Search - Frank Martin, Mark Shapiro, Laura Danehower Whyte :: Le Vin Herbé - Complete Opera

A Strong Performance of a Masterpiece -- With a Big Caution

Nicholas A. Deutsch | New York, NY USA | 04/07/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Le Vin Herbe (1938-41) was an important landmark in the career of Frank Martin (1890-1974), for with this marvelous work he found his mature style, a very personal -- and highly accessible -- meeting place of German and French influences (Martin was Swiss). The music for this retelling of the Tristan and Isolde myth is simultaneously Medieval and modern in feel, simple and sophisticated, restrained and passionate, concise and expansive. Although the piece is accurately described as a "secular oratorio," its score is suffused with a clarity of insight into human existence, and a compassion for human suffering, that must stem from Martin's deep religious faith. (He was the son of a Calvinist minister.) Having heard one of the New York concerts preceding the making of the recording, I can say that the best elements of the performance are faithfully captured: the fresh, sensitive singing of the leading soprano and tenor, the excellent orchestral playing bring particular pleasure, as does the well-drilled work of the volunteer chorus under the carefully paced conducting. The work of the other soloists, though always conscientious, is not up to the level of the "leads" in terms of musical & dramatic projection or accuracy of French pronunciation. This however brings us to an important point: What we hear on this recording differs significantly in one essential regard from the piece as Martin conceived, composed & published it. Le Vin Herbe is a work for 12 solo professional voices, 7 stringed instruments and piano; the 8 named characters - all important "movers" in the plot - are sung by individual members of the ensemble, who emerge and then retreat into the small "chorus," which is constantly changing its size & composition, sometimes sounding like a 1-to-a-part madrigal group, at others like a full chamber choir; indeed, in the course of the piece Martin uses every numerical possibility from 1 to 12. This recording presents an adaptation - no other term will do - for 3 professional soloists & a volunteer (ie. semi-professional) chorus of roughly 3 dozen. This reconfiguration has drastic consequences: The subtle, odd, ever-shifting web of voices has been replaced by a homogeneous choral blend, which grows monotonous; there is a marked disparity of resource between the 2 "major" singers & the other soloists; & oddest of all, many key lines of narration which Martin assigned to a single voice have been given to an entire section of the chorus, which can only slog dutifully through words & music meant to be sung with the expressive freedom & variety available only to a solo singer. To my ears, the result is a subtle but damaging distortion of the work's music and drama. I understand fully the practical reasons behind this decision, and given the love and care that have gone into the performance, I feel badly about coming down hard on it. Had the recording been up front about the nature of the changes, and clearly labeled this as the adaptation it is, I might feel differently, for no one can object to a version made for special circumstances. But Martin's music is always calculated with great sensitivity to the means employed, and the multiplication of voices, even if the notes they sing are unaltered, does diminish the work's uniqueness musically, dramatically & spiritually. Listeners new to Le Vin Herbe should certainly try to get hold of the 1961 recording (Jecklin-Disco JD 581/2-2) with its good-to-excellent cast, all extremely communicative in French, conducted by Victor Desarzens (with the septuagenarian composer at the piano). That older performance, though the engineering is inferior to the new one (the sound was always problematical) still carries great conviction, and of course presents the piece as the composer intended it to be heard. This new version, approached with a bit of caution, offers much to enjoy."

Haunting Music by a Swiss composer

Nicholas A. Deutsch | 01/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tristan and Isolde seems to move many in the strangest and most diverse ways. This telling of the medieval tale--whose origins are more French surely than Teutonic or, more to the point, Wagnerian, presents the listener with French sensibilities, especially the approach to lyrics. The results in evidence on this recent release--handsomely recorded, performed and packaged--are stimulating. First off, the composer is Swiss, not French, and is better known for his Jedemann dialogues cantata, a German work. His instrumental scoring seems more thick and bass-heavy (even though this is a tiny chamber band, there's only one violin--magnificently handled by Marshall Coid, an American Wunderkind who has charmed listeners with his countertenor voice as well as string playing!!!).
The chromatics and dense choral textures seem kilometres away from Ravel or Debussy or Messien, and yet Martin's score and libretto are Gallic and captivating like that old love potion Isolde (Yseut) profers Tristan. Conductor Mark Shapiro's American company here, especially his all-volunteer chorus (can this really be right?) provide a lesson in just how much a crack ensemble can offer with suitable preparation and dedication. No one here is French and yet the wonderful diction and colors of the singing and playing sound completely convincing. How did they do it?
Nicholas Deutsch's helpful review--thank you, Amazon--explains much about the work but does not really address the special magic Shapiro imbues into his performance. I do know the work of Steven Tharp, as good a concert tenor as we have on the American stage, but Laura Whyte is a find--she blends the warmth of von Stade with the taste and spin of Carol Vaness. Well, suffice it to say that this is a most worthy venture and should be listened to, text/translation in hand. If some of the smaller roles (again taken from the choral ranks as composer specifies) do not have the polish of all-pro recordings, even this somehow adds to the unique ensemble piece that le vin herbe is."

A Moving Interpretation

W. Lockard | Los Angeles, CA USA | 04/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording is a joy. I was fortunate a few years ago to pick up a copy of I Cantori's earlier "Echoes and Shadows" which I love; so I was happy to see a new recording from this group. "Le Vin Herbe" confirms that Mr. Shapiro and I Cantori have a real gift for the interpretation and presentation 20th century choral music. The specific performance here is rich and moving. I think Nicholas Deutsch's "caution" below misses the point and ignores the group's achievement in crafting a very satisfying interpretation of Martin's work. Presumably, I Cantori's project was to make a beautiful recording. Since it certainly is beautiful, who cares whether it's "definitive"? As Deutsch allows, the I Cantori version sounds terrific: it's impeccably prepared and luxuriously executed. I find it far more transparent and musical-sounding than the earlier recording he mentions, which, notwithstanding its smaller forces, comes off as clotted and ungainly, and gives a very constricted sense of the work's possibilities. I Cantori's creative approach to Martin's masterpiece does the composer no disservice. The new CD's booklet makes clear that I Cantori di New York understood Martin's intentions and sought to honor them. And so they have."