Bernard Haitink's second Prom with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra offered two lesser-known works by Debussy, sandwiched by famous bleeding chunks from operas by Wagner, one of the largest influences on his compositional technique. Although I had occasional doubts about aspects of the interpretations of the Wagner pieces, the exceptional quality of the Concertgebouw and the conductor's love of and respect for the music were never called into question.
The Prelude to Act 1 of Wagner's Parsifal has been described as 'beyond music'. Its sublime quality is an enigma that eludes some conductors, and I felt this was the case with Haitink here. The slow tempo and slightly stodgy approach to the balance of the instruments did nothing to evoke the mystery of the opera. However, there was plenty to admire on a technical level. For instance, the opening theme on the violins was played with a smoothness and unity that only the truly great orchestras can produce; the trumpets and trombones placed each note of the 'Grail motif' with the utmost care; and the transition between statements of the theme on strings and brass at various points was seamless. Aside from some minor horn blips, the performance was, on one level, faultless. But it did not equate with the descriptions of the piece as 'otherworldly' cited in the programme note.
The more demonstrative 'Good Friday Music' came off a little better. The opening was done with a striking feeling for the function of the music in the opera: brass fanfares and vigorous timpani call Nature to attention on the day of rejoicing at the Redeemer's sacrifice so that sinners can be saved. The principal oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk stood out all evening as a player of extraordinary expressive and technical ability, here bringing some of the poignancy that the performance otherwise lacked; at its height, there was not quite the overwhelming bloom that depicts the transfiguration of Nature.
Both of the Debussy pieces were much more convincing in this concert. Haitink's firm beat and sense of order made for two refreshing performances that eschewed the tendency to overindulge in Debussy's lush soundworld. The Noctures of 1892-9 in particular had a pace about them that brought out a grittier side of the composer. Nuages was dominated by the remarkable solos of cor anglais player Ruth Visser, who produced the most piercing, syrupy tone and added luxury to every part of the concert in which she appeared. The violins, playing divisi in angular intervals, created just the right impressionistic eeriness to conjure up the clouds of the title. The second Nocturne, Fêtes, was the most dramatic and engaging of the three, taking us from the exuberant opening, with skittish woodwind and gently throbbing strings, to the martial fanfares played by muted trumpets in the Trio. Changing moods and textures made this a riveting experience. The last Nocturne, Sirènes, was enhanced by the sixteen ladies of the choir Tenebrae, their immaculate co-ordination during dynamic and tempo changes making this a persuasive depiction of the Sirens of the sea.
After the interval, Haitink hit the peak of the concert with Debussy's Six épigraphes antiques in the arrangement from 1975-7 by Rudolf Escher. This extraordinary, mystical, fragmentary work consists of six brief movements that were intended as incidental music to poems by Pierre Louÿs; what impressed here was the orchestration, which involves a large chamber ensemble rather than full symphony orchestra and emits the heady perfume of the best of Debussy's works. The first movement, the 'Invocation of Pan', opened with an evocative triplet melody from two flutes, and gradually built up steam with harp accompaniment, while the second epigraph returned once more to a fabulous cor anglais solo, played over deep clarinet and cello harmony notes. The celesta in 'For a Propitious Night' and crotales in 'For the Dancer with Crotales' continued the theme of the literal representation of instruments mentioned in the poems, and Haitink missed no opportunity to highlight these allusions. The climax came in the fifth and sixth movements: the sensuous oboe solo depicting an Egyptian courtesan and the muddy harmonies played by celesta and strings in consecutive fifths to represent the morning rain were the highlights of the concert, for me.
Unfortunately, the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde did not quite deliver. Again, the 'tingle factor' was missing in both cases - a sense of the dark erotic that needs to come across to make these scores convincing. The opening statements of the Prelude were well judged, with Haitink leading each statement very clearly and gradually building up the texture and dynamic. But the first big outburst on a series of appoggiaturas did not carry enough weight; there was no sighing. More importantly, though, I found the central passage, which contains a huge crescendo and accelerando, far too rushed. This is meant to be the biggest orgasm in all music, but rather than surging, Haitink simply charged through the passage without gaining momentum. The Liebestod was impressive for its finely-judged dynamic fluctuations (a crescendo and diminuendo in every bar), but the performance worked only on the level of a lavish orchestral showcase, rather than a depiction of Isolde's transfiguration through love, sex and music. The Concertgebouw shone - as they did in a spectacular (though also hard-driven) encore of the Act 3 Prelude to Lohengrin - but the interpretation seemed ill-considered.