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Per
NØRGÅRD (b. 1932)
String Quartet No.7 (1993/4) [15:38]
String Quartet No.8 (1995/7) [20:54]
String Quartet No.9 (2000/1) [20:20]
String Quartet No.10 (2005) [13:40]
The Kroger
Quartet
rec. Royal Academy of Music, Århus, 13-14 December 2006
and 18 February 2007 (String Quartets Nos. 7 and 8);
Mariendal Church, 8-9 June and 14 July 2007 (String Quartets
No.9 and 10). DDD DACAPO
8.226059 [70:54]
In
one of my earlier reviews of recordings of Nørgård’s
music, I remarked that his musical and stylistic progress
is far from a straight line. This composer is used to
surprising even his staunchest admirers with unexpected
twists and turns. This is certainly valid when considering
his string quartets - ten at the time of writing. It
may be worth reminding ourselves that his first essays
in the genre are available on Kontrapunkt 32015 played
by the Kontra Quartet. It’s a disc still worth looking
out for.
The String
Quartet No.7 opens mysteriously “with faraway signal
notes”. The music quickly gets more animated and unfolds
through contrasting episodes characterised by capricious
rhythms. The slow movement makes use of various techniques
and is almost a study in microtonal writing. It creates
harmonic and tonal ambiguity that is fairly quickly
dispelled by the energy at play in the final movement
in which we hear reminiscences from Nørgård’s Second
String Quartet Quartetto Brioso composed in
1954 and revised in 1958. The Seventh String Quartet
was written to celebrate the bicentenary of the Danish
Royal Library, a rather improbable commission indeed
considering that there is absolutely nothing academic
in the music.
The String
Quartet No.8 subtitled Natten sænker sig som
røg (“Night Descending like Smoke”) was completed
in 1997. Its five movements derive most of their thematic
material from Nørgård’s Apollinaire-inspired opera Nuit
des Hommes - available on DaCapo 8.226011 and reviewed
here some time ago. The first movement opens with siren-like
sounds before proceeding further with what is mostly
a distorted rendering of a Danish hymn-tune and building
to violent, final, climactic and heavily repeated chords.
The second movement Man – Animal is a short
brutal war-like Scherzo. The third movement Voyage suggests
exactly that in various ways, mostly through rhythm.
The fourth movement NightDescending,
opening with a variant of the opening gesture in the
preceding movement, is a sort of tense Nocturne which
at times seems to come to a standstill. The final movement Epilogue – Elegy reverts
to the material of the first movement albeit presented
in a totally different way, “including the chorale,
but now transformed or distorted into a lament” as
well as brief reminders of material from the other
movements. Nørgård’s Eighth String Quartet is one of
the grimmest of works, but this should not surprise
anyone who knows the opera on which the piece is based.
Completed
a few years later, in 2001, the String Quartet No.9 subtitled Ind
i kilden (“Into the Source” or “Into the Spring”)
is again completely different from its immediate predecessors.
Whatever the intended meaning of that subtitle - maybe “the
further forward, the further backward” as suggested in
the excellent insert notes accompanying this release
- the music is far more approachable. It is full of typical
Nørgård hallmarks and remains rather demanding, while
ultimately rewarding.
Much
the same can be said of the most recent work here, the String
Quartet No.10 subtitled Høsttidløs (“meadow
saffron”). It is in one movement and, again, is almost
plain sailing – by Nørgård’s standards – when compared
to the much more acerbic Eighth Quartet. The music here
is mostly characterised by clarity and transparency.
The very opening is a good example of such almost disarming
new simplicity although much of the ensuing music is
clearly from the same pen as that heard in the other
quartets. This is a beautiful and engaging work and one
likely to earn Nørgård new admirers.
The
Kroger Quartet, for whom the Tenth Quartet was composed,
play beautifully throughout and clearly have the full
measure of the music Their committed and carefully prepared
readings deserve only praise and admiration. The recorded
sound is magnificent and the production of this release,
particularly Jensen’s well-informed insert notes from
which I have quoted, is first rate and well up to DaCapo’s
best. This most welcome release is a must for all fans
of this composer’s music. It usefully and splendidly
completes Kontrapunkt’s recordings of the earlier string
quartets. This is quite strong stuff but it is all well
worth the effort.
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