Over the last few years Brett Dean's music has gained considerable
exposure, be it in performances, commissions and recordings. This
is the third disc entirely devoted to his music released by BIS whereas
ABC Classics have two all-Dean albums.
The earliest work here is Testament composed for his
former colleagues, the twelve violas of the Berlin Philharmonic. Some
time later, in 2008, the composer made an orchestral version of this
piece and a recording of it is available on ABC Classics 476 3219.
The title refers to the so-called Heiligenstadt Testament written
by Beethoven in 1802. So it will come as no surprise if the music
alludes to or indirectly quotes from the 'Rasumovsky' Quartet
Op.59 No.1. This brief allusion or near-quotation is subtly
woven in. The music, without being in any way programmatic, may be
said to reflect Beethoven's personality through the alternation of
vigorous and calmer episodes, nervous gestures and soaring cantilenas.
This often beautiful work is superbly served by the committed playing
of the viola section of the BBC Symphony Orchestra among which Brett
Dean himself appears as tenth viola.
Dean's violin concerto The Lost Art of Letter Writing
is a substantial work in four movements playing for slightly over
half an hour. Each of the four movements is prefaced by a quotation
from an historical letter whereas the movements themselves are labelled
with the place and year of the letter in question. Thus, the first
movement (by far the longest) is titled Hamburg, 1854 and is
based on a letter by Brahms to Clara Schumann. There he refers to
the 1001 Nights; Brahms owned a copy of the tales with a dedication
from Clara Schumann.Hewrites: “Would to God that
I were allowed this day instead of writing this letter to you to repeat
to you with my own lips that I am dying of love for you. Tears prevent
me from saying more.” The music briefly references that of Brahms
but, again, these are snippets rather than fuller quotations. The
writing is impassioned and rises to some powerful climaxes in a mood
that may recall the symphonic character of Brahms' own Violin Concerto.
The second movement (The Hague, 1882) takes as its point of
departure a letter written by Vincent van Gogh to his fellow-painter
and mentor Anthon van Rappard. In it he reflects on the eternal beauty
of nature being a constant in his otherwise troubled and notoriously
unstable life. The composer has described this movement as “prayer-like”
and the music is reflective though by no means appeased. The third
movement (Vienna, 1886) is the shortest. The idea behind it
is an excerpt from a letter by Hugo Wolf to his brother-in-law Josef
Strasser, in which he declines to become godfather of the latter's
child : “It grieves me, but I know now for certain that it is
my lot to hurt all those who love me, and whom I love”. Dean
set these words in his own Wolf-Lieder for soprano and
ensemble composed in 2006, but I do not know whether he quotes from
that very work. The fourth movement (Jerilderie, 1879) brings
us back to Dean's homeland, Australia. It refers to a detailed letter
written by the outlaw Ned Kelly in which he claims his innocence and
lends emphatic expression to his desire for justice. From the very
start the final movement is an unstoppable moto perpetuo moving
along with remarkable energy. It unrelentingly heads towards the concerto's
emphatic, though in no way assertive conclusion. In fact the fourth
movement - and the concerto - both end unresolved. Dean's Violin Concerto
is a very virtuosic and demanding work in which the soloist is present
most of the time with very few pauses for breath. Frank Peter Zimmermann
plays wonderfully throughout with immaculate technical assurance and
consummate musicality. This is a magnificent work that definitely
deserves to become part of the repertoire.
Vexations and Devotions is described by the composer
as a “sociological cantata”. It is a big-boned, large-scale
work for mixed chorus, children's chorus, large orchestra and electronics.
It sets words by Michael Luenig, Dorothy Porter and additional texts
compiled by the composer. The first movement setting a short poem
by Dorothy Porter Watching Others opens in the lowest register.
This is supported by grumbling and mumbling sounds from the chorus
while the music gains impetus. The chorus then enters with a confounding,
beautiful setting of Porter's words that clashes intriguingly with
the orchestral environment. The poem is about the loneliness and hopelessness
of the individual in today's world: “The loneliness, the loneliness/
of watching others on television”. This may also be a reference
to the undiscerning attitude of people passively watching either fiction
or so-called reality shows without being really able or willing to
judge for themselves. The second movement is the only one that has
some electronics. These are in the form of recorded messages such
as the ones that generally exert an irritating effect when one tries
to get some answer to a precise problem and one is being told “to
hold on, all our lines are busy”; I am sure that this has happened
to all of us. The pre-recorded female voice keeps asking for patience.
It is interrupted by a hymn sung by the children's voices. This achieves
an estranging effect and it is not clear what its aim is. That voice
goes on but progressively derails and eventually collapses into complete
nonsense. The children's voices try to impose some renewed order but
at first fail to do so until they seem to reach what appears to be
a positive conclusion - but is it? The final movement is in two parts,
the first of which being made of so-called 'weasel words' of the sort
all of us have heard: “We envision to assertively pursue world-class
and high-yield solutions for innovative and market-driven one hundred
percent customer satisfaction.” This part of the text was compiled
by the composer. The second part sets a poem by Michael Luenig The
Path to Your Door for children's chorus and orchestra thus providing
a more positive conclusion. Vexations and Devotions
is an ambitious work but it again raises the question whether music
is the best medium to tackle certain issues such as the ones approached
here. For sure, this is not the first instance of a work by Brett
Dean in which the composer addresses sociological or environmental
issues. He tackled pollution in Water Music (2003, rev.
2004) and Pastoral Symphony (2000, rev. 2002), both
available on BIS-CD-1576 reviewed here some time ago. So, whether or not the composer
succeeds in conveying his undoubtedly sincere 'message' will be a
matter for the listener to decide. I for one do not doubt his sincerity
and honesty even if I sometimes think that some of the music might
have been pruned a bit. This is particularly so in the second movement
where the musical argument could have been tightened in a slightly
more convincing way. Again, as it stands, this is a very fine and
often beautiful work that receives a formidably committed performance
recorded at the work's première at the Proms.
Although the three pieces were recorded at different times in different
venues, there is no noticeable hiatus in the sound as such. In fact
personally find it hard to credit that the recording of Vexations
and Devotions is a live one made in the vast acoustics of
the Royal Albert Hall. All three performances are excellent throughout
and Antje Müller's well documented insert notes are another asset
to this most welcome and desirable release. It’s possibly the
most generous one I ever heard with a playing time well over eighty
minutes. There’s no loss of sound quality even when heard on
a standard CD player such as mine.
This is a very fine and generous addition to Brett Dean's expanding
discography.
Hubert Culot
