Ferdinand RIES (1784-1838)
Concert Overtures:-
Die Braut von Messina (The Bride of Messina) Overture op. 162
(1830) [10:05]
Overture Don Carlos op. 94 (1815) [8:44]
Große Festouvertuere und Siegesmarsch (Grand Festival Overture and
Victory March) op. 172 (1832) [12:45]
Ouverture bardique WoO 24 (1816) [13:59]
Ouverture dramatique L'Apparition WoO 61 (1837) [13:37]
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln/Howard Griffiths
rec. Philharmonie, Köln, Germany, 18-21 November 2008. DDD
CPO 777 6092 [59:34] 
The composer Ries, born in Bonn, Germany, will not be known to many nowadays,
yet he had been London-based, had an English wife and wrote a number of overtures
for the Philharmonic Society to perform. The concert 'ouvertures', as such,
had been invented by Romberg, Spohr and Schneider. Previously, the regular
concert hall practice of starting an evening with a single movement of a symphony
was felt too severe an introduction for the audiences. Consequently, lighter
pieces were introduced with stronger melodic line and easier on the ear to
endear the audience and encourage their focus.
Such ouvertures were not written on the frothy styles of Zampa, Poet and
Peasant or Barber of Seville where fanfare and catchy repetitious
melodic phrases became the norm. Those were to come later. The ouvertures
here are more solid and owe more to Beethoven (Egmont) or Weber (Der
Freischütz) in weight and style. This is not surprising for Ries had been
a pupil of Beethoven.
I found the pieces soft-toned in colour yet engaging to the ear. Only once
did I sit up when I heard off-beat, knocking, percussive effects: I wonder
what the audiences expecting a certain legato flow thought of this acoustic
intrusion? Ries's Ouverture bardique is particularly British by its
inclusion of the well-known Welsh folk song, 'All through the night'. By the
time Ries premièred this ouverture, versions of the folk song had been published
and even used by Gay in The Beggar's Opera.
Cologne's WDR Symphony Orchestra gives a strong performance and are well coordinated
under Howard Griffiths’ direction. Although English there is no record of
his home town, only his RCM association. He has gained significant experience
on the Continent, especially in Switzerland with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra
where he has been Principal Conductor for ten years. He is clearly interested
in reviving lost pieces and in this he is well-partnered with CPO who should
be congratulated for their fresh approach to the repertoire they cover. The
pieces are recorded in a good acoustic with well-balanced dynamics.
The well-written notes by Bert Hagels cover the Ouvertures in detail yet overlooks
detail about this interesting composer. The notes are provided in German,
English and French.
Raymond J Walker
Strong performances of music that is soft-toned in colour yet engaging to the ear.