Robert Schumann commented that his oratorio Das Paradies und die Peri (1843) was “not for the chapel, but rather for merry people.” Of course, the composer’s sense of cheerfulness was slightly askew, and spirituality was not far from his thoughts either. This secular oratorio is an adaptation of a narrative poem from Lalla-Rookh by Irish poet Thomas Moore, written in 1817 in the midst of orientalist fervour for books about the east. The story appealed to Schumann because of its redemptive allegorical meaning, in which the Persian mythological figure Peri, who has fallen from heaven, must purify herself through a series of tests before being accepted back into Paradise.
The exoticism of the work’s text is problematic to say the least. Yet Paradies has experienced a minor revival of interest over the last few decades, both due to its ecstatic vocal and orchestral writing, as well as for its enchanting hybrid structure, a mix between a classical oratorio and a succession of arias that hint more at lieder than the opera house. Sir Simon Rattle has been a continuing champion, performing it with the Berlin Philharmonic in 2009 as well as with his new orchestra, the London Symphony, in 2015. For his farewell season in Berlin, he had planned three performances of the work at the Philharmonie with a top-class line-up of soloists.
After Rattle cancelled a few weeks beforehand, Finnish conductor Mikko Franck stepped in at short notice. Franck brought a light touch to the orchestra, yet provided just enough air and propulsion to stop this unwieldy structure crashing down to earth. As opposed to Rattle’s recording with the LSO, with its impassioned, swelling romantic gestures, Franck and the Berliners were calm and measured. Indeed, where this performance really shone was in maintaining a breathtaking tension across the meditative second section, with daringly slow tempi, stunning piano sections, and heart-stopping moments of stillness.