Honegger's legacy

Mario Venzago is and remains an unconventional and uncompromising conductor. This is also true of his CD projects, with which he always knows how to surprise. The complete recording of the Bruckner symphonies with various orchestras on cpo has caused a sensation in the international specialist press with his own interpretation - linear, transparent, with a sensuous sound and rhythmic verve.

He consistently champions Swiss music, be it the orchestral works of Othmar Schoeck or Paul Juon. As chief conductor of the Bern Symphony Orchestra, which he has been since 2010, he incorporates Swiss modern music into his programming as a matter of course. And the orchestra, which he has restructured, rejuvenated and made more attractive with part-time positions, follows his lead with dedication.

Now it is Arthur Honegger's (1892-1955) turn. On the current recording, which is one of the last CDs to be released on the soon to be discontinued Migros label Musiques Suisses, Venzago and his Bern orchestra present RugbyMouvement symphonique (1928), the Symphony No. 3 Symphonie liturgique (1945/46) and the 5th Symphony Di tre re (1950).

Although Honegger had a Swiss passport, he remained in Paris during the Second World War. He remained loyal to the vibrant city of music, where he had already studied, for the rest of his life. With Rugbyone of his three Mouvements symphoniques, Honegger expressed his enthusiasm for sport.

The rhythmic force, which is also Pacific 231 The music that broke new ground here comes across as loud as in a sports stadium. The Bern Symphony Orchestra nevertheless succeeds in differentiating, maintaining agility in the harmonically dense sound and clearly articulating the imitations and fugues.

In the Liturgique Honegger brings liturgical evocation into the symphony through movement titles such as "Dies irae" or "Dona nobis pacem", but there is no direct reference to original church melodies. It is confessional music of the deepest shock, written immediately after the end of the war. Mario Venzago draws from the full here, interpreting the atonality and expressionistic gestures with all intensity, right up to the limits of what is bearable. One is more than grateful for the Allegretto Adagio of the 5th Symphony, which follows a dark Grave.