Search - Maurice Ravel, Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra :: Ravel: L'Enfant et les Sortilèges; Ma Mère l'Oye

WINNING RAVEL

Klingsor Tristan | Suffolk | 08/12/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a near-perfect gem of an opera. Colette's libretto strikes the ideal match of childhood innocence, warm humanity (even among the animals) and pure whimsy. And she found the perfect foil when Ravel agreed to collaborate. A reserved, dapper dandy among adults, Ravel always found a perfect sympathy with children and with small things. His score matches the libretto in its sublime combination of colour, quirky forms (foxtrots, American Waltzes, etc.), ravishing melodies and rich harmonies.



On first hearing, this new Berlin Philharmonic performance certainly nails all the multivaried colours conjured up by this master-orchestrator. Rattle has a superb instrument at his disposal and the engineers do a wonderful job with this live performance in Berlin's Philharmonie. Trombone glissandi, magical harp writing, the delicacy of pipe and drum for the shepherds, Ravel's unique flair in writing for woodwind, the Flute a coulisse (a kind of Swanee whistle), a prominent piano part, a huge array of percussion that includes everything from an Eoliphone to a Rape a fromage (which I assume is a cheese-grater), all are realised by the players and captured by the engineers with perfect clarity and depth. Rattle has long retained an affection for this piece - some years ago he conducted it at Glyndebourne with designs by Maurice Sendak of Wild Things fame. As in his previous Ravel recordings, including an overwhelmingly cataclysmic La Valse and a vivid Daphnis et Chloe, Rattle does understand Ravel's unique aural world very well. And the jazzy rhythms benefit enormously from his special ability to lift and `bounce' a rhythm. Occasionally he can seem a little detached, a touch reserved, but you could argue that such traits were characteristic of the composer, too. And when warmth and humanity flood into the music - e.g. the duet with the story-book princess, the squirrel's hymn to freedom or the marvellous final pages - Rattle catches just the right mood without ever overplaying it.



The singers are a fairly starry line-up, but any overweening egos seem to be ideally absorbed into what is essentially an ensemble piece. Magdalena Kozena is perfectly cast as the child, catching his blind tantrums, his loneliness and his fears on a voice that captures just the necessary note of adolescence. Nathalie Stutzmann, Annick Massis (in the stratospheric parts of Fire, Princess and Nightingale) and Jose van Dam, all fit perfectly into the ensemble, yet are full of characterisation in their several parts. Francois le Roux sounds a little stretched as the Clock but makes a most seductive Cat when partnered by Sophie Koch.



The fill-up is the Mother Goose ballet, a piece Rattle previously recorded in Birmingham back in 1990. The earlier performance has more charm and childlike innocence, this new one excels in orchestral colour and brilliance. But it is the winning, highly colourful performance of L'Enfant that makes this disc highly desirable."