Michael JARRELL (b. 1958)
Émergences-Résurgences, for viola and orchestra (2016) [20:53]
… Le ciel, tout à l'heure encore si limpide … (2009) [16:55]
4 Eindrücke, for violin and orchestra (2019) [19:57]
Tabea Zimmermann (viola)
Renaud Capuçon (violin)
Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire/Pascal Rophé
rec. 2019, Centre des Congrès, Angers, France
BIS BIS-2482 SACD [58:50]
Michael Jarrell's varied and substantial output has already been quite well served as far as recordings are concerned. The works recorded here span roughly the last ten years of his composing life so far and this release as a whole consolidates the composer's present status, if such is still needed. Concertos feature fairly prominently in Jarrell's output which includes, amongst others, four violin concertos, two viola concertos, a flute concerto, a triple concerto Sillages (flute, clarinet, oboe and orchestra – 2005), two piano concertos (Reflets – 2014 apparently revised and enlarged as Reflections – 2019) and Abschied (2001), a concerto for string quartet and orchestra Spuren (2014), a cello concerto Emergences-Nachlese VI (2012) and even a percussion concerto … Un long fracas somptueux … (1998/2001), to name but a few, as there also exist concertante works for instruments and ensemble.
This release opens with Émergences-Résurgences for viola and orchestra composed for, and first performed by, the present soloist Tabea Zimmermann. Although the composer does not mention it in his insert note, Émergences- Résurgences is his second viola concerto, as … From the leaves of shadows … , also for viola and orchestra was composed in 1991. The viola concerto is laid-out in four movements (or sections) played without break. The composer notes that the piece was written in direct reference to the pictorial art of Henri Michaux. Although I for one am fairly familiar with the poetic works of Henri Michaux (some of which were set to music by Lustosławski), I have no idea of what his pictorial art may be, except that his paintings are mostly abstract. I thus cannot say how the music relates - or not – to Michaux's paintings but I do sincerely feel that an understanding of that link may not be compulsory in order to appreciate of the music on its own terms. The first movement opens in an almost improvisatory way, while the music progressively opens and becomes more clearly focused. The second movement is – roughly speaking – the slow section of the work with a powerful though short-lived climax at its centre before closing as it began. The next movement is a nervous and capricious Scherzo of sorts moving along lightly and capped by a nervous section played pizzicato. The final movement opens with a short cadenza before launching into the finale proper that nevertheless ends unresolved with a question mark. It goes without saying that the music of the viola concerto is quite virtuosic, demanding and calling for some considerable stamina on the soloist's part but the virtuosity is never gratuitous or at the expense of expression - quite the contrary, as Jarrell's music, though often complex, is always strongly articulated and orientated towards a clear aim. In this case, it may reflect Michaux's pictorial abstraction made of curves, colours, chiaroscuro but it retains its global impact of capriciousness and unpredictability also much in evidence in Michaux's creation literary or pictorial. It goes without saying that Tabea Zimmermann, for whom the viola concerto was written, plays superbly throughout, with impeccable technique and musicality.
In his notes Michael Jarrell mentions that he composed four violin concertos. The series began with … prisme/incidences ... (1998) followed by Payasages avec figures absentes – Nachlese IV (2010) and Des nuages et des brouillards (2016) and concludes so far with 4 Eindrücke (2019) written for and dedicated to Renaud Capuçon. For whatever reason, the composer does not mention a fifth work for violin and orchestra … aussi peu que les nuages … composed as test piece for the finals of the Queen Elizabeth Competition in 2015. This may be due to the brevity of the piece (a little over eight minutes). However, the very title of the fourth violin concerto 4 Eindrücke (Four Impressions) is straightforward enough to give a fairly adequate idea of what the music is about. The piece is again laid out in four movements played without a break and, as is the case in the viola concerto, the transitions between movements are somewhat blurred, although I feel that they are clearer in this piece than in the viola concerto. The first movement opens calmly, dreamily whereas the music becomes progressively more virtuosic and dynamic as it unfolds. However, the first movement ends rather unresolved. The second movement is a brilliant Scherzo in which the soloist plays pizzicato throughout. The third movement is the slow movement and the emotional heart of the piece, one of the finest moments ever penned by Jarrell. The whole is capped by the highly dynamic fourth movement that reverts to the virtuosity of the opening movement, builds up to a final climax but ends again somewhat unresolved. It again goes without saying that Renaud Capuçon plays superbly throughout with assured technique and commitment.
… Le ciel, tout à l'heure encore si limpide, soudain se trouble horriblement … (to give the orchestral work its full title) was the result of various impressions, as the composer recalls in his notes for this recording. When he was commissioned by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the composer was living in Vienna in what he describes a building typical of the Austrian capital, in a calm courtyard. “The contrast with the very busy street was striking”. The second impression is connected with a tragedy. He knew a family in which one of the children, a teenager, died in the middle of the night, without warning. All this is reflected in the music and the piece opens with almost boundless energy. The music of the opening paragraph moves along with much alacrity, allowing the composer to display his orchestral mastery to the full. About halfway into the piece, the mood changes dramatically and the music becomes somewhat calmer, elegiac and “full of inwardness” (to use the composer's words) in what becomes an almost Mahlerian threnody for the youngster. Incidentally, the title comes from Lucretius' De rerum natura (On the nature of things) and aptly reflects what has prompted the composer's imagination: ”the sky, recently so clear, suddenly becomes horribly murky”. More need not to be said. This marvellous piece is, as far as I am concerned, one the finest and most gripping piece of music that I have heard recently.
Pascal Rophé whose empathy for, and knowledge of, contemporary music is well-known, conducts vital and committed readings of these substantial, strongly expressive and often beautiful works and is whole-heartedly supported by the formidable playing of the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire who have already demonstrated their understanding of, and sympathy for, contemporary music in some of their releases such as the disc devoted to Dusapin (BIS-2262) and Dutilleux (BIS-1651). In short, this is a superb release that will appeal to all admirers of Jarrell's music but those still needing to be persuaded to explore his personal sound world and music making could start here.
Hubert Culot
