Onutė NARBUTAITĖ (b. 1956)
Tres Dei Matris Symphoniae (2002/3)
Kaunas State Choir; Aidija Chamber Choir
Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra/Robertas Šervenikas
rec. live, Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall, Vilnius, 14 June 2008
NAXOS 8.572295 [61:32]
Onutė Narbutaitė is probably one of the foremost composers of her
generation in Lithuania. Her music is reasonably well known thanks to a handful
of discs released by Finlandia some years ago. These may still be available.
Her music also received national and international awards. There were also
commissions including from the Brandenburg State Orchestra for her substantial
Tres Dei Matris Symphoniae for chorus and orchestra.
This imposing work is in fact a large-scale choral-orchestral triptych framed
by two short movements for a cappella chorus: Introitus using fragments
from The Song of Songs and Oratio setting words by Hildegarde
von Bingen. The main movements (or symphonies) deal with three important episodes
from the New Testament involving Christ and Mary: the Revelation, the Birth
of Jesus and the Crucifixion.
The first symphony, Angelus Domini sets parts of the Ave Maria
and words from the Revelation. This movement - the longest of the entire work
- opens with a long orchestral introduction. The music is dark, ominous at
times and troubled, albeit allowing for calmer episodes. The prevailing mood
is one of menace and tension. This is emphasised and reinforced by the scoring
in which brass and string glissandi and piercing woodwind as well as heavy
brass ostinati predominate. The music unfolds in waves reaching some massive,
though short-lived climaxes. The chorus enters tentatively at first with a
slow-keyed Ave Maria (at about 9:45), but bright fanfares spur the
chorus into more assertiveness. This does not last long and the music momentarily
dissolves into a short percussion-led section leading into a new choral section
(“Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae”). This ushers in a new setting
of words from the Ave Maria followed by an orchestral episode at the
words “Ecce ancilla Domini”. The final words (“Et verbum
caro factum est. Et habitavit in nobis”) are recited on one note by
the chorus. A final massive crescendo brings the first symphony to its close.
The second symphony, Bethleem sets just the very first lines of the
Gloria near its end. It thus opens with a long orchestral introduction, sometimes
with wordless chorus. At first calm and mysterious the music becomes more
animated with much contrapuntal writing although textures tend to thin-out
chamber-like. However, halfway into the movement, the music darkens again
until new rays of light dispel the sombre mood. After a big crescendo, bright
fanfares - bringing those of the Sanctus in Britten’s War
Requiem to mind - introduce the final choral section. This ends in utter
peacefulness with a final blessing from a solo cello.
The third symphony, Mater Dolorosa opens hesitantly with bowed percussion,
plodding strings with short brass punctuation. More angular material follows
introducing the setting of the Stabat Mater. Compared to the preceding
symphonies the third is fairly straightforward in that it mirrors the different
moods suggested by the words. It ends with a beautiful, appeased coda.
This is a really imposing and accessible work that needs, but generously rewards
repeated hearings, not because the music is ‘difficult’ but because
the work as a whole is rather complex in its conception. The music is superbly
crafted and the scoring is remarkably inventive throughout this long triptych.
In her concise liner-notes the composer states that “it was a personal
experience, not a ritualistic reiteration of well known truths, which induced
the composer to approach issues that have been the subject of contemplation
for centuries”. What this personal experience was, we do not know; neither
do we know in what way it left its mark on the music. Anyway it may be better
like that so that each listener may make up his or her own mind about the
music and the work as a whole.
To me this substantial piece is the work of an honest and sincere composer
whose music deserves to be better known.
Performance and recording are really very fine. One would hardly guess that
this is a live recording.
In short, this is a most welcome release that will, I hope, bring Narbutaitė’s
music to a much broader audience.
Hubert Culot
A substantial and accessible work by one of Lithuania’s foremost composers.