Symphony No 84 - Haydn
Carmina Burana - Orff
Differences between the two parts of Friday night's NCH concert were greater than the stylistic contrasts between the music of Haydn and Orff. The approach to Haydn's Symphony No. 84 showed character, but was anachronistic. Alexander Anissimov conducted the NSO as if in a 1950s' time-capsule: speeds were mostly on the slow side and melodies floated over accompaniments rather than being driven with them. I did not find the performance displeasing, but it was hard to know what to make of it.
In Carmina Burana, Aniss imov touched the heart of Orff's concept, which is not a purely musical one. The RTE Philharmonic Choir made a strong sound where that was needed and tone was usually homogeneous, though some of the men-only sections were a bit ragged. However, producing tone at low volume was a problem, with the striking exception of the altos in "Chume, chume geselle min", which was as warm and sexy as the words. Cor na nOg RTE was precise and reliable throughout.
Although Carmina Burana is best known as a concert piece, it was conceived as an epitome of Orff's "total theatre", where music, movement and words combine. Friday's performance was impressive partly because of the effective orchestral, choral and solo work; but even more because of Anissimov's feel for the theatricality of this brutally simple music.
Anthony Norton (tenor) was memorably over-the-top in the Song of the Roasted Swan, Vladimir Petrov's tone and pacing in the bass solos caught each turn of expression, and the final solo, from Virginia Kerr (soprano), was lasciviously sweet. This Carmina Burana had a revelatory panache.