Niels Wilhelm GADE (1817-1890)
Chamber Works - Volume 4
Novelettes for Piano Trio Op. 29 (1853) [20:43]
String Quartet in F minor (1851) [20:52]
String Quintet in F minor (1837) [12:20]
Ensemble MidtVest
rec. 2015/17, “Knudsens”, Holstebro, Denmark
CPO 555 198-2 [54:09]
Interest in the music of the Danish composer Niels Gade
seems to be growing in recent years. Some fine recordings have appeared,
not least CPO’s excellent series of chamber music recordings of
which this is the fourth volume. I have a number of recordings of Gade’s
music and must admit to favouring his chamber music, so this series
has been a real boon for me; the Ensemble MidtVest have recorded some
first-class performances with excellent production values throughout,
and this is disc is no different.
I must admit to never having heard the Novelettes for Piano Trio
before. I know Gade’s opuses 53 and 58 Noveletten (999516-2)
but these are for orchestra; I also know his op. 42 Piano Trio in F
Major, as this appears on volume one (777 164-2) of this series, and
I must say that I was very taken by this later work. Here, we have a
set of five - six if you include both the original and the revised final
movement - each of which have a colour and character all of their own.
The booklet informs us that there were two editions of the Novelettes,
the later version being thought of as definitive. The final version
is itself an amalgamation, with movements from the earlier edition finding
their way into the latter with very few changes or adaptions. For instance,
the Scherzo of the earlier four movement set becomes the opening movement
in the later edition, whilst the original opening piece is used to conclude
the five-movement work, although here he supplies a new coda which quotes
the main theme of the opening movement, thus making it cyclical. This
is a very attractive work for piano trio, which I greatly enjoyed.
The String Quartet in F minor I know through the recordings
of the Copenhagen String Quartet (8.224015) - who take the second movement
most slowly of all – and that of the Kontra Quartet’s equally
fine Bis recording (BIS-CD-516); theirs is a generally quicker reading
Whilst it never sound rushed, this new recording by the MidtVest’s
sounds a little more balanced and considered, although that being said,
I would not be without the Kontra’s pacier performance. It is
cast in the usual four movements but is unusual, as it opens with a
lilting slow introduction which gradually builds to take us into the
main Allegro molto section of the movement. The second movement is not
really a slow movement - it is an Allegretto after all - but here it
acts as one. It is a short movement and here the slower pace works better
than the Kontra’s recording which is nearly forty seconds quicker.
Perhaps this lack of a proper slow movement can be explained by the
openings of both the first and fourth movements. It is followed by the
sprightly Allegro di molto, which again is very short. The final movement
again begins with a slow Andantino quasi allegretto section and a charming
main theme that is repeated throughout this section and passed from
one instrument to another. This is followed by the Allegro vivace section,
which in reality can be seen as a movement in its own right. The main
theme goes through a period of transition before a new theme is introduced,
which itself transforms and finally leads us back to the main theme,
and thus into the Coda.
The final work on this disc is the relatively early String Quintet
in F minor; it appears on a couple of lists which I found on the
internet as the third recognised work by the composer, which again is
new to me; if you look for it in any list of Gade’s works
you will find it as Andante & allegro molto, F minor String
quintet (2 violins, viola and 2 cellos), rather than just as String
Quintet. Either way, this short work is quite effective, its lilting
opening Adagio certainly pointing towards Gade’s mature and more
developed style. His choice of instruments points to Schubert as an
influence and it is not just in the instrumentation that this is prevalent,
but for me Mendelssohn is the main influence here, especially in the
allegro molto second section which is played without a break. This is
an important addition to the catalogue of the composer’s works
on disc, as we can hear the embryonic emergence of his own, tell-tale
style.
This is an excellent CD; the performance by the Ensemble MidtVest is,
as in all of their discs I know, committed and compelling, and their
performance of the Quartet is slightly preferable to that of the Kontra’s
on Bis. No matter what combination of instruments they use, their performance
is always first rate. The recorded sound is also very good and well
balanced, especially in the Novelettes, whilst the booklet
notes are also excellent, making this a most valuable addition to the
catalogues.
Stuart Sillitoe
