A King, Riding,
that the composer describes as a scenic
oratorio, is actually de Vries’ second
opera, completed some twelve years after
his first essay in the genre, Eréndira
of 1984. De Vries, however, has composed
several works for voices, such as the
magnificent Areas (1980,
chorus and orchestra, incidentally the
very first piece of his that I have
heard), Phrases (1986,
soprano, chorus and orchestra) and Diafonía,
la creacíon (1988/9,
two female voices and ensemble) that
is the first panel of a triptych composed
between 1988 and 1991. (The other panels
of the triptych are ...Sub nocte
per umbras... [1989] and De
Profundis [1991], and a complete
recording of the triptych is available
on Donemus CV34, whereas Areas
and Phrases are part of
another all-de Vries disc [Donemus CV25].)
De Vries’ scenic oratorio
A King, Riding is based
on Virginia Woolf’s novel The Waves,
which along with James Joyce’s Ulysses,
has become a cult piece of art of some
sort. As to The Waves, it may
be interesting to know that the Dutch
film director Annette Pon made a movie
out of it, for which Louis Andriessen
wrote a fairly substantial score. In
the insert notes, Klaas de Vries retells
how he came to compose this piece. Several
musicians had asked him for solo works,
so that the idea that he could combine
these commissions into one single large-scale
work slowly made its way in his mind.
But what of a possible libretto? Woolf’s
The Waves was suggested to him
by one of his students. Then, a close
look at the novel as well as at Yourcenar’s
French translation (in her introduction,
she states that "it is a book with
six characters, or rather six instruments")
convinced de Vries to go on. He had
to pare Woolf’s text down drastically;
but he nevertheless included three poems
by Fernando Pessoa (in the sections
names Heterophony I-III). These
texts relate in one way or another to
what has gone on before in the course
of the work. Heterophony I functions
as an epilogue of some sort at the end
of Part 1, whereas Heterophony II
and Heterophony III rather function
as interludes in Part 2.
A King, Riding
is scored for six singers, seven solo
instruments and large wind ensemble
with some sound realisation and processing
(all discretely and tastefully done)
by Jean-Marc Sullon from the Centre
de Recherches et de Formation Musicales
de Wallonie. Each character has an instrumental
alter ego : Jinny (coloratura
soprano and violin), Suzan (lyric soprano
and cello), Rhoda (mezzo-soprano and
viola), Neville (countertenor and flutes),
Louis (tenor and recorders), Bernard
(baritone and bass clarinet), whereas
Percival is embodied by a dancer "doubled"
by the trumpet. So, in the Overture,
each solo instrument has a cadenza of
its own, whereas later in the piece,
each instrument dialogues with its vocal
counterpart. (This in fact perfectly
meets Woolf’s own description of her
novel as a series of dramatic soliloquies.)
In A King, Riding
(and in The Waves as well), the
six characters (three boys and three
girls) remember their childhood, their
adolescence, their parting with their
friend Percival whom they tend to idealise,
and eventually Percival’s death. Percival
remains a mystery throughout, and one
may even wonder whether he has ever
existed. After all, he may just be the
embodiment of their juvenile ideals
that they have not achieved at this
point of their own life. "As a
reflection on life, The Waves
is likewise an essay on human solitude"
(Marguerite Yourcenar). There is indeed
very little real dialogue here, but
rather ensembles in which each voice
seems to go its own way rather than
fuse with the other. This is particularly
clear in Episode III of Part 2 ("Three
Women") in which each of the girls
has her own say in turn, so that this
episode never builds-up to the ensemble
that one might have expected. It is
rather a set of three duos (the voice
and its instrumental shadow), one of
the most moving moments in this score
although I feel that some opportunities
for some lyrical outpouring have been
missed. Actually, the only sections,
in which the six voices meet, are –
significantly enough, I think – the
Heterophony sections that are all very
beautiful, Heterophony III for
six unaccompanied voices being particularly
beautiful and moving. In fact, this
section may be the real summit of the
whole score, musically and emotionally
as well.
The overall layout
of A King, Riding is rather
unusual. It falls into two main parts
of fairly equal length; but the most
striking feature of it all is the Overture
that plays for 31 minutes (out of 51
minutes for the entire Part 1). "The
way in which the day begins out of nothing
made me realise where the actual beginning
of the composition lay" (Klaas
de Vries). Indeed, the first part –
and the overture – opens almost unnoticed,
out of the audience’s rustle and the
orchestra’s tuning-up, with mysterious,
almost other-worldly sounds (hushed
singing and electronically processed
sounds). Soft orchestral sounds and
vocal whispers follow ("The novel
begins with a description of the sea
before sunrise, in a state of semi-darkness...",
which is perfectly, almost graphically
conveyed through the opening music).
The first and second episodes of Part
1 deal with the characters’ childhood
(their games, their first loves) and
are rounded-off by the first Heterophony
section. Part 2 falls into three clearly
delineated sections separated by Heterophony
II and III, the latter preceding
the concluding section. Episodes I to
III deal with the characters’ student
days. Heterophony II is followed
by Episode IV (farewell dinner party
to Percival) and Episode V ("Lamento
on the death of Percival"). The
deeply moving Heterophony III
leads into the closing scene.
A King, Riding
is a major work by all counts and one
of de Vries’ greatest achievements so
far; but it is also a good example of
the comparative failure of many recent
operatic works. Composers are often
tempted to compose on librettos of real
literary value and, thus, see that words
are clearly heard and understood. All
is well, of course, but this often results
in using either spoken words or some
sort of Sprechstimme, so that
many lyrical opportunities are lost.
This is the case in some episodes of
A King, Riding. Episode
V of Part 2 ("Lamento") is,
to my mind, one such fine opportunity
gone wrong. On the other hand, there
are many really fine things here, such
as the Three Women episode and the Heterophony
sections.
The present recording
was apparently assembled from two live
performances recorded in different venues;
but the recorded sound is very fine
indeed (this is – to the best of my
knowledge – Donemus’ first SACD release),
thanks too to very quiet and disciplined
audiences. Most musicians taking part
in these performances have a close and
long association with de Vries’ music;
and, with the composer at hand, this
set has an unquestioned ring of authenticity.
Sorry for an unusually
long review, but A King, Riding
is a substantial and complex, albeit
slightly flawed major achievement that
deserves some serious consideration.
No easy stuff, although de Vries’ music
is not particularly difficult, but well
worth the effort. This is a major release.
Hubert Culot
Asko Ensemble and Schönberg Ensemble;
Reinbert de Leeuw 
DONEMUS COMPOSERS’ VOICE SACD CV 134 [45:51
+ 57:12]