The booklet notes to this issue are largely occupied with a defence
of arranging existing music for differing forces to those intended
by the composer. Working as I do for the Netherlands Flute Orchestra,
I have quite a sideline in composing and arranging music for masses
of flutes, and as subcontrabass soloist I get to sit at the back
and revel in the results of my labours. I don’t feel there is
any real need to make any apology for creating repertoire for
what is after all a relatively new phenomenon. If I need solo
pieces for my subcontra I shall have to either write my own, or
nip into the library and do some research into solo work for string
double-bass. If you want new music for flute orchestra you either
write your own or arrange existing works – there’s no other way.
There are of course plenty of precendents, and the only argument
against I can think of is that all those arrangements are taking
up space which could be filled by us working composers – six minutes
from one living composer on a sixty minute programme is hardly
much compensation but then, modern music doesn’t sell, does it
...?
All
this said, this is an intriguing production. Flute ensembles
like ‘Vif Baroxx’ have been having a go at sexing-up alternative
versions of existing repertoire for a while now, but the 14
Berlin Flautists are a serious bunch of musicians, and the
emphasis is very much on professionalism. Just looking at
the biogs in the booklet is enough to give you an inferiority
complex, but as this group has been criticised as being a
collection of soloists rather than a more integrated ensemble
in the past I was pleasantly surprised to hear how melifluous
and coherent they sound. This is their second disc for MDG,
and extends the repertoire of the earlier ‘Dancing Flutes’
into more serious concert repertoire. All of the arrangements
work extremely well. The big problem with homogeneous ensembles
like this is variety, but when you consider the range from
piccolo to subcontrabass flutes there is really no difference
between this and a string orchestra. Good players with a feeling
for ensemble work can influence the colour of the orchestral
sound, and the attack can be rhythmic or gentle, just as with
strings. Take two movements from The Pink Panther Suite
as an example: ‘It Had Better Be Tonight’ has a good amount
of rhythmic punch, whereas the next, ‘Royal Blue’, has all
of the eliptical tone required of a rich smooch. Gregorias
Dinicu’s Hora stacatto is another case in point – fun
fluff, but a rip-roaring showcase for how rhythmic flutes
can be.
Entrance
of the Queen of Sheba is a favourite
for flute ensembles, and the Berliners show how it should
be done – brisk and swinging, no messing about with muddy
overlong notes and plenty of dynamic contrast. Ravel’s Le
Tombeau de Couperin works very well. The clarity of French
piano writing from Ravel and Debussy make for excellent arrangement
material, and the quicksilver technique and palette of the
14 flautists is give free rein here. The full lyrical effect
of Verdi’s Preludio comes accross well, and Mozart’s
Overture to Le nozze di Figaro will survive just about
anything. This and the Mendelssohn are nice enough, but it’s
perhaps a little harder to see the point of their inclusion
here, especially as the Scherzo is a flute solo to
start with. The Bach Concerto is an ambitious arrangement
for a work scored for two keyboards, strings and basso continuo.
The booklet notes have a hair-tearingly annoying paragraph
about the difference between performance practice on pianos
as opposed to harpsichords, but the interesting point is how
good this Bach sounds without any keyboards at all. The work
blooms anew as if a new Bach concerto had been discovered,
and I am sure the great man would have loved it. Siegfried
Matthus’ Des Meeres und der Flöten Wellen
(The Waves of the Sea and the Flutes) is an atmospheric
and effective work, with both virtuoso arabesques and an inexorable
intensity. The fine piccolo tone of the players should be
mentioned here – I sometimes wondered if they were cheating
by playing sopranino recorders, which should very much be
taken as a compliment.
I’ve
moaned about the booklet notes, and will conclude on that
subject with a quote which readers may provide their own interpretation:
“The somewhat less astonishing piece of knowledge is added
to it that a work that already in its title elevates flute
playing to the nobility is in this respect incomparably easier.”
The
ensemble is set in a richly resonant church acoustic which
is of course highly complementary to the flute sound. This
is the latest in a series of DVD-As and SACD issued by the
MDG label employing the trademarked Swiss technology known
as 2+2+2. It employs the centre and subwoofer channels of
the six-channel complement to feed an additional pair of front
speakers mounted half the distance above the L &
R speakers as those speakers are separated from one another.
The intention is to make better use of these two channels
in creating a more realistic frontal soundstage and a wider
sweet spot. This it apparently does, though it would seem
to take quite a bit of effort to set the whole thing up. There
are instructions and diagrams at the back of the booklet for
those intrepid enough to try. I found the stereo version to
be superb enough for the time being. If there is any criticism
of the recording to be made it is in the balance with the
lowest flutes. From what I could hear of them there is plenty
of resonance and weight to their sound, but they do sometimes
need just a little more help to balance with the rest of the
flutes. Wide bore instruments project less, and I’ve often
found the need for some subtle amplification on stage. Balancing
in a recording should give a little extra oomph to the bottom
notes otherwise the harmonic voicing can easily become top
heavy. That said; I play an even wider-bore subcontra made
from PVC rainpipes which has superbly stubby wallop in the
low bass – just what you need with 30 other instruments on
top of you, but maybe lacking some of the refinement of the
instruments pictured on this booklet. All in all, this is
a warmly recommended issue for everyone interested in flutes
of all shapes and sizes, hearing a crack ensemble perform
familiar repertoire in a new light, mucking about with very
‘Hi-Fi’ and enhancing one’s life in general.
Dominy Clements
BUY NOW
Crotchet
