Has it ever occurred to you that there is an extraordinary link between the
sound worlds of Varèse and Harrison Birtwistle? Both are uncompromising
in their use of dissonance, both favour wind instruments and indeed percussion;
neither allows any moment of romantic repose. Varèse lived in a wild
area of Burgundy and later the Dordogne, Birtwistle lives in central France
and both convey a sense of the sheer ancientness of the landscape, the
prehistoric cave paintings so common there, a harshness and an unbending
reality. Add to that with Varèse a sense of the claustrophobia and
bleakness of urban life and you have a unique sound picture enjoyed also
by Xenakis and Stockhausen. Varèse seems very much of our time.
Naxos is increasingly moving into some adventurous repertoire. Five works
appear on this disc out of the twelve by Varèse that are available
.I wonder if there is to be a second volume; alas the company make no commitment.
Previous versions of Varèse have been by Kent Nagano on Erato and
Chailly on Decca. The latter received better reviews both are good but
they are at full price.
Naxos's recordings here are first rate - very upfront and 'in the face'.
I don't find this to be a problem, in fact it helps to hear some of the detail.
The performances are faultless and beautifully thought out. Christopher
Lyndon-Gee may not be a household name but he directs with a surety and
authority, which gives all of the performances a forward thrust and direction.
The French texts of 'Offrandes' are given with translations in the booklet
but are delivered by Maryse Castets with clarity, beauty and sensitivity.
The booklet notes are perfectly adequate but, in my view, do not give enough
detail on the music itself although Peter Quinn writes succinctly on the
composer's life and influences.
Varèse's love of wind and percussion, rather like that of Stravinsky,
is reflected in all five works, and it was Varèse who wrote the first
of all percussion only pieces 'Ionisation' sadly not recorded here. He enjoys
high shrieking clarinet and piccolo and deep tuba and bassoon as a contrast,
and the sound of guiro or cymbal or bass drum is never far from the surface.
Indeed there is hardly a moment in 'Intégrales' when they are not
heard, sometimes on their own. Varèse will often repeat certain passages
over and over with a differing percussion backgrounds before moving on to
an utterly different sound and rhythm, then he returns to the original but
varies the orchestration. Form in a conventional sense does not exist, as
each piece creates its own formal world, and although it only needs one bar
of Varèse to recognise his style, each piece is quite different and
original and exciting for itself. The opening of 'Intégrales' is like
no other music and its quasi-jazz sequence at 4'33'' is raw and brash. There
is also a rare elegant passage for solo oboe at about 7 minutes in.
The two largest works top and tail the programme. 'Arcana' for a very large
orchestra lasts over eighteen minutes, and at the end 'Déserts' for
orchestra and tape lasts nearly thirty minutes. Between are the shorter pieces.
You might however find it helpful to hear the works in chronological order,
beginning with the Debussy influenced 'Offrandes'. There is undoubtedly a
development, into a bright harshness and an unemotional landscape in
'Déserts'. This latter is scored for fourteen wind instruments, piano
and five percussionists, plus a two-track tape. The works four instrumental
sections can be played alone or as here juxtaposed with the electronic
interludes. Incredibly Varèse was over seventy when he wrote this
monumental and forward-looking work. It received a very mixed reception and
is rarely heard in public or on disc. It was the composer's last work and
indeed followed a fallow period for Varèse after his move to America.
He re-emerged even stronger and more original. Varèse had applied
when living in Paris, for funding into the development of electro-acoustic
music, he was refused. It was in the 60s in the reign of Pierre Boulez that
a different Parisian administration altered its view, by then Varèse
was back in America and no longer composing. For many listeners this piece
will be the most challenging and therefore it seems good to listen as it
were, towards it.
A tremendous disc then, superbly played and needless to say, marvellous value.
Gary Higginson
Maryse Castets,
soprano.
