Richard Strauss: Enoch Arden; The Castle by the Sea
SOMM Recordings

If Richard Strauss's Enoch Arden (1897) is less well-known than other works by the composer of Ein Heldenleben, Elektra, Till Eulenspiegel, and many others, it's probably because there's a whole lot less Richard Strauss in it than in those oft-performed counterparts. Of course Enoch Arden does include music, but much of it's narration, with piano used sparingly. Given that there are lengthy passages during the sixty-five-minute work when the speaker appears sans accompaniment, a more accurate description might characterize it as Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Enoch Arden, featuring incidental music by Richard Strauss. One estimate describes it as two-thirds narration and one-third music, which indicates where the primary focus lies.

None of which should be interpreted to mean the work is unrewarding or undeserving of attention. In their SOMM Recordings debuts, actor Christopher Kent and pianist Gamal Khamis deliver a performance that's as gripping and ultimately moving as the story itself, and their renderings of the epic poem and the accompanying setting of German poet Ludwig Uhland's The Castle by the Sea make this a valuable addition to the Richard Strauss catalogue. Bolstering the release's importance, the latter appears for the first time on record in Kent's own translation of the German original. Both works were composed for the German actor and director Ernst von Possart, whose influence had helped Strauss secure the position of chief conductor of the Munich Court Opera, to which he was appointed in 1896. As one of von Possart's specialties was recitation, the composer created Enoch Arden in a show of gratitude, and after the work received its premiere in March 1897 a tour of Germany followed. The Castle by the Sea was premiered in Berlin in March 1899 but its lack of an opus number suggests the composer regarded it as a work of little consequence thereafter.

Well-established as a stage and voice actor, Kent has partnered regularly with Khamis since 2016 when their first collaboration, Never Such Innocence, combined music and writing from WWI. That was followed three years later by Odyssey—Words and Music of Finding Home and a year after that a live-streamed performance of Enoch Arden that led to performances in London and around the UK. Kent brings his formidable experience in the theatre to this recorded version with Khamis, a member of the award-winning Lipatti Piano Quartet who shows himself to be an ever-sensitive partner to the actor. Kent subtly modulates his delivery throughout, with personality-rich voices used for the different characters and adjustments in dynamics and pacing utilized to maximize the story's dramatic arc.

Published in 1864, the year of Strauss's birth, Tennyson's Enoch Arden is a timeless tale of undying love, honour, and sacrifice centering on three main characters, Arden (“a rough sailor's lad”), his wife Annie Lee (“the prettiest little damsel in the port”), and his rival, Philip Ray (“the miller's only son”). In simplest terms, after the protagonist marries and his wife bears children, he ventures to sea in hopes of bettering their fortunes but after not being heard from for years is eventually presumed lost. She's gently and patiently wooed and gradually won over by Ray, who, able to marry her after she's deemed a widow due to Arden's presumed demise, generously provides for her and the children and fathers another with her too. Arden isn't dead, however; the rescued voyager returns home after ten years and without revealing himself to the townsfolk, including Annie Lee and Ray, chooses to remain a hidden observer so as to not undo the hard-won happiness she's achieved. A modern-day treatment might have portrayed Ray as a conniving predator; in this narrative, however, he's a decent man whose desire to give Annie Lee a second chance at life is rooted in genuine care for the well-being of her and her family. Arden likewise reveals his honourable nature in choosing not to reveal himself, opting instead to go to his grave knowing she's content in her life with Ray. Strauss's music exudes an intensity that vividly captures Arden's inner life, and the humanity of the characters and the anguish they suffer in the sacrifices they make gives them a resonance that transcends any one time period. The agitation of Kent's urgent delivery also effectively captures Arden's torment as he gazes on Annie and the children for the first time upon returning to the village after a decade away.

As mentioned, piano is used sparingly in the work, but that doesn't mean it's ineffective. Strauss created leitmotifs for the characters—Annie's playful theme appearing first, Ray's harmonious figure second, and Arden's strident one third—and with that inventive ways of varying them to reflect the story's development. When after Enoch's departure his and Annie's baby dies, for example, her theme returns but now in the minor to reflect the tragic circumstance, and when she and Ray wed, their motifs appear triumphantly joined, one in each of the pianist's hands. In embroidering the narration with music, Strauss gives the work a cohesive quality that makes its parts feel connected.

July 2022