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Roberto Gerhard: Leo - Gemini - Libra - Concerto for 8

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Article number: NEOS 11110 Categories: , ,
Published on: January 7, 2014

infotext:

SEA OF FORGOTTEN

Occasionally one may wonder why some music of high rank is hardly noticed in musical life and finds its way into the repertoire only with difficulty or not at all: for example the works of Roberto Gerhard. His music is characterized by a happy balance of constructive stringency and sensuality of the sound, of the highest compositional standards and playful ease, which one finds only very rarely. Perhaps the answer to this question is less to be found in the composer's work than in his life. He belongs to the generation born at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Composers of this generation had a difficult time – especially in Europe – in many respects. Her youth was overshadowed by the devastation of the First World War. When they had to seek and find their own independent positions in the 1920s, the emphatic achievements of early modernism had already been accomplished. In their years of maturity, the shadows of dictatorships of various stripes lay over large parts of Europe, which was once again drifting towards a global war, and after the vehement upheavals of the first two decades of the century, restorative tendencies took hold of musical life. Many artists of the turn-of-the-century generation fell victim to repression and persecution and, if they refused to conform, were often forced to emigrate or flee – as did Roberto Gerhard. Some, such as Viktor Ullmann, Gideon Klein, Erwin Schulhoff and Benjamin Fleischman, lost their lives.

If the artists in question had survived the horrors of dictatorship and war, by mid-century they found themselves confronted with a young generation of composers who soon came to dominate the aesthetic debates. "Time seemed to have passed" over the older ones. Only very few - for example Ernst Krenek - were able to secure a relatively wide perception throughout their lives. Others - such as Erich Schmid and Berthold Goldschmidt - fell silent. A lot of music slipped into a sea of ​​oblivion that opened up between the classical music scene, which always reproduced the same repertoire, and the contemporary music forums, which were focused on current music. The music of Roberto Gerhard was and is threatened by this fate.

The works recorded here all date from the 1960s. They reveal a musical signature that has its roots in classical modernism and that succeeds in synthesizing a methodology trained on Schönberg with concertante elements and a rhythmic and tonal conciseness as pronounced by Stravinsky: »Dodecaphonic, but human and even a bit divine« – as Frank Harders-Wuthenow entitled an essay dedicated to Gerhard.

Concerto for 8

The  Concerto for 8 is the oldest of the compositions collected here. Regarding his work, which premiered in a BBC concert in 1962, the composer remarked: »That Concerto for 8 is dedicated to friends from Barcelona: Señor and Señora Gomis and their six children. My intention was to write chamber music in the style of a divertimento, almost in the spirit of commedia dell'arte. The eight instruments could be something like dramatic personae represent, but what they play are purely musical events that are not intended to evoke or illustrate any extra-musical ideas. From the characteristics of comedy two have been adapted: the desire for spontaneous ideas, for improvisation and for dressing up and masking - by which I mean that the instruments are played in an unusual way. The piece consists of eight parts that follow one another without a break«.

Gemini, Leo, Libra

The three zodiac pieces are the fruit of the composer's last years. While Leo and  Pound connected by substance affinity Gemini a rather solitary status in terms of cast and structure. This was composed Duo Concertante in 1966. His tonal gesture is predominantly rough, wild and furrowed by tension. Episodes of the most varied consistency are ranked in quick succession and rich in contrast. This constant alternation of textures keeps the composition »on fire« almost throughout. Only towards the end does the music freeze in a quivering, vibrating sound field before the energies break out again.

Leo and  Pound united by a melodic structure that in both works seems like a foreign body, like a quote - a melody that is spun from just three tones and their octaves, as simple as if made by a child and yet sophisticated. In Leo it only appears towards the end of the work, in Pound it sounds for the first time soon after the beginning, but here – as in the sister work – it is only really established shortly before the end.

Leo, first performed in Hanover/New Hampshire/USA in 1969, combines several movements into a through-composed large-scale form. A first section has a prelude character. The gestures and figures presented in it are carried out in the moving part that follows and are the subject of a highly virtuoso game. Two quiet parts with characteristic calls of the solo or choral wind instruments surround you con vivacita overwritten central section, which is propelled out of structures marked by repetitions. The final movement lines up passages of varying consistency like a mosaic, occasionally flirts with dance-like, jazz-like idioms and towards the end establishes the above-mentioned melody in the clarinet over an ostinato pulsating piano sound.

Pound works, measured by Leo, thought more like chamber music and formed in smaller parts. The guitar adds a very peculiar color to the ensemble. Eight parts, contrasting in character and texture, form the work. Concerting passages alternate with interludes - in one, the guitar is given space to develop as a soloist, in another, the crystalline, delicate sonority captivates.

Let's finally let the composer have his say, who Leo and  Pound commented on the work: »A title can be useful as a point of reference. Of course, the term ›opus so-and-so‹ would also do. But I refuse to assign numbers to works. What matters is the music alone. How relevant musically - or otherwise - a listener finds a track is entirely up to them. I believe that some of the distinctive characteristics of 'Leo' as shown in traditional Zodiac representations are to be found in the mind and spirit of the person born under that sign. I think of the lion's languid peacefulness - as long as he is left alone - or his awe-inspiring outbursts when provoked. I have always wanted to pay homage to the unshakeable, natural, completely unpretentious independence of the lion and its extraordinary fighting power... Leo shows how I tried this«.

“Libra, Libra, happens to be my zodiac sign… I don’t know if in Pound down some of my own qualities. If so, I would assume that – as with handwriting – this arose out of a sheer unconsciousness with which the 'writing' is carried out.«

Jens Schubbe

program:

[01] Leo for instrumental ensemble (1969) 21:12

[02] Gemini Duo Concertante for violin and piano (1966) 12:00

[03] Pound for flute, clarinet, percussion, guitar, piano and violin (1968) 16:44

[04] Concerto for 8 (1962) 11:00

total time: 65:44

Collegium Novum Zurich
Matthias Ziegler, flute [01/03] – Boris Previsic, flute [04] – Heinrich Mätzener, clarinet [01/03/04]
Tomas Gallart, horn [01] – Jean-François Michel, trumpet [01] – Ulrich Eichenberger, trombone [01]
Christoph Brunner, percussion [01/03] – Martin Lorenz, percussion [04]
Jacqueline Ott, percussion [01] – Viviane Chassot, accordion [04] – Frank Scheuerle, mandolin [04]
Mats Scheidegger, guitar [03/04] – Christoph Keller, piano/celesta [01/03/04]
Bettina Boller, violin [01/03] – Imke Frank, cello [01] – Käthi Steuri, double bass [04]

Rachel Cunz violin [02]
Christopher Keller piano [02]

Peter Hirsch conductor [01/03/04]

Press:

Né d'un père suisse allemand et d'une mère alsacienne, naturalisé britannique mais catalan d'origine, Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder (1896-1970) étudie d'abord le piano avec Enrique Granados (jusqu'à la disparition tragique de ce dernier , en 1916), puis la composition avec Felipe Pedrell (musicien autodidacte et artisan du renouveau folklorique, qui permit à Quasimodo et à Cléopâtre d'entrer à l'opéra...) et Arnold Schönberg, dont il fut aussi l'assistant, cinq ans durant. Dans Vienne où il compose ses Sept haïkaï (1923) qui trahissent l'influence de pierrot lunaire, il rencontre Berg et Webern avec lesquels il se lie d'amitié, ainsi que sa future épouse, Leopoldina Feichtegger.

De retour à Barcelona (1928), Gerhard continues de frequenter l'avant-garde artistique, mais aussi politique. Proche du government républicain de Catalogne, il fonde un groupe radical avec les paintings Miró et Dalí, l'architecte et urbaniste Josep Lluís Sert : Agrupación d'Amics de l'Art Nou (Groupe d'Amis de l'Art nouveau). De Paris où il séjourne un temps, il assiste à la prize de la deuxième ville d'Espagne par les franquistes et décide de s'établir à Cambridge, grace à une bourse d'étude. Vivant bientôt de choses et d'autres (enseignement, pièces pour le théâtre et la radio, commands de la BBC, etc.), le créateur laisse derrière lui la guerre civile et un pays où il ne reviendra que de loin en loin.

Après des années cinquante marquées par le métissage (Falla, Stravinsky et Bartók sont aussi ses modèles), la dernière décennie de Gerhard n'est pas exempte de recherches – notamment dans le domaine de la symphonie et du quatuor à cordes. L'enregistrement qui nous occupe le confirme, regroupant quatre pièces conçues entre 1962 et 1969. Avec ses huit musiciens et ses huit parties enchainées, Concerto for 8 (1962) est la plus ancienne d'entre elles, qui vise « le style d'un divertimento, dans l'esprit de la commedia dell'arte nearly » – spontanéité et déguisement compris. L'usage d'un accordéon et d'une mandolin contribue à son originalité timbrique.

Quelques années plus tard, le duo Gemini (1966) se distinctive par des changements constants de texture, une preté et une tension reposant sur les agacements du violon tenu par Rahel Cunz, et des ruminations de piano, à l'occasion joué sur les cordes par Christoph Keller. Regroupant lui aussi peu d'instruments (deux vents, deux cordes, deux percussions), Pound (1968) mêle intimacy et sections au character contrasté. On y apprécie la clarté with laquelle le musicien propose un univers touffu, rendue with excellence by Peter Hirsch à la tête du Collegium Novum Zurich.

Enfin, apres ces Gemini et BALANCELeo (1969) évoque a nouveau le zodiaque, pour un homage « à l'indolence pacifique du lion - tant qu'on le laisse tranquille - et à ses irruptions impressionnantes dès qu'on l'excite ». Après une ouverture rugissante, l'ensemble instrumental offerre effectivement une pièce nuancée, alternating moments paisibles et d'autres plus bondissants, pétris de vents et cuivres aisément farceurs, de cavalcades pianistiques. During the last few minutes, the influence of Schönberg on the Catalan composite, with a touch of Varèsienne, may also include the extraordinaire jeunesse of a man of Soixante-Dix ans.

LB

The complete review on klassik.com

Concerto for 8: [...] Far from appearing elitist or academic, Gerhard's composition is filled with great joy in playing and is congenially presented here by the Collegium Novum Zurich, which was founded in 1993 to cultivate contemporary music. Peter Hirsch is an extremely prudent conductor who carefully weighs the diverse sound values, but does not neglect spontaneity. […]

02 / 2014, Semele Number 5

La production de Gerhard se caracteriza por un feliz equilibrio entre rigor constructivo y sensualidad sonora, entre un rigor compositivo del máximo nivel y una ligereza lúdica poco frecuente. Las piezas aquí grabadas datan todas de la década del 60 y son buena muestra de una escritura modernista, síntesis de una pátina melódica de influencias schönbergianas y stravinskianas ("dodecafonismo, pero de carácter humano e incluso con un punto divino", que diría Frank Harders -Wuthenow).

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