Vivier: Reves D`Un Marco Polo

Introduction

This double DVD set contains a record of the performance of many (perhaps all) of the late French-Canadian composer`s mature works, performed in one evening within a disused, converted gasworks in Amsterdam

DVD 1 is dedicated to his only opera, `Kopernikus` (1980), whilst DVD 2 contains full performances of several other pieces, merged into one theatrical `whole`. These are :

Prologue pour un Marco Polo (1981)
Shiraz (1977)
Lonely Child (1980)
Zipangu (1980)
Wo bist du, Licht! (1981)
Glaubst du an die Unsterblichkeit der Seele (1983)

Video

Video quality (16/9 Anamorphic NTSC) is absolutely fine, bringing across the subtleties of lighting in a live performance brilliantly. The first time I watched, it was accidentally in PAL mode, but I didn`t notice anything out of the ordinary.

Costumes and make-up (worn by everyone, whether on stage or not) are strikingly caught, and the whole production gains from the care which was put in here.

Audio

The audio is presented in LPCM stereo, or DTS (thoroughly recommended!) and is as clear as you would need it to be for this style of music.

Features

Extras include an excellent hour-long documentary on Vivier by Cherry Duyns, and fascinating introductions on each DVD (a little too much repetition of information for my liking, but absolutely fine if you don`t watch the discs in order) previewing the music which follows. I would have preferred more detail about the works on disc 2 however.

It`s a shame that the documentary doesn`t include input from the composer himself, but that`s probably because there was none to hand.

Quite amusing to note that we are told the music is `sung in various languages`, which indeed it is, but a lot of it consists of a completely made-up language by Vivier himself. It would have been good to have learnt more about this.

Conclusion

The fact that many people, including myself, had not heard much, if anything, of Claude Vivier before his tragic and untimely death is quite surprising considering his time at Darmstadt with Stockhausen, and the fact that György Ligeti described him as `the finest French composer of his generation` (ok, he was Canadian, but we can forgive Ligeti that little slip-up).

However, his name was a lot better known following his murder in 1983 by one of the many male prostitutes he picked up in Paris.

Since then, many have come to realise that he wrote some rather striking music, which despite its initial, rather austere, sound, draws the listener into worlds they may not really want to visit, but which are also difficult to run away from.

According to the documentary and introductions to each DVD, Vivier`s life was driven by a connection between himself and Marco Polo, in that he felt he was always travelling into the unknown, spurred on by the fact that he was an orphan, who never knew his real parents or when his birthday was (Vivier being the name of the family who adopted him). This sense of not belonging was accompanied by a fascination with death, and all it involves. This is certainly felt in the music presented here, yet according to those who are performing it, this underlying feeling of mortality is nothing to be afraid of, and that Vivier was actually quite a cheerful soul.

The performances of all the works are brilliantly executed and wonderfully committed, with both the singers and instrumentalists involved as part of the `theatre`. In `Kopernikus`, the sheer physical aspect of the drama must have been extremely tiring, and special mention has to be made of Karl Daymond, who was performing even before the audience was let in.

It`s also great to see Claron McFadden in yet another fine performance on DVD, and Marc Couroux`s playing of the solo piano piece, Shiraz, is incredible!

Vivier`s music, as I mentioned before, can seem quite austere, but even where it is, the underlying harmonies are still quite tonal, and he produces some very beautiful sounds (reminiscent of Messiaen and Berio). Where things become more complex, we are presented with several layers of melody and rhythm which are very difficult to penetrate, yet a feeling of clarity is never too far away, and the structure is easily discernible. He certainly had some fine ideas regarding orchestration, and his vocal writing (with all his special tremolo effects and made-up language) is particularly effective.

This DVD release is in important one. Vivier is undoubtedly a major voice in 20th century `classical` music, and these discs make a powerful argument for further performances of his output, although this production itself would be nigh on impossible to reproduce in many concert halls.

For anyone who is willing to open their ears to new music, I would certainly recommend this.