This is an absolutely terrible performance of Daphnis et Chloé. Naturally the Lyon orchestra has the notes down pat, but in every other respect Jun Märkl’s clueless conducting delivers sub-par results. The opening Religious Dance features unsteady tempos (louder should not invariably equal faster) and rhythms that come across as poorly coordinated. Märkl brings not a shred of character to the Danse grotesque–just listen to those timid trombone glissandos! Both in the scene in the pirate’s camp and at the start of the concluding General Dance, Märkl favors speed over clean articulation, but in the latter he actually gets slower and heavier as the music proceeds. It’s a mess.
Beyond the numerous details that Märkl and his players fail to capture, there’s scant color and atmosphere. Harps fail to contribute to the texture as they should, and the choir is much too forwardly balanced. After the apparition of Pan, the voices have about as much mystery as would a bunch of your co-workers poking their heads over their cubicles and saying “Ah!” when you arrive at the office in the morning. Finally, Märkl seems not to understand what Ravel meant in calling Daphnis a “choreographic symphony”. He trudges through the connective tissue between the big numbers, shattering the music’s carefully designed continuity. One example: try the moment after the opening scene when Daphnis approaches Chloé “avec tendresse”. Here, it’s “avec ennui”.
The Shéhérazade overture makes a thoughtful bonus, one of the few Ravel works that hasn’t been done to death. But then it’s not really a major piece, and the orchestra’s thin tone and bravura-less response represents the very opposite of the true Ravel sound.
Daphnis et Chloé, aside from its reputation as one of the great showpieces of 20th century symphonic music, is an iconic work in the French repertoire, one on which conductors and orchestras stake their reputations. Think of Munch, Monteux, Boulez, and Dutoit, to name only a few. James Levine, in his written preface to his recent excellent Boston recording, noted this very fact. The artists involved in new productions have an obligation to take this legacy into account, respect it, and apply the highest and most dispassionate standards of self-criticism to their work. Obviously Märkl and his team have not, and the amateurish results speak for themselves.
