Niels Wilhelm GADE (1817-1890)
Novelette No 1 in F, Op 53 (1874) [19:28]
Novelette No 2 in E, Op 58 (1883-6) [23:20]
Aarhus Chamber Orchestra/Ove Vedsten Larsen
rec. 1981, Ellevang Kirke, Aarhus, Denmark
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94185 [42:48] 
Niels W. Gade’s Novelettes are charming, fresh additions to the romantic string-serenade
repertoire. There are two sets, the first in F and the second in E, both dating
from fairly late in Gade’s career. For those listeners who enjoy Grieg’s Holberg
Suite, or the serenades of Suk, Dvorák, Tchaikovsky, and Robert Fuchs,
this style will need no introduction: elegant dances, lyrical melodies which
rise and fall with a cool outdoor loveliness, the minor keys used merely for
spice.
A standout moment might be the beginning of the second set, with its ambiguous
slow introduction opening up to brighter things; the second set also features
a gorgeous andante with a fine role for the cellos. The first also opens with
a lovely slow introduction, and it closes with a finale that brings to mind
Mendelssohn’s Octet with its light-hearted fugato opening and perpetual-motion
effects.
This isn’t exactly at the top of the string-serenade ladder, not next to Tchaikovsky,
Suk, and Dvorák. It’s not even on the second rung, where Fuchs and Dag Wirén
reside. The first two Fuchs serenades were just released on a gorgeous Naxos
CD which I’d recommend over this one if you only buy one pretty string music
disc per year. It doesn’t help that the recorded sound, analog from 1981,
is slightly glassy, or that the Aarhus Chamber Orchestra’s work as an ensemble
isn’t as polished as that of the best chamber orchestras we have today. Another
cause for slight hesitation is the booklet note, which profiles Gade so strongly
that we only get 18 words about the actual Novelettes. The CD lasts
just 43 minutes.
But please notice I only said slight hesitation! This is still lovely
music, fresh and totally enjoyable, and an unquestionably fine way to pass
43 minutes’ time. It’s at Brilliant’s usual bargain price. That said, the
same price gets you ten minutes’ more music (and more colorful music too)
on the Naxos Fuchs album; though I usually wouldn’t recommend one composer
over another in a review, I do listen to my romantic string music to satisfy
a particular craving, or mood, and other composers fulfil that mood better
than does Niels W. Gade. Still, this is very nice, and there is nothing wrong
with very nice!
Brian Reinhart
Very pleasant additions to the romantic string-serenade repertoire.