Naxos
have repackaged and re-released a desirable CD of chamber works
by Louis Spohr. This disc, recorded in Budapest in 1996, was
previously available on the premium price Marco Polo label.
The
multi-talented North German-born Louis (Ludwig) Spohr won a
substantial reputation during the first half of the nineteenth
century as a violin virtuoso, conductor, author, teacher and
the prolific composer of over one hundred works. Renowned for
his principled and dignified personality Spohr’s contemporaries
were able to see his ‘upright character’ translated into physical
terms as he was six foot seven inches tall.
Spohr
studied the scores of the great master-composers, proclaiming
himself a disciple of Mozart although they have little in common
musically. He was well travelled and also had the good fortune
to meet numerous fellow composers including Clementi and Field
in St. Petersburg, Meyerbeer in Berlin, Beethoven in Vienna,
Viotti and Cherubini in Paris, Weber in Stuttgart and Mendelssohn
in Berlin.
The
content of Spohr’s works made him one of the pioneers of early
German Romanticism. However, he generally adhered to Classical
models when it came to form. Spohr was also innovative as his
four ‘programme’ symphonies: ‘The Consecration of Sound’,
‘The Historical‘, ‘The Earthy and Divine in Human
Life’ and ‘The Seasons’ demonstrate. Spohr was also
fond of experimental compositions using often original and novel
formats and instrumental combinations. His works include three,
single movement integrated violin concertos (or ‘Concertinos’
as he called them), a concerto for string quartet and orchestra,
a symphony for two orchestras, two double violin concertos and
two double quartets.
Later
in the nineteenth century this Classical side of Spohr’s compositional
personality appeared old-fashioned to those brought up on the
heady sounds of Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss et al.
This led to his relatively swift decline from his former
high status. Spohr’s opera Jessonda Op. 63 (1823) which
was feted by Brahms and Richard Strauss remained popular and
was often staged in Germany. The Nazis, however, eventually
banned Jessonda as its libretto was considered inappropriate
to their National Socialist ideology. In Britain, Spohr’s oratorio
The Last Judgment (1826) remained a favourite of provincial
choral societies until the outbreak of the Great War when a
reaction against things German and Victorian prevailed. Spohr’s
biographer Paul David in Grove’s Dictionary of Music and
Musicians from the early 1900s wrote: “…the present lack
of interest in Spohr’s music is probably only the natural reaction
from an unbounded and undiscriminating enthusiasm, which, in
England at one time, used to place Spohr on the same level with
Handel and Beethoven. These temporary fluctuations will, however,
sooner or later subside, and then his true position as a great
master, second in rank only to the very great giants of art,
will be again established.” Unfortunately Paul David’s confidence
of a century ago has not to date proved accurate. Today, despite
frequent and significant pleas for his rehabilitation, Spohr’s
music still remains very much in the background.
A
widely held view is that Spohr’s music has not gained a secure
hold in the repertoire owing to a deficiency of emotional depth
and his inability to compose sunny and memorable themes. Biographer
Paul David considers Spohr’s music to be powerfully concentrated
but displaying an inability to look outside his given circle
of ideas and sentiments together with a considerable sameness
and even monotony.
Only
the enjoyable Nonet in F major, Op. 31 for violin, viola, cello,
double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon has firmly
remained in the chamber repertoire and to a lesser extent the
Octet in E major, Op. 32 for violin, 2 violas, cello, double
bass, clarinet and 2 horns. These two chamber scores are performed
by ensembles wishing to programme items alongside the celebrated
Beethoven Septet, in E flat major Op. 20 or the Schubert Octet,
in F major D.803 which require comparable instrumentation.
String
Quintet No. 7 in G Minor, Op. 144
Spohr
composed his String Quintet No. 7 in 1850, during the period
of severe unrest and martial law that followed the 1848 Berlin
Revolution. Writing to a friend, Spohr was now in total despair
stating: “ If I were not too old, I would now emigrate to
the free country of America”. It is not surprising that
a feeling of melancholy, anxiety and unease permeates much of
the Quintet and dominates the first movement. The noble main
theme of the second movement larghetto alternates with
unsettled sections which return three times to the opening melody,
as if homing in on a beacon of light. Brahms is again not far
away in the syncopated opening of the third movement menuetto
which emphasises once more the basic mood of the work. The barcarolle-style
finale, allegro, offers a relaxed resolution to
the tensions of earlier events but even here the music gently
fades away in contrast to the optimism displayed at the close
of the String Sextet. The players of the New Haydn Quartet,
augmented by violist Sándor Papp, perform throughout with an
impressive security of ensemble. Their pacing has a fine rhythmic
impetus and their warmth and finesse is impressive.
String
Sextet, in C major, Op. 140
Between
the composition of his Sixth String Quintet (Naxos 8.555967)
in 1845 and the Seventh String Quintet in 1850, Spohr wrote
his String Sextet, in C major, Op. 140 in the Spring of 1848.
Spohr was the first composer of note since Boccherini in 1776
to tackle this combination of two violins, two violas and two
cellos. Spohr’s composition, widely considered to be one of
his finest works, sparked off renewed interest in the medium,
leading to the two masterpieces of Brahms with a number of other
important composers soon following the example of the two German
masters.
Both
the String Sextet and the Seventh String Quintet are naturally
coloured by Spohr’s reaction to the 1848 revolution. The String
Sextet could be said to be Spohr’s euphoric expectation of fulfilled
hopes and the Seventh String Quintet from a more depressed period
when the forces of repression were regaining the upper hand.
The String Sextet is richer in fresh melodies and truly ethereal
harmonies than almost any other of Spohr’s works. Hans Glenewinkel,
in his important 1912 study of Spohr’s chamber music, remarks
that the trilling motif which appears frequently throughout
the String Sextet’s first movement is “an expression
of joy, sometimes restrained, sometimes bursting impetuously
out” while the “elegiac undercurrent” in the coda
suggests “a prophetic vision that the spirit of freedom
will be fettered again in sleep and dreams before its definitive
release”.
The
String Sextet’s warm and expansive opening theme, allegro
moderato, points ahead to Brahms and this opening movement
is unified by the trilling motif which appears again and again
with the various themes. The larghetto features a hymn-like
solemnity and an effective contrast comes from the secondary
material with its rhythmic kick. In the closing third movement
the earnest scherzo, moderato alternates with
a wonderfully sonorous section marked con grazia. After
a pause the joyful finale, presto is launched.
The String Sextet is brought to a euphoric conclusion. The players
of the augmented New Haydn Quartet provide an enjoyable account
of the score, playing with warmth and spontaneity throughout.
I found their intonation especially impressive with a pleasing
clarity and transparency.
The version of the
String Sextet from my collection that I also greatly admire
is from the Ensemble Villa Musica, recorded in 1992, on MDG
GOLD 304 1263-2. c/w Quintet, Op. 52, Septet, Op. 147 and Quintet,
Op. 130.
The Potpourri for String
Quintet, Op. 22
The
Potpourri, Op. 22
is scored for solo violin and a string quartet and makes an
appropriate and attractive work to conclude this Naxos release.
The score dates from 1807 when the young Spohr doubled up as
a touring violin virtuoso and orchestral director at the princely
court of Gotha. For his tours Spohr composed not only violin
concertos and shorter pieces with orchestra but also works suitable
for salons or smaller centres where orchestras were not available.
The work remained a favourite of the composer for many years
and he later prepared an orchestral version which he played
in London in 1820 and Paris in 1821. Make no mistake this is
a substantial score that should be taken seriously and not treated
as a mere novelty as the title might suggest.
A
slow introduction displays Spohr’s expressive style to the full.
A Russian folk-tune is introduced followed by three decorative
variations. A modulatory passage leads to the second tune; none
other than “Là ci darem la mano” from Don Giovanni
by Spohr’s great hero Mozart. There are variations on this
before the Russian tune returns for the coda. The New
Haydn Quartet augmented by the services of violinist Attila
Falvay integrate well and compellingly convey their fondness
for this highly coloured score. This is a relaxed and agreeably
affectionate performance.
I
love these well recorded chamber scores and it is great to have
them back in the catalogue. Well worth obtaining.
Michael
Cookson
