The second CD of Gál’s music for plucked
instruments is, at first blush, something of a disappointment.
This disappointment springs from CD appearing second and one might
perhaps have expected music or performance values of even higher
quality than on the first CD. A glance at the catalogue number
seems to indicate that both CDs were originally intended to be
issued simultaneously. For technical reasons this was not to be.
The first thing to do is to ensure that your expectations are
realistic. Once this adjustment is made we are again fully satisfied
in a genre now somewhat familiar to us from the first disc. The
repertoire recorded here was again, in part, written in collaboration
with cellist and mandolinist Vinzenz Hladky. The recordings were
produced, mastered and edited by Gál's grandson, who has
done an excellent job.
The ten or so years spanned by the range of works
on this CD give an even stronger picture of both Gál's
musical antecedents and interests. The Biedermeiertänze
(which can be translated as ‘Victorian Dances’) are hardly typical
of the time they are supposed to represent. The energetic and
charming finale gives a flavour of that era. In fact the title
of this work was only chosen for the purposes of publication.
The second movement, Poco lento, is has a Venetian accent.
The somewhat uninspired Sinfonietta is performed to high
standards in spite of the somewhat banal main motif of the first
movement. Gál's contrapuntal techniques are treated with
the utmost delicacy, although there are times when a bit more
mezzo-piano would have been an improvement. These are highly
engaging interpretations of strength and intensity perhaps too
expressive by reference to the subject. The outer sections of
the slow movement are impressive. There is a playful Scherzo and
a charming but somewhat long-winded final Rondo. Of quite different
qualities is the delicate Divertimento Op. 80 which has Ravelian
touches and a raffinesse that should make it a favourite
with both harpists and mandolinists. The Intermezzo evokes several
periods simultaneously while retaining the atmosphere of the other
movements. The Divertimento Op. 68c is in the mould of the mid-1950s'
recorder revival both in England and on the continent. The conjunction
of mandolin with guitar, however delicately composed and performed,
fills the reviewer with unease. The lay musicians movement, which
seems in this work to have inspired Gál, is represented
in a typically German, rather conservative way. This is cast aside
only in the spirited grazioso finale.
The liner notes by Alexander Becker (the author
is not identified in the booklet) are not as highly inspired as
for those he contributed for the first CD. We know that he can
do better. The same can be said of the front cover illustration
which shows an elderly and frail Hans Gál in his ninety-somethings.
The cover will not necessarily improve sales. But at least we
have here important interpretations of works that will have to
wait ages before being heard in live performances in the UK …
or anywhere else for that matter. This is a pity, especially in
the case of the charming Divertimento for mandolin and harp.
Jürgen Schaarwächter
Jonathan Woolf has also listened to this disc
This is the second in Antes’ Gál series
of mandolin works. The first [BM CD 31.9177] covered the Capriccio
of 1949, second Sinfonietta, three-mandolin suite and the Lyric
Suite on Browning’s Pippa Passes. His interest in the mandolin
was sparked by his Viennese friend Vinzenz Hladky, who had organised
an intriguing sounding mandolin, guitar and harp ensemble at the
Viennese Academy of Music. The composer had, in fact, insinuated
the mandolin into two works as early as 1934 but he was to return,
interest and vigour undiminished, for this all-mandolin ensemble
for which he wrote after the War. There is a degree of collaborative
work about the works. The Biedermeirtänze for example
were given to Hladky in short score and he then orchestrated them
for his ensemble.
That said these are jovial, affectionate works,
very unusual and nicely crafted. Gál frequently manages
to fuse baroque and then almost contemporary dance forms – with
their hints of Viennese café and dance bands – in compact,
generally (baroque order) four-movement, form. The Biedermeirtänze
for example opens with some striking baroque gestures before a
poco lento second movement that sways and shimmers, single mandolin
lines emerge from the texture to lead the massed strings. His
humour is evident wherever one listens. The slow movement is supple
and lyrical, lacks great thematic complexity - not the name of
the game here – and is wholly charming. The 1961 Sinfonietta,
as befits its title, has a degree more developmental potential,
is cast in more symphonic form. There’s plenty of colour and contrast,
plenty, too, of well-argued but relaxed counterpoint. The final
movements are again vivacious and deft, with answering figures
embedded in the score and with reminiscences, in the finale, of
the second movement Andante.
The Divertimento for Mandolin and Harp explores
the contrast in sonorities between the two instruments. I particularly
took to the delightful Intermezzo; andante which has the
simple eloquence of a popular song. Finally the Divertimento;
a simple piece, full of lyric generosity and easygoing charm but
one that sports a fine cadenza for the guitar in the second movement
– perky, vaunting baroque lines, counterpoint – but also airy,
skittish and delightfully intimate.
Those expecting something arrestingly different
need not worry or should maybe conceal their disappointment. Though
Gál and the Mandolin has the potential for one of those
joke LP titles – Boulez conducts Edward German, the Swingle Singers
Scat Schoenberg, that sort of thing – there is no marmoreal revisionism
in Gál’s approach. Instead uncomplicated but not simplistic
affection, apposite forces, and an amused counterpoint rich in
lyricism and baroque procedure are the means by which he conveys
his vision. It’s an appealing, relaxed and humorous one full of
schnitzel in the park and the curious clank of the lager glass.
Jonathan Woolf
Review
of Volume 1 Hans GÁL (1890-1987) Music
for and with mandolin:- Capriccio for plucked orchestra (1949);
Sinfonietta No. 2 in E minor Op. 86 (1966); Suite for three mandolins
Op. 59b (c.1955); Lyric Suite on Robert Browning's dramatic poem
"Pippa Passes" (1934). Sandra Stahlheber (mezzo-soprano),
Heidrun Burkart, Alexander Becker, Jörg Becker, Sonja Wiedemer
(mandolin), Brigitte Sauer (flute), Barbara Mauch-Heinke (violin),
Ulrich Ziegler (viola), Gregor Herrmann (cello)
Badisches Zupforchester/Volker Gerland. Rec 1996-2000 ANTES BM-CD
31.9177 [65.00?]
see also HANS
GAL
- Composer, pianist, conductor and musicologist of international
renown. 1890-1987 A Personal Tribute and Memoir by Margaret Moncrieff
Kelly
Three
emigrés: Gál, Gerhard and Goldschmidt
by Guy Rickards
Sonja Wiedemer (mandolin)