ブライアン: 歌劇《アガメムノーン》、交響曲第6番&第12番

あまり知られていなかったハヴァーガル・ブライアンの音楽が、近年姿を現してきました。驚くほど小規模で引き締まったオペラと2つの交響曲のこのリリースは、長い間過小評価されてきた作曲家を私たちが理解するために重要な役割を果たします。マーティン・ブラビンズは、この作曲家を擁護する最も熱心な支持者です。
ユニバーサル・ミュージック/IMS

The 32 symphonies of Havergal Brian have gained new listeners in recordings of recent years, and this 2025 release made classical best-seller charts in the spring of that year. One might think that the Symphony No. 6 ("Sinfonia tragica") was an earlier work, but in fact, Brian had already discarded the gigantism of his Symphony No. 1 in D minor ("The Gothic"), replacing it with a concise, turbulent language characteristic of many of his late works. The Symphony No. 6 comes in at under 20 minutes, and the Symphony No. 12 is even shorter. Both works are basically tonal but verge into highly dissonant sections with quickly shifting moods. The inclusion of Brians short opera Agamemnon is relevant because the symphonies also seem to be motivated by unstated dramatic programs, with scenes marked by orchestral colors (Brian favors the use of a harp and brass instruments). Agamemnon itself here is just 38 minutes plus, a bit shorter than in other recordings, but it is a quick-blast version of Aeschylus sweeping tragedy by any standard. Listeners react differently to the colorful and abruptly veering quality of Brians style, but it is hard to fault the performances here; conductor Martyn Brabbins and the English National Opera Orchestra are the ones to choose for this kind of workmanlike examination of orchestral detail, and a group of mostly young singers manage to define themselves well in close orchestral quarters. This is as good a place to start as any with this quizzical composer, who remained active into his mid-90s. ~ James Manheim