Claudio Abbado - Berlioz: Te Deum (1983)

Claudio Abbado’s 1981 performance of Berlioz’s Te Deum for three choruses and pipe organ easily outranks the handful of widely-available recordings of the work. Abbado’s closest competitor is 1969’s Sir Colin Davis with similar London forces on Philips, but Davis’ tenor soloist does not have the solid heroic quality of Mexican tenor Francisco Araiza, and Davis’ choirs are a little more recessed (although Abbado’s is not miked particularly close either), in particular the almost lost sound of Davis’ boys choirs which cut through forcefully in Abbado. In addition, Abbado moves purposefully forward through Berlioz’s treacherous choral/orchestral writing, whereas Davis takes his time, perhaps allowing more time for climactic build-up; however, I find Berlioz’s talent with choral writing was not his particular forte as it is not particularly melodic or thoughtful for singers, so I appreciate Abbado’s fluid, forward momentum. Both Abbado and Davis eschew the ungainly 3rd and 8th instrumental movements which feature 12 harps and a piccolo saxhorn (maybe 6-8 minutes of music that is commonly omitted), so if you are looking for the complete version, check out Elahiu Inbal with his Frankfurt forces on Denon for, not only the extra instrumental movements, but a truly swift reading, or John Nelsons and his French players on Virgin, but Nelsons’ choirs are a bit pitchy and the organ and bass overwhelm the entire affair. Otherwise, Abbado is the first place to look for a truly stellar performance of this rip-roaring choral/orchestral work.

Berlioz’s Te Deum is a tour de force, with quite a bit of pipe organ work, impressively swaggering brass climaxes, multiple caterwauling choruses, all set in an unusually positive mood with major keys dominating the six movements. Berlioz, in my eyes, is not particularly melodic throughout the work until the final movement, which gets motivic stürm und drang in one of the more impressive final paeans in a choral work. Abbado’s usual lyrically-molasses leading style does not ever enter the equation in this recording, instead driving forward in grand and bombastic measure, and never retreating into the safety of unassertive musical territory. Berlioz also sets a tenor solo towards the end and Francesco Araiza is particularly heroic in sound quality, but also showing quite a bit of expressivity, applying endless shades of musicality in the singing line, easily setting the bar over the various other recordings available. Equally, Martin Haselböck is quite fine on the pipe organ.

As mentioned above, Berlioz’s writing for chorus is not very intelligent for the voice, but it is impressively difficult. He writes for two 100-person three-part adult choruses (no alto for some reason) and a 600-member children’s chorus. While I am unsure of the numbers involved in this production, Abbado employs both the London Symphony and London Philharmonic Choruses, plus the Wooburn Singers are used, as well as six area children’s and boy’s choruses under the choral leadership of the late Sir Richard Hickox; I don’t know to what end Abbado used Berlioz’s intended spatial effects in this recording, but all the choruses perform with virility and are heard well with the orchestra, if not ever-so recessed in the acoustic of St. Alban’s Cathedral, but does include a very present children’s chorus in the texture. Berlioz’s particular talent for orchestrating is front and foremost in the work with colourful musical language and harmonic progression, his usual retinue of ungainly instrumental forces creating unique colours, and some of the most impressively grandiose musical settings a Romantic could hope for. That said, do not be frightened by the presence of the European Union Youth Orchestra as this ensemble plays at a highly professional level and squeeze out every ounce of passion with precision, fullness, and outright gusto. The atmosphere of this production is absolutely electric and an unabashed success musically and sonically, although the dynamic range of the disc, particularly the quietest portions, may require some volume work on the part of the listener.

There are only a few other recordings of the Te Deum available, especially compared to the more popular Berlioz Requiem (I recommend Levine with Pavarotti for that one). The older performances of Sir Thomas Beecham, Thomas Schippers, and Sir Malcolm Sargeant vary in sound quality and purchase availability, so tread carefully there. Mentioned earlier, Inbal is quick and concise, Nelsons heavy on organ, and Davis takes his time. In addition, Dennis Keene on Delos is a pretty straight-forward affair, but benefits from having tenor John Aler, and Daniel Barenboim gave a swipe at the Te Deum in 1975 at the premier site of the St. Eustache Cathedral that is equally propulsive to Inbal’s and may be competitive (found here and here). Abbado’s digital recording, however, is easily a first choice for its blazing glory and audio fidelity, just in front of Sir Colin Davis on Philips. Highly Recommended!