Purcell and a brutal story

This release opens the curtain on Purcell's little-known incidental music, with the exception of the famous Rondeau fromAbdelazerplayed here in a somewhat hurried manner in its original version. Britten popularized it in his Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell (Young Person's Guide to the Orchestraopus 34), the source of the theme is given in the title; the libretto, on the other hand, insinuates that Britten took credit for the composition from his illustrious predecessor, which is clearly wrong!
The scene opens with the Double Dealer, and we're immediately seduced by the freshness of the playing, the dancing energy and the chiselled contrasts of the young baroque players from Orchester Le Phénix. Enthusiasm sometimes takes precedence over breath, and the performers have yet to achieve the meticulous articulation and razor-sharp precision of the most prestigious international ensembles. Nevertheless, they avoid any tendency to exaggerate or give lessons in authenticity! The flattering recording, in the generous acoustics of Grüningen Castle Church, favors the first violins and basses to the disadvantage of the inner voices, reducing the clarity of the alti and second violins and preventing full appreciation of the composer-organist's inventive dialogue at the end of his short life at Westminster.

The narrators' entry into Abdelazer (in German on CD1 and in English on CD2) comes as an unpleasant shock! There is no coherent perspective with the musical event and the proximity of the voices. The atmosphere created by the musicians is ruined time and again by these quasi-radio interventions. What's more, the English suffers from an intimist modernization of the texts by Aphra Behn (Purcell's contemporary), akin to the banal biblical translations fashionable in the last century, which underlines the contradiction with the authenticity of the ancient instruments. The German translation is a little less annoying. In any case, the improbable and brutal story of Abdelazer's tragedy, with a number of murders worthy of Agatha Christie, is amusing, but only to be heard once! The idea of this free re-enactment may be interesting, but the musical segues chosen are not always convincing, and the last track ends in a real fishtail. As the lyrics are unfortunately difficult to remove, as they are integrated into the tracks in a rather random "timing", a third CD dedicated solely to the performances of the young, communicative musicians of Orchester Le Phénix would be more than desirable.

Abdelazer. Suites by Henry Purcell after the tragedy by Aphra Behn. Orchester le Phénix. John Holloway, englische Texte; Linard Bardill, deutsche Texte. Coviello Classics COV 21202