Alban BERG (1885-1935)
Three Pieces For Orchestra Op.6 (version for small orchestra by John Rea, 2014) [21:04]
Three Fragments From Wozzeck (version for small orchestra by John Rea, 1995) [20:07]
Violin Concerto (version for violin and chamber ensemble, Andreas Tarkmann 2007) [26:15]
Bénédicte Tauran (soprano)
Rahel Cunz (violin)
Musikkollegium Winterthur/Pierre-Alain Monot
Rec. 17-20 March 2015, Stadthaus, Winterthur, Switzerland
Reviewed in surround sound
MDG 9011913-6 SACD [67:26]
Arnold Schoenberg's Society for Private Musical Performances was a Viennese association for the presentation of new music. His pupil Berg appeared as a composer, but this was a very democratic set up and his additional duties included arranging the chairs in the hall. In its 113 concerts over the three years 1918-1921 the society presented fifty-four pieces in arrangements for smaller forces, hence performing large orchestral works in reductions for smaller ensembles was familiar to Berg. Mahler’s 4th, 5th and 7th symphonies were given in such versions which are sometimes are still heard and recorded today. This disc’s arrangements are not from that era but are more recent. Canadian composer John Rea arranged the Three Wozzeck Fragments for chamber ensemble in 1995, and this 2014 small ensemble version of Berg's Three Orchestral Pieces op. 6 was commissioned by the Musikkollegium Winterthur. The version of the Violin Concerto was done by the German composer and arrangement specialist Andreas Tarkmann.
These arrangements are not exactly for the often minimum forces used by Schoenberg's Society (Petrushka for piano four hands, anybody?). John Rea’s Wozzeck (he arranged the whole opera not just the Three Fragments) deploys twenty-one instruments; double winds and horns, trumpet, trombone, harp, piano, string quintet (two violins, viola, cello, bass), and two percussionists. For the (originally very large scale) instrumentation of Op.6 his ensemble is expanded to ten strings and three percussionists. Tarkmann’s version of the concerto deploys one each of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, harmonium, piano, string quintet and percussion. In each case the aim seems to have been to preserve the essence of the effect the work makes with full orchestra, preserving their complex lines and as much as possible of the instrumental colour of the original, but to bring it within the range of smaller ensembles. Those colours matter in Berg, and as disciple of Mahler and pupil of Schoenberg, he also often deployed his large forces in a chamber musical style, which helps if you are arranging for chamber forces. Both arrangers have done remarkable work, and served the composer well.
I mention all this at the outset because you will find none of this in the disc’s booklet notes – which are written as if these are all the original versions! But then the performances are very good, to a degree that at times it is easy to forget that we are not hearing Berg’s original scoring, or at least at its original scale, but slimmed down versions. Of course there are losses at certain points where sheer sonic amplitude is not available to just twenty-odd players. Thus the first unprepared loud moment in the Praeludium of Op.6 (track 1 at 2:40) does not register as strikingly as usual, but at least the conductor Pierre-Alain Monot ensures the players’ attack is visceral enough, even if the volume is down a notch. The Mahlerian hammer-blows of the closing March of Op.6 do register however, with formidable thwacks on the bass drum. The second movement (Reigen or “Round Dance” ) and especially the March are motivically constantly busy, Schoenberg’s “developing variation” in excelsis. The smaller band means that this contrapuntal texture is often clearer than usual, though it must place extra stress and responsibility on every player – no sixteen-strong first violin section to hide in! The musicians of the Musikkollegium Winterthur respond admirably to the unaccustomed limelight (the booklet photo, again perhaps oddly, has a photo of the whole orchestra, about sixty players).
So it is throughout this intriguing programme. The Three Fragments from Wozzeck are a distillation of the drama, or rather of Marie’s role in it. It feels here as it should, a mini-drama in its own right rather than mere “fragments”, thanks to the excellent contribution of soprano Bénédicte Tauran, who has a near ideal voice for the taxing role of Marie, which she inhabits most affectingly. It would be more affecting for many listeners if the booklet contained the text and a translation, but we have neither.
Andreas Tarkmann’s version of the Violin Concerto sounds very expert, and has the obvious advantage that it is a bit easier to hear exactly what is being played when soloist and orchestra are playing together. Rahel Cunz’s account of the solo part is most impressive, not least considering she is also leader of the Musikkollegium Winterthur so has much to do in addition to preparing demanding concertos. She is rather modestly placed in the audio mix, which might be the result for a preference to be heard as the first among equals rather than the virtuoso soloist backed by an “accompaniment” – which is hardly what Berg provides anway. Certainly this balance works very well with Berg’s intimate writing and Tarkmann’s chamber orchestra arrangement. That, and Cunz’s poignant expressiveness, make this an important addition to the discography of this great work, linking it to the world of Berg’s Chamber Concerto for Violin, Piano, and Thirteen Wind Instruments.
Pierre-Alain Monot and his Winterthur colleagues have given us an excellently performed programme here, the arrangement of each work shedding light back on the original. It is to be hoped that this will encourage other smaller ensembles to programme these works. In this era of the socially-distanced groups of musicians required by a global pandemic, here is a way to present some major pieces that might otherwise have to be ruled out.
It's disappointing that the information in the booklet fails to make the
listener aware of the instrumental forces involved, as such a fascinatng
programme deserved a note that properly reflects its exact contents. The recorded sound on
this SACD is very revealing.
Roy Westbrook
