Alessandro Rolla, respected in his day
as a successful composer and brilliant
violin and viola player, has been commemorated
in this CD for his humbler musical offerings:
the his violin and cello duets. Chappell
White’s Grove dictionary entry is not
ungenerous when it suggest that these
duets "still maintain a small but
deserved place as student pieces and
amateur chamber music."
The three duets on this recording, dedicated
to the Italian musician Francesco Bignami,
were written for an 1821 performance
at the Milan Scala by the composer himself
and a young cellist, Vincenzo Merighi.
The duets all follow the classical fast-slow-fast
three-movement scheme and the internal
thematic structures, for all their melodic
beauty, are no less conventional. To
Rolla’s credit, however, it is amazing
that given the sparse instrumentation
there is never a moment where the harmony
or texture is lacking. Quite the opposite
in fact – Rolla manages somehow to create
an incredibly rich soundscape that is
even orchestral at times without ever
sacrificing the surface abundance of
frills and virtuosity. It should come
as no surprise that Spohr commended
the one-time leader of the Parma Ducal
court (1782-1802) and La Scala orchestra
in Milan (1803) in particular for his
immaculate orchestral management and
sensitivity when accompanying concerti.
Spohr also asserted his preference for
Rolla’s compositions over those of his
more flashy contemporary, Paganini,
that lacked the former’s "inner
unity". However, let it be noted
that, on the podium, both Rolla and
Paganini were a bit of a hit with the
swooning ladies!
My first impressions of this recording
were not exactly positive. A rather
average performance drew too much attention
to the compositions themselves - lacking
any real depth or ingenuity. The resonant
acoustic bore harsh witness to some
sharp intonations, a floating, uncommitted
tonal production, and worryingly insecure
cello playing. Curiously, it is the
violin that provides the anchor when,
more often than not, the cellist struggles
with the high registers and demanding
scalic passages. The imbalance between
the two musical protagonists is a fundamental
problem since this music is constructed
out of a dialogue that constantly cites
musical ideas in playful alternation.
If you care to give this CD a chance,
may I suggest going straight to the
third track [the Tempo di Polacca
from the Duo in B flat major Bl.244]
where at least there is a sense of enjoyment
that mitigates the performative discrepancies.
If, however, you start with the first,
be sure to do something really noisy
at approximately 2m30s into the track
… the cellist doesn’t enjoy the high
registers and nor will you.
Aline Nassif
Dora Bratchkova (violin); Alina Kudelevič
(cello) 