Pe-teris VASKS (b. 1946)
Te Deum (1991) [12:54]
Viatore (2001) [16:31]
Canto di forza (2006) [12:41]
Musica seria (1988/2008) [14:57]
Cantus ad pacem (1984) [18:35]
Tuomas Pyrhönen (organ)
rec. 20 April-2 May 2010, Riga Cathedral, Riga, Latvia.
Stereo/multichannel
5.0. A DXD recording
ALBA ABCD 325 [76:24]
This is an ‘innocent ear’ review, as I’ve not heard a note of this Latvian
composer’s music until today. I see that Hubert Culot has discussed an identical
programme from Tälivaldis Deksnis on Wergo – review
– the Te Deum included on a tempting disc of Baltic organ music from
Hans-Ola Ericsson (BIS). While some of the pieces on that Wergo CD are also
played on the 1883 Walcker organ of Riga Cathedral, this newcomer has the
benefit of an up-to-the-minute DXD recording, in both stereo and surround.
As if that weren’t enough, the music is played by Tuomas Pyrhönen, the latest
in a line of top-flight Finnish organists whose recordings have given me so
much pleasure over the years.
So, the auguries are good, but what of the music itself? The programme opens
with the Te Deum, written to celebrate Latvia’s deliverance from
the Soviets. And what a splendid piece it is, the organ made to sound like
huge, tolling bells. In many ways it reminds me of Sibelius’s monumental œuvre
for this instrument. Pyrhönen is an agile performer, and Alba’s engineer Enno
Mäemets captures it all in sound of tremendous breadth and power. Apart from
processional splendour – which if one weren’t in chiesa would merit
applause – there are moments of luminous contemplation as well. The organ’s
refined upper reaches are most beautifully voiced, and that Brucknerian genuflection
at the close is both simple and heartfelt.
Well, how do you follow that? Not easily, that’s for sure, but the mesmeric
Viatore – originally written for strings – is blessed with a sustained
clarity and economy of style that reflects the music of its dedicatee, the
tintinnabulist Arvo Pärt. Small, bell-like flourishes float tantalisingly
above held notes and simple upward tunes. Despite fears of impending stasis
or waning interest I was pleasantly surprised at just how quickly sixteen-and-a-half
minutes passed by. As for Pyrhönen, he leaves one in no doubt as to the quality
of this material, his judicious registrations and discreet technique well-suited
to Vasks’ highly personal sound-world. The recording has real presence too
– organ music seems to benefit most from the additional ‘air’ and three-dimensionality
of a well-engineered SACD – and reverberation is never an issue here.
The very recent Canto di forza, originally composed for the Berliner
Philharmoniker’s cellists, has all the gravitas and dark sonorities one would
expect from such forces. That said, there’s a liberating lightness as well,
the piece moving rather more swiftly than its predecessor. I daresay the warm,
enfolding embrace of this recording has a lot to do with one’s enjoyment of
the work, which builds to a series of imposing peaks and a mighty – but not
overpowering – conclusion. In less capable hands this music could so easily
sound grey and portentous, but played this well it holds one’s interest and
loyalty to the end.
As its title might suggest, Musica seria is much more austere, haunted
by dark bass and keening treble. As Hubert points out one need only look at
eastern Europe circa 1988 to realise this music is forged in a crucible
of anxiety and fear; strange, gliding passages and shards of brittle calm
make for a most absorbing listen. And how equivocal is the pared-down coda,
as enigmatic as that of a Shostakovich symphony. Quite different from the
comparatively relaxed – but angular – Cantus ad pacem, with its Messiaenic
bird-calls and sudden descents into a Stygian bass. I’m not quite sure I’d
characterise Vasks’ harmonies as aggressive here, but there is a sharp, roving
edge to the writing that we’ve not heard thus far.
I can’t imagine a more persuasive and engaging entrée to this composer’s
organ works than this. No matter how low your ‘difficulty threshold’, this
music really isn’t hard to assimilate and enjoy. That, plus first-rate performances
and superior sonics, makes this a most desirable issue.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
No matter how low your ‘difficulty threshold’, this music really isn’t hard
to assimilate and enjoy. A most desirable issue.