Re-up for 'La Danse de Puck' and anyone else: Méditations: Debussy, Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp Harald Genzmer, Trio for Flute, Viola & Harp - Bax, Elegiac Trio - André Jolivet, Petite Suite - Nathan Currier, A Sambuca Sonata

One of my favorite discs for this most enchanting of instrumental combinations.

New links, original page:


http://nocturna-artificialia.blogspot.com/2015/06/meditations-music-for-flute-viola-and.html

Méditations: Music for Flute, Viola and Harp - Arnold Bax, Elegiac Trio - Harald Genzmer, Trio for Flute, Viola and Harp - Claude Debussy, Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp - Nathan Currier, A Sambuca Sonata - André Jolivet, Petite Suite - Chandos 1995

Within the genre of chamber music the instrumental combination of flute, harp and viola has always been one of my absolute favorites. It produces a sound world of exceptional beauty; to the point that when one encounters (certainly when I do anyhow) a piece for this trio combination that is "contemporary" in style (which might seem atypical unless one knows extensively this repertoire)-it will often delight and surprise even those who tend to have musical 'allergies' (fear, tremors, upset stomach, short-term anhedonia and/or hopelessness about the state of modern music..) to substantial dissonance and free atonality. The enchanting music at hand generally steers clear from such approaches (Debussy needless to say was intrigued by the modernist tendencies at this time, and there is an identifiable albeit gradual change in his compositional style, motivated in part by the new European school but also drawing on his life-long interest in music from around the globe-his early exposure to the Balinese gamelan is one such example).

The "Sambuca Sonata" is something of an exception, although not in any strict sense. The music is overall playful, and it's inspiration derives from several genres including jazz. 

What makes this disc really quite special however, is the inclusion of Harald Genzmer's "Trio for Flute, Viola and Harp", which I had never heard before (there are several recordings, it seems to be his best known work). In 1995 this disc was my introduction to Genzmer, and his Trio grabbed me from the start. Harald Genzmer was a composer who rejected the avant-garde in his compositions, taking his cue from Hindemith, with whom he studied. His works resonate highly with me, doing precisely what I "want music to do" not unlike the music of my late friend Rosner and many others. Harald Genzmer is sadly yet another example of an unjustly neglected composer with an original voice, and a lot to say. I have a few discs of his music, although the most comprehensive and important survey of his music was released on the Thorofon label during the 1990's, with 10 discs produced altogether. Later Thorofon offered the volumes in a 10-cd set, which I also missed out on. This bothers me all the time! These recordings were hard to find then and are hard to find now, although amazon and other sites do have a few volumes for sale (mostly private sellers) at prices upwards of 20 USD. Either I will wait until luck strikes and I find the box set somewhere or I will give in and buy the volumes that I can find one by one, although not really feasible at this time for me. As soon as I can locate the rest of the Genzmer that I do have, I will post it as listeners need to know it!

Harald Genzmer (1909-1997) was born in Blumenthal near Bremen on 9 February 1909. In 1928 he began to study at the Berlin Hochschule fur Music with Paul Hindemith (composition, until 1934), Rudolf Schmidt (piano), Alfred Richter (clarinet) and Curt Sachs (musicology). From 1934 to 1937 he worked as a repetiteur, later as assistant conductor at the Breslau Opera House. In 1938 he began to teach at the Volksmusikschule Berlin-Neukolln, where Hindemith too had been teaching before. In the 1940's, he experimented with electronic instruments and devoted himself particularly to the "Trautonium" (an electronic instrument invented by Friedrich Trautwein).

He passed his military service as a clarinet-player in a music corps and, after the Second World War, in 1946, was appointed professor of composition and assistant director at the new Musikhochschule of Freiburg, then, from 1957 to 1974, at the Munich Hochschule fur Musik. In Munich Genzmer has been leading the department of music of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts for ten years. He also became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin and held important positions in many cultural political organisations like the GEMA. In recognition for his outstanding services as a composer and teacher, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Bavarian Constitution in 1998, the Arts Price by the Bayerische Landesstiftung in 1996 and the Maximilian Order, the most distinguished Bavarian Cultural Award, in 1991. His works include all genres, especially many fine concertos, misc. orchestral works and chamber works, with the only exception being opera. Among his substantial output there are also significant choral works and also many educational compositions. 

Arnold Bax's "Elegiac Trio" is one of my favorite chamber works of all time; indeed I find his chamber output generally to be some of his strongest and most enchanting music (please, no arguments for his tone poems or symphonies-trust me I love every single one! ;)  The trio is simply ethereal.

Debussy's "Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp" needs no introduction. It is ubiquitous and cherished in the repertoire, deservedly so. One of my favorite works as well, and likely yours too-it was a profound and moving experience hearing it for the first time (oh so many years ago). I still remember the sheer wonder and joy as if it took place last week.

The "Petite suite for Flute, Harp and Viola" of André Jolivet (probably from 1941) recalls Debussy in its impressionist delicacy and evocations of hazy summer days and breezes, but its rustic gigue and wandering harmonic changes are Jolivet's own. Jolivet wrote quite a bit of charming chamber works and everyone should stay tuned for more of his music in the future..

Enjoy!

Part 1

Meditations-Music_For_Flute_Viola_&_Harp(1)-Tzadik.zip

http://www31.zippyshare.com/v/iNT43C7K/file.html

Part 2

Meditations-Music_For_Flute_Viola_&_Harp(2)-Tzadik.zip

http://www64.zippyshare.com/v/2sRXAoka/file.html

Schubert: Arpeggione (cello version) - And works for Cello and Piano by Schumann - Debussy - Britten - Gautier Capuçon, Cello - Frank Braley, Piano

Staying within the realm of more "familiar" composers/repertoire, this is a fantastic disc with some of the finest cello and piano literature, complimented by some of the finest playing by cellist and pianist alike. I know these pieces well, however it's the Britten Cello Sonata that I have somehow managed to listen to the least over the years. No reason, just unfortunate for me. It is Britten's Sonata in C that I enjoy the most on this recording, indeed I think it is here revealed at one of the greatest works of the 20th century for cello and piano.

Cellist Gautier Capuçon has stated that he and pianist Frank Braley wanted to pay tribute to two twentieth-century legends, Mstislav Rostropovich and Benjamin Britten. Thus, they recorded the same works their illustrious predecessors put down for Decca in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Next to Capuçon and Braley, Rostropovich and Britten sound rather heavy and deliberate. It is not just a matter of tempos, (though the latter team are nearly two minutes slower in the first movement) but of the entire approach to the music. 

 

The notes mention that "The arpeggione, a cross between the guitar, cello and bass viol, owes its moment of glory to Franz Schubert. Something of a hybrid, this fretted six-stringed instrument, devised by the Viennese instrument maker Johann Georg Stauffer in 1823, was held between the knees like the viola da gamba. It has sometimes been described as a 'bowed guitar', 'guitar d-amore' or 'guitar cello', but the name "arpeggione" had its origins in the ease with which the instrument could be tuned (E, A, D, G, B, E, like the guitar), and played in arpeggios".

Only, after all that, we don't get the arpeggione on this disc. Gautier Capuçon plays Schubert's Sonata in "A major" (pretty sure it's actually A Minor) for Arpeggione and piano, D.821 (the piece usually referred to simply as the "Arpeggione", after the featured instrument) on the cello, since the original arpeggione had a heyday of only about ten years; with the exception of a very few recordings using reconstructed arpeggiones, musicians have performed the music on the cello since the mid nineteenth century. Pianist Frank Braley accompanies Capuçon on a modern Steinway D-274 piano, and together the musicians make the piece come to life in innocent splendor, regardless of the instruments used. The whole piece is wonderfully melodic, and receives the most lyrical interpretation, while still keeping the music lively and Romantic. By turns the opening movement can be poetic, energetic, introspective, wistful, sentimental, vigorous, and beautiful.

The Debussy Cello Sonata is one of three chamber sonatas from late in the composer's life. It packs a lot of material in its short duration and is both whimsical and enigmatic. Debussy initially considered calling it "Pierrot angry with the moon", owing to his preoccupation with the figures of the harlequinade.  It is an extremely fine work, along with the Violin Sonata and the sublime Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp that comprise the other two sonatas of this period. 

Schumann's Pieces in Folk Style are from the composer's productive year of 1849 before his mental health completely deteriorated and his attempt at suicide. From the mood of these pieces (humorous, Gypsy-like tunes to innocent lullabies) with their freshness and originality one would not guess that Schumann was in such a fragile state. These miniatures are for the most part lighthearted with the first piece marked "with humour", followed by a lullaby, a ballad, a march, and a zesty finale.  

This Erato gemstone concludes with the Cello Sonata Benjamin Britten composed for Rostropovich, for whom he also wrote his three Cello Suites and Cello Symphony. While the Rostropovich/Britten recording retains its authoritativeness, there have been more recent versions that have challenged but not surpassed them. Such is the recording under review here. In the first movement Rostropovich/Britten are a bit faster and more lyrical, while Capuçon/Braley are more assertive-even aggressive at times. Rostropovich's playing in the second movement, Scherzo-Pizzicato, is guitar-like, while Capuçon's pizzicato is a bit reminiscent of Bartók in the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. Somehow I cannot get past the Scherzo-Pizzicato movement without hitting repeat a few times! Capuçon/Braley are heavier and darker in the third movement Elegia with their tread being very Slavic and reminding of Shostakovich. By contrast Rostropovich/Britten are warmer with the piano less prominent, but with exceptionally sensitive playing by both artists. The same is true for the fourth movement march that is spiky and eerie with excellent dialogue between Rostropovich and Britten. Capuçon/Braley are not as incisive and a bit heavier, but also excellent as a team. Both teams contribute a very exciting finale and neither disappoints in any way. I will be listening to this glorious Sonata with much more frequency now.. 

Enjoy!

Arpeggione_Schubert.Debussy.Schumann.Britten_Tzadik.zip

http://www26.zippyshare.com/v/97hxOMqW/file.html

Brooklyn Rider - "Dominant Curve" - Colin Jacobsen, 'Achilles Heel' - Claude Debussy, String Quartet in G Minor - Kojiro Umezaki, '(Cycles) What falls must rise' - Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky, '…al niente' - John Cage, 'In a Landscape' (arr Messina) - Lullaby from Itsuki (Trad. Japanese)

Here's an album with a wonderfully eclectic program (Debussy's masterful Quartet in G Minor being the centerpiece and indeed the seed of inspiration for the record-on the surrounding pieces, the quartet extends invitations to listeners of modern 'classical' and even post-rock) by one of my favorite String Quartets, "Brooklyn Rider". Brooklyn Rider's passionate playing and recordings will likely be a delight for the 'contemporary' music/quartet enthusiast, alongside ensembles such as The Kronos (surprise..), Balanescu, Brodsky or JACK quartets..to name just a few. Brooklyn Rider has also collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble and many others, all are more than worth checking out.

On "Dominant Curve",  they've chosen to unify the album thematically more than musically, and they focus on exploring how the ideas of French composer Claude Debussy, who lived from 1862 to 1918, have traveled forward through music to the modern day. To that end, they've chosen to perform Debussy's own masterpiece, the "String Quartet in G Minor",  and Brooklyn Rider violinist (and a favorite composer of mine) Colin Jacobsen composed his four-movement quartet titled "Achilles' Heel" (Debussy's given name was Achille-Claude), which effectively explores similar rhythmic and harmonic concepts to the Debussy piece. The quartet also commissioned original compositions from Japan's Kojiro Umezaki, Uzbekistan's Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky, and American Justin Messina that explore some of those same ideas, yet in very different ways.

The reading of the Debussy Quartet in G Minor (written in 1893), is intense and lively, full of sharp dynamic shifts and subtly virtuoso playing that imparts amazing tonal and textural variety to the score. Brooklyn Rider vigorously accentuates the rhythms and subtly stretches the harmonies. The third movement in particular is gorgeously ethereal, and taken as a whole the Quartet in G gets an all around impressive workout. Debussy composed the Quartet whilst he was just embarking on his most celebrated phase, in which he became keenly interested in modal harmony, unusual scales and sound combinations, and ethnic music from outside Europe, including Indonesian gamelan, which informed some of his rhythmic ideas. Brooklyn Rider have built their repertoire on a restless interest in synthesizing global sounds and Western classical music. 

Colin Jacobsen's piece, imo rather 'kick-ass' and head-nodding, was written to act as something of a descendant of the "String Quartet in G Minor", and also uses modal composition and shares some arranging sensibilities with its predecessor, making extensive use of pizzicato playing, rhythmic patterns, and non-standard bowing techniques. The style is eclectic: sweetly shaped melodies float over harmonically dense accompaniments, and toward the end, he edges toward the shimmering harmonies that animate the Debussy quartet. The second movement, which I find completely irresistible-is a fine example of this, and it's both funky and especially dramatic. This is precisely the kind of modern quartet writing that I just love!

The other pieces are steps further removed from Debussy but still share elements with his String Quartet-notably the modal harmonic structures and tendency to call on the players to use odd techniques. Kojiro Umezaki joins the quartet, playing a traditional Japanese wood flute called the Shakuhachi in his mysterious "Cycles (What Falls Must Rise)", a textural piece that incorporates electronic manipulation. Here the large, ancient flute alternates between stillness and rapid-fire fifth intervals. Just before the 9 minute mark, the quartet, with bowed cello, plays what sounds to my ears to be a Hebraic-inspired and mournful tune, lead by the viola-then the shakuhachi joins in, leading to a lively section that continues to hint at Eastern Europe, the energy ascending towards (or so one might think) the ecstatic-only to descend less than 60 seconds after (for this listener, like a train slowing to enter a station..), quieting and with hushed tones recalling the beginning of this most original and exotic journey-one worth taking many times I think!  

Justin Messina also joins the quartet, controlling electronics on his own string quartet arrangement of John Cage's 1948 composition "In a Landscape", which was originally intended for piano or harp. It expands on the original, with layers of electronics and strings that evoke the Chinese sheng (mouth organ) and a hint of glass harmonica. It's a haunting piece to begin with, but this version, with its emphasis on high, sustained violin tones can practically make the hair stand up on your neck. 

Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky's "...Al Niente" (Italian for "to nothing"), pits sudden, fragmented violin phrases against slow-motion, sumptuous harmonies as if lightning were striking downward through drifting clouds and Debussy and the rest of musical history were being subsumed into a grand chord. Clearly it too strives for the drama inherent in the Quartet in G Minor, weaving thematic fragments from the score into an eerie, otherworldly texture, creating a harmonic smear that full-bodied violin runs can leap out of at its beginning and proceeding through odd rippling passages to a quiet and long decay. 

Track list:

Colin Jacobsen

1. Achille's Heel, for String Quartet: Lydia's Reflection
2. Achille's Heel, for String Quartet: Second Bounce
3. Achille's Heel, for String Quartet: Loveland
4. Achille's Heel, for String Quartet: Shur Landing

Kojiro Umezaki

5. (Cycles) What falls must rise, for String Quartet, Shakuhachi & Electronics

Claude  Debussy

6. String Quartet, L. 85 (Op. 10): Animé et très décidé
7. String Quartet, L. 85 (Op. 10): Assez vif et bien rytmé
8. String Quartet, L. 85 (Op. 10): Andantino, doucement expressif
9. String Quartet, L. 85 (Op. 10): Très modéré - Très mouvementé et avec passion

Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky

10. ...al niente, for String Quartet

John Cage (arr. Justin Messina)

11. In a Landscape, for piano or harp

12. Lullaby from Itsuki - Japanese Traditional, arr. Kojiro Umezaki and Brooklyn Rider
(this is the bonus track only available on the digital download)


Brooklyn Rider:

Johnny Gandelsman, violin
Colin Jacobsen, violin
Nicholas Cords, viola
Eric Jacobsen, cello

Guest artists:
Kojiro Umezaki, shakuhachi and electronics
Justin Messina, electronics

Enjoy!!

Brooklyn_Rider_Dominant_Curve_Tzadik.zip

http://www72.zippyshare.com/v/cZXt6NFL/file.html