solid performances.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fine recording., March 8, 2006
If you're really into Martinu, go ahead and consider this a 5-star rating as I congratulate Naxos for capturing this somewhat rare composition/rendition and offering it in good quality at a budget price. The original Epic of Gilgamesh story actually gets better all the time as archaeologists keep finding new, undeciphered clay tablets in Iraq which frequently expands upon the legend. The story is particularly interesting because it is "history" which pre-dates The Bible.
Unfortunately, if you don't speak Czechoslovakian, you won't get much of the actual story from listening to the CD but Naxos WAS so nice as to provide an English translation in the liner notes with which, if you're alert, you can follow along fairly well. Bottom line: I recommend that you get a late edition of the book and read the whole story first.
As to this recording, it's just a bit surround-soundy for me. Some low end boost might have accentuated whatever bass notes are present but I wouldn't call it "tinny" by any means. If you like Bach or Mozart music played on pipe organs, complemented by well-rehearsed choirs in huge churches, you'll probably like this. Of course, the composition itself is much more modern and a bit early period Stravinskyish.
I definitely recommend this CD but, if you just want to hear some Martinu, try some of his other, more popular, works first. Save this one to savor for later if you are relatively new to classical music.
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~ Bohuslav Martinu
~ Bohuslav Martinu
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