Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948)
Suite Veneziana, Op 18
Triptychon in E, Op 19
Divertimento in D, Op 20
Arabesken in E minor, Op 22
Oviedo Filarmonia/Friedrich Haider
rec. 2008/9, Auditorio Principe Felipe, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
NAXOS 8.573583 [65]
One of the many good deeds in a naughty musical world are the activities of Friedrich Haider and Naxos in bringing before us a whole conspectus of unknown works by the prolific Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. Not all of these discoveries have been works of genius or neglected masterpieces, but none of them which have crossed my path have been less than enjoyable and many have been much more than that, such as his oddly involving oratorio on the unpromising subject of Jairus’s daughter (review). And here we have another welcome instalment, in the shape of four orchestral works written in the space of a mere three years during the years immediately before the Second World War. Not that the shadow of history lies at all heavily on the soul here.
Wolf-Ferrari is probably and inevitably ensconced in the public mind as a purveyor of ‘light music’ – even though the most popular of his scores, the featherweight intermezzo from The Jewels of the Madonna, is an almost insouciant interruption into an operatic score which is otherwise distinguished by all the darkest passions of verismo – and the air of that intermezzo percolates its way through the music on this disc. But time and again the darker undertones emerge, and nowhere more poignantly than in the third movement Notturno of the Venetian Suite with its subtitle Lonely canals. This is a delicately bruising piece, with an atmosphere that reminds me inexorably of Puccini’s little gem Crisantemi, a piece that similarly lay neglected for years. Three at least of the four movements in this suite originate in songs, and the solo violin is prominent in taking on the solo line although the excellent player is left in undeserved anonymity. One feels that, with suitable promotion, perhaps by Classic FM, Canali solitari might still make headway as a popular classic.
The other work on this disc which undeniably moves into deeper waters is the Triptychon where the sense of tolling bells comes to dominate a score which begins in the realm of Gregorian plainchant with an unaccompanied choral theme. Here the influence is clearly that of Respighi, whose Church windows is still undeservedly overshadowed by his Roman trilogy; but Wolf-Ferrari, unlike Respighi, knows exactly when to stop, and the overblown final movement which rather spoils the Respighi work (and was omitted in its original piano version) finds no echo in the more fastidious soul of the more northerly composer, who instead supplies us with another piece for solo violin in the form of an emotional Preghiera.
The other pieces included here, including the extensive Arabesken founded on a theme by the Italian painter Ettore Tito, are less remarkable; although it is of interest to hear a piece where the inspiration has come not from the pictures but from the musical compositions of an artist, that actual material is less inspiring and the concluding fugue seems overly formal despite its occasional touches of individuality. The Divertimento, as its title implies, is generally lighter in tone. But that is not to deny the music a welcome to the catalogues at budget price. Both playing and recording are excellent, and Haider is clearly in sympathy with the composer’s style.
The Naxos booklet comes with an extensive five-page note by the conductor, described as “adapted from the English translation” but oddly enough not supplied in the original German. The photograph of the instrumentalists shows string players only, but here we are clearly furnished with a full symphony orchestra with woodwind and brass. For some obscure reason the Arabesken are thus described throughout, in German; but I have also seen the Italian Arabeschi in use, which given the actual provenance of the music with its painterly composer, would seem to be more logical.
The Suite veneziana and Arabesken are claimed by Naxos as world première recordings, as indeed they when originally issued in 2010. But there is now another disc in the catalogues containing exactly the same pieces as here, that being a full-price CPO recording from a year later conducted by Ulf Schirmer (review) who takes a slightly more leisurely view of the music (a couple of minutes for each work). The Haider performances on this disc have been previously available on Philartis, where the disc was filled out with four operatic intermezzi which have now been included on a separate Naxos reissue. One would hope that the indefatigable Haider will continue his explorations of this repertoire; one presumes that there is much more to come.
Paul Corfield Godfrey
Previous review: Rob Barnett
