It seems that at last the star of Hans Gál is in the ascendant
with symphonies (2;
3;
4),
his violin
concerto, cello
concerto, cello
works, violin
and piano works, piano
trios, piano
duos and piano solo music (review
review),
to name a few, being released in recent years. This is a vast
improvement upon the situation that pertained only in 2001 when
there were but three works by him that could be found on disc;
today the total tops 40.
Born in Vienna of Hungarian Jewish extraction Gál not surprisingly
left Germany where he had worked as Director of the Conservatory
in Mainz after he was dismissed by the Nazis and his music was
banned. First he returned to Vienna until Austria was annexed
by Hitler in 1938 then he came to the UK though he had a hard
time of it with a wife and two children and no immediate job.
In May 1940 he was incarcerated due to the panicky atmosphere
that pertained in Britain at the time, firstly in Huyton then
in the internment camp in Douglas, Isle of Man. Though Gál was
not classed as a category A alien all of whom were detained
when war broke out, Churchill’s edict to “collar the lot” following
the fall of France led to category B aliens and a large percentage
of category C being arrested too, adding up to a total of over
27,000 internees. It is ironic that Jews who were the most obviously
sympathetic to the Allies should have been included in this
sweep. Eventually the folly of this policy was recognised and
Gál and many others were released after a few months. For most
of his long life he resided in Scotland where he added to the
rich musical life there working at Edinburgh University until
well beyond retirement age.
Gál’s Serenade in D Op.41 dates from 1932 and is a
most delightful work full of free-flowing melodic lines with
an upbeat Haydnesque beginning that belies what’s to come which
is altogether more contrapuntal but still of a generally whimsical
character and the first movement fairly skips along its ten
minute length. Gál certainly knew how to write a good tune and
wasn’t afraid to do so at a time when the avant-garde brigade
were flexing their musical muscles and when to be experimental
was deemed to be de rigueur. Though modern in character
this music is totally beguiling and the main theme will easily
become one of those little worms that play themselves over and
over again in your mind and soon have you convinced that you’ve
known it for years despite it being a world premičre recording.
The second movement marked Cantabile. Adagio is a heartfelt,
beautiful little tune that while darker is so gorgeously lush
that it will still cause you to smile with delight. The main
theme which is introduced by the violin is taken up at the close
by the viola against a wonderfully rich background. The Menuetto
is back to the Haydnesque style of the opening movement with
the cello playing a significant role in conversation. The violin
hovers above it in canon and one is tempted to speculate that
Papa Haydn himself would have heartily approved of its inventive
character. The final movement Alla marcia is another
wonderfully melodious and brilliantly scintillating piece of
writing. All kinds of clever musical devices propel things along
and the work finishes with a flourish.
Gál’s Trio Op.104 was composed almost forty years later
in 1971 to a commission from the London Viola d’Amore Society
and the version here for a conventional trio was written at
the same time. It is a work that is altogether darker in mood
than the Serenade as perhaps is to be expected from
a composer of over 80 as opposed to one of 42. In any event
it is another example of this highly individual and marvellous
composer who appears never to have been at a loss to come up
with fabulous tunes that win the listener over on first hearing.
While the opening Tranquillo con moto in dark and deeply
reflective the Presto is light and humorous. It dances
along its short length and leads into the finale Tema con
variazione with seven distinct sections. The players’ cellist
Kenneth Woods wrote the notes. He has perfectly captured the
essence of this last movement which, as he puts it, incorporates
“recurring cycles of despair and hope, without Gál ever tipping
his hand as to whether the work is likely to end in darkness
or light”. He explains further that Gál’s solution is to “avoid
a resolution entirely” by concluding with an Alla Marcia
in humorous mode. This alludes to the fact that whatever happens
life marches on and “The cycle of tragedy and hope is eternal,
the root of all human comedy...” What better way to look at
life and to share that outlook with others in musical terms
that are so unambiguous.
The two other works on this disc are by a composer from the
same era, the same part of the world (central Europe), and the
same Jewish heritage, who suffered the fate that Gál undoubtedly
would have done had he not come to Britain when he did. Hans
Krása was also sent to an internment camp and the insert in
the CD shows a photo of each composer alongside their camps.
However, Krása ended up in Terezin in the north of his native
Czechoslovakia where he was active in the busy musical life
that pertained there and like other composers confined there
wrote several works in these inauspicious surroundings. Then
in October 1944 he was moved to Auschwitz along with fellow
composers Gideon Klein, Viktor Ullmann and Pavel Haas, where
he was sent to the gas chambers just two days after his arrival.
I find the thought of the deaths of these highly talented composers
almost unbearable, particularly when I hear their music and
imagine what other joys they would have brought to the world
had they lived. Whilst rejoicing in the life of Hans Gál who
lived to the age of 97 and whose music developed over a long
and productive life it is heartrending to listen to the music
of Krása who died at 45. Both works here were written in his
final year. Krása, in common with his fellow composers in Terezin,
refused to allow their Nazi captors to crush their spirit. These
works are defiant responses to the madness that The Third Reich
unleashed upon the world. In Tanec (dance) which title
belies its content which is savage and biting, there are evocations
of trains that contrast feelings of nostalgia with overt menace.
I was reminded of Steve Reich’s Different Trains and
am pretty sure that Reich may well have drawn inspiration from
this work for his own. There is so much said in such a short
piece it is quite overwhelming. In Passacaglia and Fuga,
Krása’s last completed work, he expresses himself so profoundly
it is enough to make you weep. Kenneth Woods’ excellent notes
explain the musical structure perfectly which enables the listener
to get so much more out of the music than they would without
them. I’m not going to try to paraphrase or come up with my
own interpretation which I couldn’t do in any case but will
quote his summing up of the work as “...discussion degenerates
into argument and argument descends into violence.” Who can
wonder at such musical thoughts when you are knowingly heading
for extermination for being born something your captors will
not tolerate.
The disc leaves you feeling profoundly moved as well as drained
and I can hardly imagine how it must feel to play such music.
This is an extremely important musical document on all counts
as it introduces us to two hitherto unrecorded works by a great
20th century composer who exposure has at last revealed
a huge talent and two works by a wonderful composer whose creative
genius was snuffed out in his prime.
The Ensemble Epomeo play all four compositions with huge commitment
and brilliant flair revealing every nuance in four wonderful
works for string trio. These can sit alongside anything written
in this genre.
In every way this is a fantastic disc that listeners will want
to hear again and again.
Steve Arloff
Ensemble Epomeo (Caroline Chin (violin), David Yang (viola), Kenneth
Woods (cello))