June 19, 2008

  • Review: Odna (Alone)

    It is not very often that an older European film score makes it to disc.  Fortunately, with the many marks of the Shostakovich centenary (in 2006) came a few new recordings of the composer's lesser known works often intriguingly programmed with the more familiar.  Among those was a two-disc set of the composer's score for The New Babylon.  That score is one of the finest silent film scores of the 1920s though it was rather unfortunately recorded to picture and sound was a problem in Soviet film at the time.  Shostakovich also had a difficult time trying to match his more formal concert sensibilities to the needs of film, something painfully realized once the film was re-cut and edited after the music had been composed and recorded to an earlier version of the film.  Still, the Capriccio release of that score is a real hallmark recording.

    Now at an unbelievably reduced price from the always amazing Naxos label comes a brand new complete recording of Shostakovich's next score for Trauberg, Odna (Alone).  The timing of the disc comes to just under 80 minutes and is presented on a single CD.  The score has been reconstructed and pieced back together by conductor Mark Fitz-Gerald.  The present recording is a mix of live and studio presentation (though it is impossible to discern this).

    If you enjoy Shostakovich's modernistic style with a semi-light touch, Odna may be worth your time.  There is less of the sardonic wit that one finds in the composer's work here and instead of a variety of melodic ideas, the composer focuses on setting moods through a varied orchestration. There are some intriguing effects in this score not the least of which is the appearance of a theremin towards the end of the score.  The story of the film at one point heads into the Altai region of Russia and here the composer has written a vocal line recquiring a unique type of overtone singing that was popular in tribal music from this region.  It is performed by an expert reviver of this style Mark van Tongeren. 

    Naxos outlines the various scenes separated by reels and each scene receives a track essentially (48 tracks altogether here) as is noted in the accompanying booklet for the release.  New items include the reconstructed music for a reel that has since been lost, and the restored "overture" and "prelude."

    There are many delightful moments including some wonderful march ideas and fascinating orchestral colors.

    Once in a while, a suite of music from this film score appears in concerts.  One of the better more recent recordings was on Decca/London and featured Riccardo Chailly and the Concertgebouw Orchestra.  That compilation of Shostakovich's music is still worth tracking down.  This new Naxos release features a fabulous performance by the Radio Orchestra in Frankfurt.  One can hope that there is more from Mr. Fitz-Gerald to come.