Reviews
THE INDEPENDENT
Rameau 'Spectacular', Royal Albert Hall, London, 15 July 2007 (20 Jul 2007)
Four Stars
Two Proms, two major cases of neglect – though the first had at least been heard once before in a previous Proms series, whereas the other had been mislaid altogether for nearly 300 years.
As unfolded with leisurely gravity and grace by the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the 50-minute Messe de Requiem by Couperin's illustrious contemporary André Campra (1660-1744) proved to be a distant precursor of the Fauré Requiem in its gentleness. There is no "Dies Irae", and where another composer might have set the choir blazing in the "Sanctus", Campra writes a tripping pastoral with rustic flutes. Nor is there much in the way of counterpoint, but a haunting ambiguity, as in the way the "Post Communion" briefly rejoices, then settles in a serene major-key fade-out, only to twist round to the minor at the last moment.
After which, the bizarre collisions evoking primordial chaos in the Overture to Rameau's opera Zaïs, which opened the second half, came as quite a shock. This comprised a panoply of numbers from Rameau's stage works for which Sir John has always shown such insight, and included some exquisite, poised singing by the rising Swedish high tenor, Anders Dahlin, while the Compagnie Roussat-Lubek trod rococo dance-measures.
But then the arena was invaded by the alert, gutsy young Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble playing Rameau their way under their remarkable trainer Rosemary Nalden, with lithe young performers from Dance For All to match. And once European and African forces came together for the final Contredanses, things could only work up to a hugely enjoyed rampage. Such goings-on!
Bayan Northcott
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