Knowing
his earlier work, one might expect a certain amount of ironic
and subversive wit with any of Mauricio Kagel’s pieces, but
this new Naxos issue is full of deadly serious stuff, and all
the more welcome for it.
There
was always more to Kagel’s art than just jokes, and this set
of works show him in the context of broad canvasses, from the
Mahlerian orchestral song-cycle form of Duodramen, to
the double chorus and full orchestra of Liturgien. Szenario
was conceived as a stand-alone concert piece, but has since
become associated with the Luis Buñuel/Salvador Dalí silent
film Le chien andalou of 1928. The tape part of the score
consists of animal noises, with of course a whining, and later
a barking dog. These sound samples could have been better, coming
over rather distorted and tinny, rather than threatening and
aggressive where required. The juxtaposition of sometimes eloquent
strings and animal sounds is a little uneasy as well, with the
extra noises only cropping up now and again – their relevance
not entirely clear without any visual references. Nevertheless,
there is an unremitting and pungent weight to the march-like
rhythm which is a constant backdrop to some colourful string
writing. Kagel can’t resist the occasional Wagner quote, but
this work has all of the pregnant atmosphere one should expect
from good film music – intentional or not.
Duodramen
opens immediately with a post-romantic, operatic sense of
drama. Looking at the libretto (available online via a link
provided on the CD label) one receives the impression less of
a coherent story, more an association of ideas and disparate
characters – names such as Casanova, Alma Mahler, Henry Ford
and Cosima Wagner inhabiting the score and meeting each other
in strange and impossible relationships. The text is in German,
but has an English translation on the web-page. There is a great
deal of complex detail and dramatic context from beginning to
end in this piece, giving it an intensity and resonance which
I found quite stimulating. That is not to say that there are
no moments of repose, and there are indeed some passages of
remarkable orchestral colour – chillingly suggestive or vibrantly
picturesque – no doubt helped by the addition of percussion
and winds, I found the images conjured in this score in many
ways to be far more vivid than the previous Szenario.
The brutal intimidation of male over female doesn’t make for
easy listening, but then, neither is Wozzeck.
Playing,
singing and recordings are all excellent on this disc, and this
remains true of the final live performance of Liturgien.
Referring once again to the online page, the words are all taken
from existing religious texts, the source for each of which
also being included in detail. The language used is Latin, which
for many will soften the impact of having ‘Alleluia’ standing
close to ‘Allah is great!’ There is a ritual nature to the music
which suits this intentional levelling of symbolism, and I sense
traces of Britten, Martin, Stravinsky, Penderecki, Szymanowski
– names whose stamp on religious musical expression, if not
necessarily as ambiguous as here, at least invariably bears
a strong humanist element.
This
piece has an other-worldly, magical quality which is something
I have always valued in Kagel, and am delighted to find existing
in his larger-scale work. If Duodramen is a drama on
a private, intimate scale, Liturgien is very much a public
statement. No-one can ignore the significance of religious text,
and neither is it possible to ignore the idea of effectively
taking religion and mixing its writings in the waste-bin of
a shredder. This music has all of the seriousness and weight
to carry Kagel’s message of homogeneity. While revelling in
this work’s spell it was also nice for me to come across some
familiar names to one who works at the Royal Conservatoire in
The Hague – I shall never forget Wout Oosterkamp’s warm encouragement
as a teacher, or some performances and workshops by Romain Bischoff’s
amazing Vocal Laboratory.
Originally
recordings by Saarbrücken Radio, Naxos has made a sound move
in releasing these recordings – conducted by the composer, and
unlikely to be repeated or bettered any time soon. 2006 is Kagel’s
75th jubilee, but no mention of this is made in the
booklet, neither is there any suggestion that this is to be
part of any series or collection. I would say there is room
for such an edition – especially on the strength of this release.
Dominy Clements
Margaret Chalker
(soprano),Roland Hermann (baritone Duodramen);
