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Philipp JARNACH (1892-1982)
Piano Sonata II (1952) [24:02]
Aria for violin and piano Op.10a (1918-22) [5:15]
Romancero 1 – Sonatina for piano Op.18 (1924) [16:57]
Three Rhapsodies – Chamber Duo for violin and piano Op.20
(1927) [11:29]
Kolja Lessing
(piano)
Ingolf Turban (violin)
rec. Funkhaus am Wallrafplatz, Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal, June
2004 (Op.10a and Op.20) and December 2005 CAPRICCIO
CAP67188 [57:39]
There
have been fine Jarnach chamber and instrumental discs before.
The pianist on this Capriccio release for instance, Kolja
Lessing, contributed materially to the success of a Divox
CD devoted to songs and sonatas – including the Sonata for
solo violin and the Sarabande for piano (Divox 29801). Lessing
is again at the centre of things in this release.
Three
of the works are relatively early – all written in the teens
or twenties – and one, the formidable Second Piano Sonata
dates from 1952. All reveal the close connection between
Jarnach’s writing and Busoni’s New Classicism, an inheritance
that gives great weight but also lyrical reflectiveness to
Jarnach’s scores. The 1952 Sonata for example has exceptional
clarity whilst discharging clear debts to Busoni and through
him to Bach. It’s a sonata that embraces the elliptical as
well as the Late Romantic, reflective as well as more chordally
extrovert. The finale’s march mottos and fugal feints are
part of a pattern of sometimes cryptic tonality, though Jarnach’s
harmonies are invariably nourishing and complex.
The
early Aria for violin and piano, composed between 1918 and
1922 demonstrates how deep rooted was the Bach-Busoni inheritance.
It’s based on the Andante of Bach’s second Sonata in A minor
for solo violin with its late Romanticism coloured by some
impressionist harmonies. The strength of the piece derives
from the tension between the two undoubted influences. Lessing
is an adept violinist as well as a fine pianist but here
the honours are taken by Ingolf Turban who proves massively
committed to the Aria’s expressive arsenal – really committed
playing
The
Three Rhapsodies date from 1927, the year Jarnach accepted
a chair of composition at the Musikhochschüle in Cologne.
These are rhythmically charged and exciting pieces, variously
based on baroque procedure and more reflective of current
trends in dance based music – though one shouldn’t suggest
that these are even remotely similar to the kind of Weill-Schulhoff-Haas
approach to dance and jazz music. The impressionism is subtle,
the rhythms quixotic, and the writing and associated co-ordination
questions between the two instruments sound demanding. Turban
and Lessing ensure triumphantly that such matters are subordinated
to strictly musical matters.
Romancero
1 was written slightly earlier, in 1924. It has a satisfying tonality,
and manages to embraces a sort of modified narrative-ballad
structure to increasingly beneficial results. The central
movement is a brief, jazzy scherzo and the finale an alternately
rather terse and driving one, rich in melodic strands and
incident.
Jarnach
has been well served here once again. The recording quality
is fine, the documentation thorough and the performances
outstanding.
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