Notes and Editorial Reviews
TARQUINIA
•
Emanon Ens; Hubert Damen (spkr
1
); Raf de Keninck, cond
2
•
PHAEDRA 92062 (69:19
Text and Translation)
WELFFENS
Wandelen met Eva.
JONGEN
Rhapsody for Wind Quintet and Piano.
CELIS
1,2
Tarquinia.
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class="COMPOSER12">CRAENS
2
3 Summer Pieces
The series
In Flanders’ Fields
, devoted to music of Flemish composers, has reached Vol. 62 with this release, and this newest entry does full credit to its predecessors in making available little-known but intriguing and worthy repertoire. All the works are receiving their premiere recordings except the Jongen Rhapsody, which has an alternative on the Et’Cetera label with the Hexagon Ensemble, paired there with works by Debussy, Roussel, and Caplet; in the case of Craens this appears to be the first commercial recording of any composition by him.
The
Wandelen
of Peter Welffens (1924–2003), written in 1988, is cast in five movements and composed in a tonal idiom influenced by Impressionism, though also tinged by the compositional palette of Bartók. A mysterious Moderato–tranquillo opening is succeeded by an Allegro movement that opens with an agitated running figure, which then gives way to slower, drifting music with a slight sense of anxiety and unease. The following Molto lento–Grave deepens this unsettled feeling, beginning with long, sustained tones that gradually turn to drooping, chromatic descents punctuated by sparse piano chords. An Allegro moderato fourth movement picks up the material and mood of the second, albeit in a more hopeful vein. Despite its name, the concluding Allegro agitato brings a quiet, upbeat, peaceful close to the proceedings.
Joseph Jongen’s Rhapsody, composed in1922, is cast in a single movement with several subsections. The introduction, obviously indebted to Ravel and Debussy, segues to a second section with a melody strikingly akin to that of the “Habanera” from Bizet’s
Carmen
. A third section, very energetic, is unintentionally reminiscent of stereotypical Hollywood film music of American Indians staging a war dance around a fire. This subsides in turn to a slower lyrical section with a repeated Morse code-like triplet motif in the accompaniment. The remainder of the piece alternates back and forth between these latter two sections several times, ultimately progressing to a sunny, confident conclusion.
The eponymous work by Frits Celis (b.1929) is atonal yet surprisingly accessible. The piece is a setting for a
Sprechstimme
narrator and chamber ensemble of a cycle of five poems by Anton van Wilderode (1918–98), evoking the mood of five ancient Etruscan murals preserved in the city of Tarquinia. All but the first poem come from tombs and have death as their themes. In their original order, the poems are “The Winged Horses,” “Hypnos, the God of Sleep,” “The Swimmer,” “Hunters on Horseback,” and “The Flutists”; however, the composer has rearranged them for his own musico-dramatic purposes. The work opens with “Hypnos” over a softly sustained bass drone; “The Flutists” follows with very agitated music and the narrator virtually shouting at the close. Next comes an instrumental interlude on the wind instruments, succeeded by “Hunters,” opening quietly but again rising to an agitated close. “The Winged Horses” comes immediately thereafter with a prominent part for tom-tom drum, and then a second instrumental interlude follows with an extended part for vibraphone. “The Swimmer” then enters, mostly subdued in tone, with a major role for the marimba and an instrumental interlude between its two stanzas. The work closes quietly with a repetition of the first stanza of “Hypnos,” as the phrase “Hypnos de god … Hypnos” is softly reiterated several times while the instrumental accompaniment gradually dies away.
The
Three Summer Pieces
of Alain Craens (b. 1957) is likewise atonal yet accessible, with a pronounced Impressionist influence. An opening Aubade is initially slow and drifting, with a flurry of woodwinds leading to a stormy interlude. The succeeding brief Capriccio is dominated by rapid runs, flourishes, and quick handoffs of fragmentary phrases between different instruments. The closing Nocturne resembles the Aubade to bring the piece full circle.
The performances are excellent and effective, the sound quality is top-notch, and with a significant caveat the production values exemplary. Both the texts of the poems and booklet notes are provided in Flemish, English, French, and German, along with disc contents and timings, photos of the composers and performers, and a complete list of previous CDs in the series along with several other issues by the same label. My major complaint is that the poems in the Celis work are printed in their original published order instead of their order of use by the composer, and nowhere does the booklet indicate this; also, each poem should have been tracked separately, instead of a single track being assigned to the entire work. Despite this one reservation, this disc is highly recommended to anyone interested in exploring the more recondite niches of 20th-century repertoire; those whose tastes do not extend to atonal pieces may readily turn to the aforementioned Et’Cetera CD for the Jongen and more congenial discmates.
FANFARE: James A. Altena
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Works on This Recording
1.
Wandelen met Eva, for flute, clarinet, violin, cello & piano by Peter Welffens
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Emanon Ensemble
Venue: Academiezaal - Sint-Truiden
Length: 15 Minutes 38 Secs.
2.
Rhapsodie for Piano and Wind Quintet, Op. 70 by Joseph Jongen
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Emanon Ensemble
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1922
Venue: Academiezaal - Sint-Truiden
Length: 17 Minutes 34 Secs.
3.
Tarquinia, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, string quartet, percussion & reciter by Frits Celis
Conductor:
Raf de Keninck
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Emanon Ensemble
Venue: Academiezaal - Sint-Truiden
Length: 16 Minutes 15 Secs.
4.
Three Summer Pieces, for wind quintet, string quintet, piano & percussion by Alain Craens
Conductor:
Raf de Keninck
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Emanon Ensemble
Venue: Academiezaal - Sint-Truiden
Length: 19 Minutes 3 Secs.
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