If you find getting to grips with much contemporary
music is like trying to cuddle a roll of razor wire then you have my
sympathy. Some works/composers seem hell-bent on repelling all advances,
and past encounters with Sofia Gubaidulina have left me perplexed to
say the least. However, this guitar-dominated collection caught my eye,
as did the presence of Franz Halász; back in 2011 I welcomed
the latter’s ‘thoughtful and engaging’ Henze album
(
review).
This new SACD/download, which features the world premiere recording
of
Sotto voce, is just the latest in a long line of Gubaidulina
offerings from BIS, who are well known for their commitment to new music.
Repentance, a commission from the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
– who gave its first performance – is not the hair-shirted
piece one might assume from its title. Indeed, it’s more of a
belated apology from the composer, who took longer than expected to
fulfil her agreed task. As a work it’s reasonably accessible,
although fans of the classical guitar may feel the preponderance of
chordal backing isn’t particularly inventive or rewarding. That
said, the composer calls for the bouncing effect of bow on strings to
be replicated by rubber balls being dropped on the guitar strings, which
may seem a little contrived for some listeners.
There’s a degree of improvisation as well, but despite the presence
of three fine guitarists I was most taken by the striking presence of
the cello and double bass, both of which are recorded with remarkable
fidelity. Admittedly
Repentance is not the most grateful of
pieces, but subsequent listening does help to prise open the music’s
more shuttered moments. The fairly close recording is first-class though,
and anyone who rejoices in the competing sonorities of these instruments
will find much to enjoy here. However, those of a less adventurous disposition
might wish to pass over this one.
The tiny
Serenade, a commission from a Moscow publishing house,
is described as ‘music for pleasure’. And so it proves,
for Halász imbues the work with a warmth and colour that sets
it apart from the comparatively austere and monochrome world of
Repentance.
As for the
Piano Sonata, played by his Brazilian-born wife
Débora, it's light and athletic, with jazzy underpinnings. There’s
a pleasing unity and inventiveness to the writing, which allows us fleeting
moments of rumination and reflection. As Helmut Peters points out on
his liner-notes there are signs of the seemingly obligatory flirtation
with dodecaphony, but there’s more than enough sparkle and drive
in the piece to compensate for that. Débora Halász is
a bright and varied soloist; she’s well recorded too.
In the past I’ve grumbled that BIS recordings often need more
volume than I feel is ideal, but that’s certainly not an issue
here. True, the dynamics of the sonata aren’t at all extreme,
but I do like the way the quieter, sustained splashes of sound –
and their thrilling decay - are caught here. Not only that there’s
an air of concentration here – a heightened aural awareness
that you won’t find anywhere else in this collection. Indeed,
if you were to download just one item from this album it must be this
one. It's mighty impressive, both as a piece and as a performance.
The instrumental combination and complex fingerings of
Sotto voce
make for an altogether darker and more melancholic sound world. Philipp
Stubenrauch’s double-bass playing is full of ambiguity when heard
alongside the pointillistic dottings of the guitars and the viola’s
lyrical flights. Plucking and beating the bodies of these instruments
produces a remarkably agile set of rhythms, and the guitars bring a
welcome stability to this wobblesome universe. This too is a work of
considerable imagination, and I found myself irresistibly drawn to its
tangential charm. That may seem like a strange characterisation, but
there’s something resolutely engaging - even personal
-
about
Sotto voce that justifies such a tag.
As always with downloads one is able to cherry-pick the best bits and discard the rest. I seldom do that, although if you’re new to Gubaidulina’s music I’d suggest you try the sonata and
Sotto voce first;
Repentance certainly isn’t a roll of razor wire, but it’s not terribly embraceable either.
Gubaidulina fans will want this one; newbies should proceed with caution, though.
Dan Morgan
twitter.com/mahlerei
