The Finnish label Ondine have been doing their compatriot Saariaho proud
of late and here is another disc of her atmospheric neo-impressionist works.
Quatre instants is a song cycle, the
Émilie Suite a
compressed version of an opera and, between them we have
Terra
memoria for string orchestra. They have in common that all three are
reworkings of earlier versions. They also appear to be all first recordings
though Ondine does not claim them as such.
Quatre instants was originally written for soprano and piano but
that version does not seem to have yet been commercially recorded. Saariaho
orchestrated it later for small orchestra. The texts are by the Lebanese
writer Amin Maalouf, with whom she has often collaborated – he wrote the
libretto for her wonderful opera
L’amour de loin – and, like the
composer, he now lives in Paris. She apparently originally intended to set
texts in Finnish but couldn’t find anything suitable, so she asked Malouf to
help, and he provided some short passages in French, which are all about
love. The four songs are:
Attente (longing),
Douleur
(torment),
Parfum de l’instant (perfume of the moment) and
Résonances (echoes). These are all erotic and sensual, well suited
to her idiom. This work has a gleaming and glittering surface, with fine
filigree work in which tuned percussion is prominent, while the voice soars
and dips. One aspect of Saariaho’s vocal writing is that the voice often
merges with or hands over to an instrument, and is treated in some ways as
if it were itself an instrument itself. The idiom is reminiscent of
Szymanowski’s orchestral song-cycles or Ravel’s
Shéhérazade and
Saariaho’s cycle can stand the comparison. It was originally written for
Karita Mattila; not surprisingly several sopranos have taken it up
since.
Terra Memoria was originally commissioned for the Emerson quartet
and later expanded for string orchestra. Again the quartet version has not
been recorded and I do not know whether the orchestral one is a straight
transcription, as with the two versions of Schoenberg’s
Verklärte
Nacht, or whether it involved some recomposition. Saariaho says “in the
title ‘earth’ refers to the musical material and ‘memory’ to how it is
handled”. This is a single movement work which starts with wisps and
fragments of sound on the edge of silence which gradually coalesce into an
endless slow melody which itself transforms into more and more passionate
statements until at the climax there is a series of great crunching chords,
after which the music gradually subsides. The foreground melodies are
surrounded by all sorts of decorative and elaborate excursions employing the
whole range of string techniques. It is an impressive and beautiful work,
much fiercer than
Quatre Instants, more late Bartók than early
Schoenberg – I was reminded of the string fugue which opens
Music for
Strings, Percussion and Celesta.
The
Émilie Suite is the main work here. It is derived from an
opera about the Marquise Émilie du Châtelet, an eighteenth century
aristocrat who used her social position to pursue a career in science. The
opera is a monodrama: Émilie is the only character, as with Schoenberg’s
Erwartung and Poulenc’s
La Voix Humaine. The action of the
opera covers one night when Émilie, aged 42, is late in a pregnancy and also
struggling to complete her translation of Newton’s
Principia
Mathematica. In fact she died shortly after giving birth but her
translation established itself as the standard one in French. The libretto
is again by Amin Malouf. The complete opera is in nine sections which
together last 80 minutes; the suite is in five movements which last less
than half this time, three vocal numbers being separated by two orchestral
interludes. A harpsichord is prominent in the score but electronics, which
featured in the original, are here omitted. The opening scene,
Pressentiments (forebodings) begins with flurries on the
harpsichord before Émilie enters, initially parlando then more passionately,
as she writes to her lover, the child’s father. Her horrible forebodings are
echoed in the orchestra. A brooding interlude evokes night with long held
chords and little sounds as of insects. In her second scene,
Principia, she reflects on her daily routine, interspersed with
passages from her Newton translation. These are allowed to expand lyrically,
embodying her absorption in her work. The second interlude features tinkling
and jangling sounds over a pulsing bass which lead to a lament on the oboe.
In the final scene,
Contre l’oubli (against oblivion) Émilie
anticipates dying but with her translation finished which will mean she is
remembered. Plaintive woodwind lines lead to a haunting ending for orchestra
alone. The work is melancholy but also uplifting, as Saariaho does convey
Émilie’s commitment to her work and the inspiration she gets from it.
The orchestral playing under Marko Letonja is assured and Karen Vourc’h
performs both vocal works with eloquence. She is balanced rather forward and
this emphasizes an occasional unsteadiness in her voice and makes the
climaxes rather sharp-edged. The recording is full and rich, rather in the
Chandos manner. The booklet offers notes in three languages and the sung
texts in French and English. Despite my slight reservations about Karen
Vourc’h this is a memorable disc and a valuable addition to Saariaho’s
growing discography.
Stephen Barber
