Beethoven: Symphonies; Overtures /Anima Eterna · van Immerseel [Box set]

I had not come across Immerseel and Anima Eterna -interestingly Flemish/Dutch/German (?)and Latin for the phrase "eternal soul" - until a friend recommended this set as being outstanding in many areas. It is, and they are!

Firstly, Anima Eterna have a distinctive sound. They play the symphonies and overtures at a high "Viennese" pitch that makes for a bright and exciting listening experience (A = 440). A so-called "original instrument" band (as opposed to a present-day symphony orchestra playing in an "historically informed" manner, as on the Norrington/Hansler set) they play on Nineteenth Century instruments or on copies of originals. The strings use thick gut strings and an assortment of different bows - we can assume the the players have eschewed the post Paginini school of fingering - playing for the most part without vibrato, and only using it very sparingly for specific effects. The double-basses use frets for increased accuracy of intonation and are tuned in fourths, a "modern" innovation in Beethoven's day, and they seem to be four string models (i.e. not three string) one at least of which can find the low C required. The horns are valveless, the trumpets long and the trombones small bore. Small and tight timpani are very much to the fore in the balance.

This orchestra is very small (twenty-four strings, rising to thirty-three in the Choral Symphony, for example) but plays within an acoustic that delivers more than satisfactory weight and heft, whilst at the same time being superbly attuned to the delicacy of much of Beethoven's writing. It is a sweet-toned orchestra and is very attractively recorded with great clarity and often impeccable balance, enabling the listener to hear internal parts of the music that more clearly than in performances by a full modern symphony orchestra. And, because anyone reading this will possibly be wondering if this holds true for the larger and more heroic works, the orchestra, soloists and 24-strong chorus pass the test of weight, gravitas and clarity with flying colours in the Finale of the great Choral symphony.

Secondly, let us dispose of the overtures that fill up the set so well. There is not a weak performance among them and although their inclusion means that the set is six discs instead of five, the current Amazon price makes the set very competitive (£4.66 per disc as against £4.99 for the Mackerras/Hyperion set at present).

Now to the symphonies. Numbers 1 and 2 are witty and exhilarating, the last movements being particularly well articulated by the strings - thus showing the advantage of the instruments used.

The Eroica (Symphony 3) is very special. This is a swift performance (throughout the set the Barenreither/Jonathan del Mar editions are used, with metronome markings up to those of the manuscripts of Beethoven's day), very cleanly articulated, with the discords in the first movement emerging with unsettling clarity, a noble Funeral March at just the right tempo, and a quick Scherzo and Trio, with the three horns very well recorded and to the fore in the latter. The Finale is wonderful: setting off like an arrow towards its eventual goal it is speedy, exciting and virtuosic in the extreme.

This performance of Symphony 4 has all the poise, humour and wit that makes the work such a delight. Again the sweet intonation of the orchestra (in the context of vibrato-less string playing, of course!) is very notable, especially in the slow movement.

Symphony 5 has a concision and singleness of vision which is breathtaking. From the first notes of the famous opening to the final joyously victorious bars of the Finale we hear a speedy, noble and intensely dramatic performance. The mysterious transition section from Scherzo to Finale features some very fine playing on the timpani and some remarkably sensitive work by the strings. This is quite simply one of the best Fifths on disc.

The Pastoral is full of good things too. There is all the advantage of antiphonal first and second violins in the development section of the first movement. The "Scene by a Brook" is ravishingly played, clear and redolent of Springtime. The celebrating peasants of the third movement are certainly athletic and, it has to be said, they are disturbed by a storm that is not one of the loudest or most cataclysmic on record. On the other hand, the Finale is warmly and tenderly phrased and the whole ends most beautifully.

The Seventh is one of the best available at the moment and one of the real high-points of the set. The attack in the slow introduction to the first movement almost put me in mind of the famous 1936 Toscanini/New York recording. This is followed by a wonderfully articulated and surprisingly quick performance of the Allegro proper (exposition repeat included, of course). The allegretto "Pilgrims' March" movement that follows it seems, in comparison, quite slow, but it is up to a proper allegretto speed. The scherzo is very clearly delivered and the trumpets ring out with great confidence in the trio section. Oddly, the last movement seems to be rather slower initially that one would have expected. But it is immaculately performed with crystal-clear playing in all departments of the orchestra, building to a very intense experience indeed, capped by some notable horn playing. Superb.

I have to say that I found the Eighth symphony to be worthy of inclusion in the set, particularly because of the lightly articulated Finale. But the middle movement somehow failed to catch fire. Perhaps I did not leave enough time between listening to the remarkable Seventh and this smaller symphony.

Simon Rattle was exactly right to remark that the Ninth is split off from all the other symphonies in the cycle. Jos van Immerseel's booklet note points out that it was this symphony that Beethoven wrote whilst deaf and towards the last stages of his fatal illness. It is a huge shout against the dark and is conceived in the ideal spaces of the mind of a genius. This is why it is so difficult to perform (especially I would suppose at the pitch performed here!). This Ninth surprised me. I actually felt that the first two movements were being a little held back and that they could have flowed more speedily. On the other hand, the slightly larger forces (33 strings with the increased wind and Turkish music percussionists) playing at a steady speed built very convincing climaxes, particularly in the first movement. The slower Scherzo and presto Trio, as found in Zinman/SRO and Benjamin Zander's long deleted performances, is managed very well indeed with the transitions between the two tempi well brought off. The Adagio flows at a fluid and fastish tempo, a solution that I personally favour over reverential stillness - though I can see that this might be a problem to somebody used to conductors like Klemperer or Furtwangler in this movement. This approach in no way, I believe, sacrifices the lyrical poetry that is needed in the work at this point. Immerseel's conducting and the orchestra's response is tender and delicate in the extreme and I particularly responded well to the pizzicati in the lower strings as the underpinned the flowing melody above them. The four soloists in the Finale are as well matched as the very best on any other record. Indeed, they have distinctive voices with wonderfully clear diction. The recording seems to have a slight problem at the opening section where the chorus repeats the verse just sung by the soloist. Such is the presence of the solo singer that the chorus (all 24 singers!) sounds a little recessed. This improves markedly as the movement progresses towards the end. And at the very end, Immerseel and his performers up the speed in the coda just sufficiently to make a fine performance tremendously exciting.

This set is not just "one of many" for it has some remarkably insightful interpretations, particularly of Symphonies 3, 4, 5 and 7. The Ninth will, I think, repay several visits for there is much subtlety in its conception. Overall this is a really good set of Beethoven's symphonies, presented in attractive and clear sound and at a reasonable price. It also has something very special to say and it well deserves a place in any Beethoven lover's collection - even, and probably especially, somebody just setting out on the wonderful voyage of discovery into the human spirit that Beethoven's symphonies offer so uniquely.

Here is a Beethoven symphony cycle (again) on period instruments (again). So why should it stick out in the midst of dozens of other cycles ? Yet it does stick out.
These symphonies by Jos Van Immerseel and his small-scale orchestra Anima Eterna are all fresh, full of tintillating life. In fact, the orchestra is perfectly modelled on the size of the symphony orchestra in Beethoven's time, everything has been done in an effort to recreate the sound that Beethoven sought to create and that he would have heard (or wish to hear)himself. The details about the research and the production are explained in a well-written multilingual booklet included in the box.
The sounds. These symphonies are a wealth of sounds, I have never before heard the percussion so clearly and the same goes for practically every individual instrument and yet the music flows and sings with all instruments together, dynamically and harmoniously : this is pure heaven.
I'm very fond of Beethoven's symphonies and I have some two dozen complete cycles in my collection but this one went straight to the top as one of the very, very best.

These were my impressions after I bought the set some 18 months ago and they still hold, even though a few more cycles have since come to caress my senses (and enhance my space-consuming collection). Van Immerseel's cycle is still unique and my favourite for sheer refreshing beauty that captures the attention no matter how often you've heard the music before.

Rip-snorting performances here, fast but not too much so, with lots of oomph and attention to detail. Of course with sets like this, listeners will like some better than others, as I did. Overall though these performances sound as they likely would have in Beethoven's time and that is the mark of a good period performance. Emphases on particular sections within the orchestra are often different than modern performances which makes the listening experience fresh. My favourites, the Eroica, the Seventh and Coriolan overture are exhilarating. A pity not all the overtures were included (e.g. the Leonoras) - some, perhaps not all, of those missing could have fitted without creating an extra CD. Recording quality is full and warm, the cellos and basses are especially rich and the brass is bright and clear (if occasionally a little too forward). This is passionate and exciting playing. I do recommend the similarly-exuberant and well-recorded Harnoncourt overtures CD. Likewise the Gardiner set is arguably still a rival, and there are many individual modern performances, like some of Masur's (on PHILIPS not the disastrously remixed dried-out Pentatone SACDs) and Paita's glorious Eroica, that still stand up well, but I feel as a set this one pretty well wipes the opposition off the board, both period and modern. I'll keep my other ones, but I would be happy with this set alone.