Wagner - Overture: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

"Wagner? What's this all about, then?" Thoughts that I had in the mid to late 1960s when, as a teenager I was taken by my parents to see the English National Opera's production of Die Meistersinger at the London Coliseum.

These thoughts were quickly followed by "How long??"

Now, I was a regular concert-goer; with my local orchestra in Guildford conducted by Vernon Handley putting on splendid concerts (with an emphasis on 20th Century British music), it wasn't perhaps too great a leap to Wagner. But an opera? And almost 5 hours? Two intervals, long enough for a good meal? This was a marathon. I suppose, though, I could have been roped into going to the complete Ring Cycle . . .

The Master Singers of the title were a guild of  amateur poets and musicians, and the opera, set in 16th century Nürnberg centres around a prize song competition with the winner gaining the hand of a young lady, Eva. The two protagonists in the competition are the untrained, but handsome, Walther (who loves Eva), and the by-the-book town clerk Beckmesser. Walther's song gets rejected as not conforming to the ideals of the guild, but the guild elder Hans Sachs sees something in the song and set out to coach Walter.

To cut the story (very) short, (after four hours of the opera!) Beckmesser takes up Walther's song and sings it, badly, to lute accompaniment, to general derision. Sachs defends the song and says its composer should show how it should be song - and Walther sings it (with full orchestral backing), to general acclaim.

Wagner's overture to the opera was completed in 1862, but the full work wasn't finished until 1867.

The conductor of this 1972 EMI recording of the overture is Sir Adrian Boult. Born in 1889, Boult was a leading conductor of his generation. He had close friendships with Vaughan Williams, and also Holst - Boult conducted the premiere of The Planets. In 1930 Boult became music director of the BBC Symphony Orchestra which lasted 20 years, when he was summarily "retired". The London Philharmonic snapped him up to rebuild their fortunes. Though he stepped down from the principal conductor role in 1959, Boult had a productive relationship with the orchestra until near his death.

Boult's retirement from the BBC meant that he was able to undertake many recordings well into his old age; this Wagner recording was made only 11 years before his death (when he was 83).

Apart from the splendid performance Boult gives with the New Philharmonia - and the production team give him a great recording, too - the orchestral sound shows the benefits of Boult's preference of having the 2nd violins situated on the right of the stage. With the cello section now in the centre of the orchestra, tuning becomes easier (apparently), and the 2nd violins regain their identity: they are no longer a pale imitation of, and sitting behind, the 1st violins. Why does this matter? (Can you tell I'm standing on a soapbox now?). Well, not only do you get a spread of treble string sound across the stage, when 1st and 2nd violins have substantially different lines you can hear the 2nds more easily. For instance, at around 7 minutes 5 seconds of the overture, listen to the 2nds semiquaver figures on the right as a contrast to the sustained melody of the 1sts on the left . . .

Cartridge: Yamaha MC-1x moving coil

Phono amp: Graham Slee Accession + Elevator EXP

Turntable: PTP Audio Solid12 + SME M2-12-r tonearm